Workers’ wages are seeing their greatest overall increases since the late 1990s, according to a variety of reports. The Bank of America has just announced a plan to increase salaries from their current $20 an hour to $25 in the next four years. The McDonald’s Corporation is raising its average $11 an hour rate to $15 an hour; while Amazon says employee salaries will increase by $3 over the average $12 an hour it currently pays. Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody’s Analytics, in speaking to the network CNBC, said not only is the wage increase trend real, but added: “All the anecdotes we were getting in the last few months would suggest it’s continuing.” In announcing the Amazon wage increase, Darcie Henry, the company’s vice president of global human resources, said the hike will impact more than half a million workers, representing “an investment of over $1 billion in incremental pay for these employees.” The Bank of America wage increase, said chief executive officer Brian Moynihan, is all about maintaining a “great standard of living for our teammates.” In a CNN interview, Moynihan added: “The key is for big companies like ours to set a standard. We think it’s part of sharing our success with our communities.” Wage increases have proven particularly steady in the construction industry, according to an analysis recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. The average hourly wage for middle managers and professionals is up by 3.2% over last year, according to the study, with overall wages, salaries, and benefits in the first quarter of 2021 up by 0.9%, compared with 0.6% in the last quarter of 2020. In a separate report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that construction industry compensation in the last year has increased by 2.7%. By Garry Boulard
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A former rail yard located in a historic central Denver corridor may be redeveloped for residential, commercial, and highway expansion purposes.
Located near Interstate 25 and the S. Platte River, the Burnham Yards served as a vital rail yard for Denver and larger Colorado beginning in 1871. After the Union Pacific Railroad Company closed it facilities at the site in 2016, public officials undertook an effort to find a new use for the 58.5-acre site. Now, members of the Colorado Economic Development Commission, as well as the Colorado Transportation Commission, have come to an agreement regarding a $50 million purchase of the site. The purchase of the land is officially being undertaken by a group called the Colorado High Performance Transportation Enterprise. The HPTE was established as an independent entity within the Colorado Department of Transportation, dedicated to financing and delivering infrastructure projects throughout the state. While plans regarding the future of the Burnham Yards have been discussed, the preservation group Historic Denver has undertaken a survey of the surviving structures at the site, determining that at least six of the buildings, built between 1901 and 1943, are historically significant. Exactly what will be built at the site, and when, are two large questions that remain to be answered. The Colorado DOT has also indicated that up to 17 acres of the property will be used for an upcoming I-25 widening project. It is thought that a re-use of the land could eventually entail more than $400 million in investment. By Garry Boulard The historic home of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Retreat and Conference Center on the southeast side of Santa Fe may be repurposed as a hotel.
The 12-acre property, located at 50 Mount Carmel Road, originally served as a sanatorium before being purchased by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in the early 1940s, and officially dedicated in the summer of 1946. The property includes 6 buildings, with a total combined square footage of just under 56,000 square feet. As part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, the archdiocese is seeking to sell the property, which has an estimated value of just under $8 million. The Austin-based Mighty Union hospitality group has proposed reconverting facilities on the site, and eventually opening a 60-room hotel there. At the same time, the Modern Elder Academy, which has facilities in Mexico’s Baja peninsula, has also indicated an interest in repurposing the property. The Modern Elder Academy is a retreat-like destination dedicated to helping those between the ages of 45 and 65 transition into new phases of their careers and lives. The Santa Fe archdiocese declared bankruptcy in 2018 partly as a result to a series of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy, By Garry Boulard A small slice of vacant property in a part of Denver populated with multi-level apartment complexes may soon see the construction of yet one more apartment building, this one housing 76 units.
Real estate developer Revesco Properties wants to build the project at 2099 Chestnut Place, on the west side of downtown Denver. As proposed, the project, on land that is owned by the city, will see construction of lobby and retail space on the ground floor, and seven upper stories of apartment units. The project site will also include some green space, as well as an outdoor café. Denver-based Revesco is also the developer behind the sprawling River Mile project, an effort transforming over 60 acres that were once a part of the Elitch Gardens into a neighborhood with housing, offices, and retail space. The project at 2099 Chestnut Place would see construction on a triangle-shaped piece of land measuring less than one acre. The corner of the site was formerly the home of a public bike station. An earlier effort by another developer to build a 192-room hotel at the site failed when members of the city council voted in opposition to turning the property over for that purpose. The Chestnut Place project is currently being reviewed by the City of Denver. By Garry Boulard At least three new Whataburger locations may see construction later this year in Colorado Springs.
