A thriving Canadian cheese and dairy food production company is making plans to significantly expand its five-year old facilities in Las Cruces.
Officials with Saputo Dairy USA hope to invest up to $30 million in the project at the Las Cruces Innovation and Industrial Park, located off Interstate 10. In a move to make the project reality, the New Mexico Economic Development Department is providing around $2.5 million in Local Economic Development Act funds. Launched in Montreal in 1954, the Saputo company is the largest dairy processor in Canada, and one of the largest in the world, with operations in South America and Europe, among other places. Saputo’s Las Cruces facilities are located about 10 miles to the west of downtown Las Cruces at 355 Crawford Boulevard. Saputo is particularly known for its wide variety of cheese, milk and cream products. The company’s Frigo shredded mozzarella, used for garnishing pizzas and pasta dishes, is one of the company’s most well-known brands. By Garry Boulard
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Colorado lawmakers are in the process of sifting through a bill that Governor Jared Polis is describing as a “transformational transportation proposal” for the Centennial State.
Polis, along with a group of legislative leaders, has proposed a sweeping measure designed to build and repair roads and bridges, as well as enhancing the state’s transit options. The legislation comes with a $5.2 billion price tag, with some $3.8 billion to come out of road use fee revenue, not to mention the money annually collected from Colorado’s gas tax and vehicle registration fees. The legislation is partly in response to Colorado’s continued population boom, which has seen the state go from 4.3 million people in 2000 to just under 6 million people today. State transportation officials say that population increase, along with a concurrent increase in vehicular traffic, has placed an unprecedented strain on roads, highways, and bridges that were in many cases built more than 40 years ago for a substantially smaller state. Noting that Colorado is on the verge of an economic recovery as it heads into a post-pandemic era, Polis remarked: “We can’t talk about the Colorado comeback without bold action to modernize our roads, bridges, and transit, and that’s what this bill is all about.” The legislation, otherwise known as Senate Bill 260, has been long in the planning stage and will also mandate fees on the purchase of diesel fuel as well as electric vehicle registration. While the bill has received support from several business groups, including the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, it is opposed by the Colorado chapter of the Americans for Prosperity, a citizen’s group contending that any proposed increase in the state’s fuel taxes should first go before voters. In a statement, Jesse Mallory, director of the group, said the timing of the transportation legislation “could not be worse as families are recovering their losses from the pandemic.” Mallory additionally disclosed that an initiative is underway to put on a statewide ballot in 2022 a proposal mandating that any such fee increases must have the approval of voters. Members of the legislature are expected to make a final determination on the $5.2 billion bill within the next several weeks, in time for the June 12 adjournment date. By Garry Boulard An effort is underway to build an expansion to an animal shelter in Bernalillo County that is just a little over two years old.
Located at 3001 Second Street SW, nearly three miles to the south of downtown Albuquerque, the shelter, designed to house roughly 2,500 animals, took in around 3,880 animals last year. Altogether, since its opening in January of 2019, it has housed up to 9,500 animals. In response to pleas from shelter officials who say more space is needed, some $500,000 in county funds is being drawn upon for a study looking at how additional shelter space would work. That study will also explore the design and space needs of a shelter expansion, as well as contemplating the construction of a separate satellite facility elsewhere. Funding for the expansion of the existing shelter or the construction of a new facility may not be secured until the passage of the next round of county general obligation bonds in 2022. Construction of the current $7.5 million shelter, which was paid out of revenue from an earlier general obligation bond, launched in the summer of 2017. Following the national industry standards, the shelter has veterinary care spaces, and both animal recreation and isolation areas. By Garry Boulard The Phoenix, Arizona-based Best Western International is continuing a plan designed to expand its already large stock of 4,700 locations both in the U.S. and overseas.
Launched one year after the conclusion of World War II, the Best Western chain has enjoyed steady growth in the last decade, even weathering the impact of Covid-19 and national economic shutdown. Operating under several other brand names, Best Western, with revenues in excess of $6 billion annually, late last year announced the $20 million construction of its upscale Vib brand in Tempe, which includes 102 rooms. Increasingly, the company is focusing on what is known as the “lifestyle and boutique” sector, a distinctly different kind of hotel from Best Western’s traditional extended stay and economy offerings. The company is also undertaking a separate project in the city of Happy Valley, which is a combination of a Best Western Plus and Executive Residency by Best Western brands. Altogether, there are currently just under two dozen Best Western hotels of various brands up and running in the Phoenix metro area. Future growth plans for the company may see the purchase and re-conversion of existing hotel brands both in Arizona and elsewhere into new Best Western properties. Originally building and opening new locations in the states of the West, giving meaning to its “Best Western” name, the company, with tens of thousands of properties in the 1970s, was regarded as he world’s largest hotel chain. According to the publication Business Travel News, about 40% of the company’s pipeline projects are taking place under the name of one of its alternative brands with the upscale Vib and Glo brands accounting for 10% of Best Western’s growth. By Garry Boulard A popular one-story shopping center in Tempe may become even more popular if city officials are successful in their bid to add more mixed-use space to the site.
Located near the intersection of Mill Avenue and Southern Avenue in the retail-heavy central part of the city, the Danelle Plaza, which was opened in 1963, is already the home to a number of stores and restaurants, as well as a billiards hall and live music venue. The plaza is an iconic space to generations of Tempe residents who have shopped there, listened to music, or just passed the time of day. In the 1960s it was the home to the Tempo Ballroom, which boasted a swing orchestra and a “spacious hardwood dance floor.” Now city officials are going through responses to a Request for Qualifications seeking developers to build both apartment and commercial space at the site. As imagined, the new mixed-use development would be built on an existing parking lot in the center of the plaza and would include affordable or workforce housing. The Tempe Economic Development Department is expected to present ideas for how the project can best proceed to the Tempe City Council in July. By Garry Boulard The future of a proposed 160-apartment complex project in Flagstaff, Arizona is uncertain.