The San Antonio-based fast food restaurant chain earlier this year announced plans to significantly expand its presence in the Centennial State. Now plans have been submitted to the City of Colorado Springs for two new restaurants on the north and northeast side of the city. A third location is set for Constitution Avenue to the north of the Colorado Springs Airport. From its first outlet in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1950, the Whataburger brand has expanded to include now more than 800 stores, with a heavy presence in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona. The company, which did not expand significantly into the states of the West until the 1970s, saw more than $2 billion in revenue in 2020. Whataburger locations usually measure around 3,700 square feet, and include both indoor seating and drive-thru lanes. Last year the company introduced a new look for its restaurants, discarding its iconic A-frame for a more modern, sleek design, while keeping intact its orange-and-white color scheme. By Garry Boulard Work repairing a flood barrier system in the Rio Grande Valley, and remediating soil erosion, are two of the new projects planned by the Department of Homeland Security addressing issues created by the recent border wall construction.
In a public statement, DHS said its goal was to correct “physical dangers resulting from the previous administration’s approach to border wall construction” along the U.S./ Mexico border. According to the DHS, the flood barrier system, designed to protect low-lying regions of Hidalgo County, Texas from catastrophic flooding, was partially disrupted during the building of the wall. The agency also says that “improper compaction of soil and construction materials along a wall segment constructed by the prior administration is causing dangerous erosion along a 14-mile stretch in San Diego, California.” President Biden earlier this year issued a proclamation pausing further border wall construction and terminating the redirection of funds for that project. The work stoppage, according to Newsweek, may have made matters worse with contractors wrapping up their work before having a chance to repair the flood barrier system. Earlier this month, the Biden Administration announced it was canceling all border wall projects that had been previously funded through the Defense Department. Those funds will now be used for military construction projects earlier approved by Congress. The Government Accountability Office, meanwhile, is reviewing Biden’s border wall funding decree, which some critics have said may have been in violation of the Impoundment Control Act. The GAO is expected to release a report on the matter by early summer. By Garry Boulard The long-planned construction of a tower that will provide new care space for the University of New Mexico Hospital has taken a significant step towards becoming reality.
The New Mexico Higher Education Department has now given its approval to what will be a nearly $402 million project, the largest such facility project of its kind on the UNMH campus in a decade. More specifically, the building will go up on some 6.5 acres along Lomas Boulevard near the corner of Yale Boulevard. Some $320 million in funding for the project is coming through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, with just under $52 million secured from the UNM Hospital Capital Initiatives. A smaller $30 million will be provided via the State of New Mexico. As proposed, the tower, with seven stories, will have room enough for 18 operating rooms, medical laboratories and suites and nearly 100 intensive care unit beds. Also included in the project: classroom and food service space, as well as room for a retail pharmacy. The project is expected to be built over a period of three years, with the new facility accepting patients in the fall of 2024. UNMH was founded in 1952. The last significant construction on its campus saw the building of the $225 million Barbara and Bill Richardson Pavilion, a six-story, 455,000 square foot addition to the main hospital building. By Garry Boulard The economic future for most of the states of the West remains buoyant, despite the impact of Covid-19 and subsequent national economic shutdown.
That’s according to a new report issued by the American Legislative Exchange Council called Rich States, Poor States. The report predicts future economic growth based on a series of variables, including tax policies, wages, and debt service as a share of tax revenue. Using those measures, four of the top ten states - Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, and Texas - are in the West; with another three states - Idaho, Arizona, and Colorado - placing between 11th and 20th in the rankings. New Mexico placed 38th on the list, while the bottom ten states were nearly all in the East or Midwest. Arizona was given high marks for its corporate income tax rates, property taxes, and workers compensation costs, among other factors; while Colorado was also lauded for its corporate income tax rate, estate and inheritance tax rate; and workers compensation costs. New Mexico was ranked high for its property tax burden rates and estate and inheritance tax rates. A press release accompanying the report said that low-income states in the last year proved themselves to be “more economically competitive and better positioned for wage growth, job creation, and domestic in-migration compared to states with higher taxes and government spending.” Based in Arlington, Virginia, the American Legislative Exchange Council is a free market organization made up of state legislators across the country. By Garry Boulard Trying to reverse a trend that has been seen in many downtown areas in recent years, a real estate investment and development company has announced plans to repurpose a structure in downtown Greeley, Colorado for use as a grocery store.
The company, Richmark Real Estate Partners, says it wants to transform a one-story brick building at 1320 Eighth Avenue that was formerly a part of a used car dealership. Richmark, which is based in Greeley and specializes in residential projects in both Arizona and Colorado, purchased the site 5 years ago for around $1.2 million. The building in question measures just under 13,000 square feet and includes parking spaces for twenty vehicles in two different lots. The project comes some six years after a Safeway outlet at 1122 11th Avenue ceased operations in downtown Greeley. That store had been a downtown shopping mainstay dating to the mid-1950s. The proposal to repurpose the property on Eighth Avenue is currently being reviewed by the City of Greeley. The decline of grocery stores in downtown areas nationally has led to the creation of what the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls “food deserts,” seeing upwards of 20 million urban residents living at least a mile from the nearest supermarket. A bill currently pending in the U.S. Senate called the Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act would provide tax credits and grants for developers wanting to build grocery stores in such areas. By Garry Boulard |
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