The Trinsic Residential Group, which is based in Dallas, has said that it wants to build the complex just to the west of the intersection of High Country Lane and Lake Mary Road. As imagined, what is being called Aura Flagstaff would see the construction of apartments housed in eight separate buildings on a 16-acre site. The apartments themselves would include 112 one-bedroom units, with the rest comprised of two bedrooms. An initial presentation for the project called for the construction of 173 units. Residents living in the nearby Pondarosa Trails neighborhood have expressed opposition to the project, concerned about an increase in traffic that will be sparked by the complex, not to mention the three-story heights of several of Aura Flagstaff’s proposed structures. The site in question is a part of the historic Auza Family Ranch, used for decades for livestock herding. Members of the Flagstaff City Council, meanwhile, have been reviewing the arguments pro and con for changing the site zoning for the project from its current estate residential zoning classification to a medium-density designation. But in its most recent meeting, the council decided to postpone making a final decision on the matter until the first week of June. By Garry Boulard Cities in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Montana have made the most recent list of municipalities to be part of an advanced green building certification process.
The announcement comes out of the Washington-based U.S. Green Building Council, the organization that created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system, most popularly known as LEED. The council’s LEED for Cities Local Government Leadership Program is more specifically geared to help cities sustainably plan for the development of energy, transportation, water, and waste systems in their communities. Launched in 2017, the program has to date contributed more than $1.7 million to cities and counties across the country as they pursue LEED certification. This year, Billings, Montana; Durango, Colorado; and Tempe, Arizona, are among the 15 cities chosen to be a part of the program. In a statement, Mahesh Ramanujam, chief executive officer of the U.S. Green Building Council, lauded the chosen cities for their commitment to sustainable “solutions for health,” using the LEED process as a “tool to ensure they are on a path of continuous improvement.” The program, with an emphasis on technical assistance, access to educational resources, and peer-to-peer networking for the chosen cities, is done in conjunction with the Bank of America. Since the program was launched, nearly 60 cities and counties have achieved LEED certification. By Garry Boulard A structure built more than 50 years ago in Denver and deemed worthy of saving by some local preservationists will soon be facing the wrecker’s ball. Located at 123 Speer Boulevard, the 5-story structure has served for years as the home to television station KMGH and sits on a just-over 2-acre lot. The owner of the building, Scripps Media, is hoping to sell the building to the New York-based Property Markets Group, which, in turn, wants to level the structure in order to make way for the construction of new apartments. Scripps Media, which owns KMGH, has said that it wants to move the television studio to another location with more space. In a public statement, Dean Littleton, the general manager of the station, described the structure as “dark, disjointed, inefficient, and terribly expensive to maintain.” Earlier, the City of Denver’s Planning Department said that the building might be regarded as an important example of the Brutalist architectural style in buildings that was particularly popular from the 1950s to 70s. The movement typically saw concrete-heavy structures, often used as government offices, that were known for their monolithic appearances and block-like style. Members of a Denver City Council committee approved an application for preserving the structure in late April, with the larger council then tasked with approving an ordinance designating the building as worthy of landmark status. The council has now voted against the landmark designation. When the building will be demolished and work on the new apartment project is launched has not yet been announced. By Garry Boulard Plans are underway for an upgrading of a wood shop that is a part of the Onate Mountain High School in Las Cruces.
The project for the facility, formerly known as the Onate High School, has received $300,000 in state funds. Those funds are part of a larger $28.2 million in capital outlay spending approved earlier this year for Dona Ana County by members of the New Mexico State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Located at 5700 Mesa Grande Drive, the Onate Mountain High School has an emphasis on workforce training, including metals and woods technology within the school’s residential construction courses. Among the other Dona Ana capital outlay projects securing funding is work on the Brahman diversion channel, which received $3.1 million; and a new warehouse facility and central office for the Lower Rio Grande Public Water Works Authority. The name of the Onate High School was changed last summer after students and residents complained that the Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate had violently seized land belonging to Native Americans in the 14th century and should not be so honored. By Garry Boulard A renewed effort is underway to accelerate broadband infrastructure construction within the Navajo Nation, an effort that has only gained more currency since Covid-19’s onset. “When layering broadband issues with the lack of adequate transportation, electricity, and water for many Navajo families, the end result is a reduced quality of life, especially in the midst of a worldwide pandemic,” Navajo Nation President Johnathan Nez remarked during a conference last week with Department of Commerce officials. Nez urged the federal government to take strong steps to help erase what he called the “digital divide” for both the “Navajo Nation and underserved communities everywhere.” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo agreed that the recent pandemic has “exacerbated the digital divide in Indian Country,” adding that her department is committed to bringing the “full weight of its resources to accelerate broadband infrastructure deployment in partnership with the Navajo Nation.” Beginning in February, the Commerce Department has hosted a series of listening sessions with tribal leaders across the country as it develops what is called a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. That program has now received up to $1 billion in funding through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 with the idea of both deploying broadband infrastructure in Native American lands as well as establishing what are described as “affordable broadband programs” in those same regions. The connectivity program, said Raimondo, will provide an opportunity to “address connectivity issues for the Navajo Nation schools, chapter houses, and other government facilities, and provide a new gateway for the Navajo people to conduct commerce and work force development in a digital economy.” Further broadband infrastructure throughout the country’s tribal lands is the focus of President Biden’s sweeping infrastructure bill, which includes $100 billion for such projects. Congressional leaders are currently reviewing proposals to scale back portions of Biden’s $3 trillion plan, with the fate of the broadband construction funding uncertain. By Garry Boulard |
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