While noting that the national economy is recovering at a record rate, Michelle Bowman, a member of the board of governors with the Federal Reserve System, nevertheless is concerned about the threat that inflation poses to that same recovery. Speaking on June 23 at a policy summit hosted by the Fed, Bowman noted that “in recent months inflation has risen to well over the Federal Reserve’s longer-run goal of 2%.” “This rise has reflected, in part, the fact that inflation numbers at the onset of the pandemic were very low,” Bowman said. But the rise in inflation is also the product of an “impressive upswing in economic activity that has played an important role as it has led to a number of supply chain bottlenecks and put upward pressure on prices for many goods.” “These upward price pressures may ease as the bottlenecks are worked out,” Bowman continued, although she added that it “could take some time.” Despite such challenges, Bowman said she has remained impressed with what she describes as the nation’s “economic resilience.” Noting that both urban and rural America are confronted with the same growth issues, Bowman said, “One key element to community resiliency is the engagement of local financial institutions in providing access to credit and supporting small businesses with funding and technical assistance.” Those financial institutions have proven to be especially vital to the survival of small businesses, said Bowman, noting: “An environment that supports resilient small businesses means more jobs and economic growth in local communities—both urban and rural.” Bowman, formerly the bank commissioner for the State of Kansas, noted that the country’s small businesses in the last decade created more than 10 million new jobs, accounting for some 65% of employment growth in rural counties. “Creating and encouraging an environment that supports small business growth and entrepreneurship is a vital component of economic vitality,” continued Bowman, one that leads to a “more advanced broad-based recovery.” As part of the Federal Reserve’s determination to understand the challenges of the country’s small businesses, the agency has just announced that it will continue its Fed Listens initiative, launched during the early months of the pandemic and designed to solicit the views of small businesses, among other community stakeholders, “on issues related to our monetary policy goals.” By Garry Boulard
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One of the oldest observatories in the country--and with upwards of 85,000 visitors a year, and one of the most popular--has secured zoning approval from the Flagstaff Planning & Zoning Commission for a new construction project. The Lowell Observatory wants to build a nearly 40,000 square foot structure, which will be known as the Astronomy Discovery Center. That building will also include just over 7,800 square feet of roof top museum and library use. The new structure, to be built on some 600 mostly vacant acres to the west of the observatory will, according to city documents, house an immersive large screen theater, an exhibit hall, an atrium, combined meeting room and banquet areas, and both a café and gift shop, among other features. The designer for the new center is the Flagstaff-based Johnson Walzer Associates. Site development for the project will include the extension of a service drive and public entry drive; as well as the building of new water, sewer, gas, and communications lines. Members of the planning and zoning commission voted to approve the observatory’s request for a conditional use permit. It is thought that once work on the Astronomy Discovery Center is completed, the observatory’s Steele Visitor Center, which currently hosts many of the events intended for the new center, will be repurposed for conference and classroom use. Work on the estimated $37 million project is expected to begin later this year, with a 2023 completion date. The Lowell Observatory was opened in 1894 and designated by Time magazine in 2011 as one of the “world’s 100 most important places.” By Garry Boulard A vacant 2.7-acre site in a residential neighborhood that was once home to an elementary school in Roswell may be transformed into a new public park. Members of the Roswell City Council have voted in support of a project that would be built at 2301 S. Virginia Ave, with initial work seeing the installation of an irrigation system. An earlier vote in May by the city’s General Services Committee also approved the project. The project, to be undertaken by the City of Roswell’s Parks and Recreation Department, will also include construction of a canopy and a handful of both benches, tables, and playground sets. The site was formerly the home of the Chisum Elementary School which was closed in 2005 due to a declining enrollment. It was subsequently demolished. In 2017, the City of Roswell purchased the site with the intention of eventually building a park there. Funding to the tune of $400,000 to plan, design, and build the new park will come partly from the state’s Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan. City officials say the next step in making the park reality will come in soliciting public input on what the park should include and look like. By Garry Boulard A full year and more of Covid-19 prompted the cancellation of a number of architectural projects, but also, according to a just-released report from the American Institute of Architects, opened up new business opportunities for certain firms, depending upon their design focus. The report, Business Opportunities & Sustainability Trends Amidst a Pandemic, indicates that overall, the pandemic’s impact on both commercial and institutional nonresidential projects was negative. But at the same time, reflecting a 2020 boom in home building, the demand for architectural services on single-family home projects increased. The report was done in conjunction with the Los Angeles-based Oldcastle Building Envelope, a company specializing in wall, storefront and entrances designs. While clients were not particularly interested in sustainability issue last year, the report notes, architects working on such projects were also not negatively impacted during the covid outbreak and economic shutdown. In fact, the report indicates that nearly 80% of surveyed architects said they have been successful in finding clients who were interested in healthy buildings issues. In a statement, Robert Ivey, chief executive officer of the American Institute of Architects, said the report indicates that “growing concerns over building design from the pandemic and public awareness will continue to drive the refurbishment, expansion, and remodeling markets throughout 2021.” Ivey added that “as the end of the Covid-19 crisis comes slowly into view, it is clear that the pandemic-induced recession created two contrasting economic realities: a strong residential market and a weakened nonresidential market.” In a separate finding, the AIA has just released its Architecture Billings Index for May showing new projects accounting for 58.5 on the index (with any score above 50 indicating an increase in billings). Those numbers suggest a post-pandemic recovery in the industry: last year at this time, the same index came in at 32.0. By Garry Boulard A Denver development company is proposing a project that will see the construction of up to 1,000 new housing units and just over 400,000 square feet of office space. Confluent Development wants the project to go up on a 10-acre site in the Diamond Hill neighborhood, an area of both industrial and apartment developments about a mile to the northwest of downtown Denver. As proposed, the project will see the construction of a structure housing 569 multifamily units and nearly 45,000 square feet of retail space. A second building will house 451 units and just under 11,000 square feet of retail space. Two other buildings on the site will comprise around 411,000 square feet, with plans for the larger site including a central plaza and community hub. Confluent Development specializes in mixed-use, senior living, office and industrial development with projects in some 23 states now totaling more than 10 million square feet. The company earlier this spring began work on a nearly 240,000 square foot infill industrial project at 9575 East 40th Avenue in what is called the Center Park Business Center park. By Garry Boulard A State of Texas independent agency designed to conduct hearings and fact-finding on licensing matters, among other issues, has agreed to hear a challenge to the construction of a new proposed gas plant. The El Paso Electric company has proposed construction of a 228 megawatt natural gas replacement unit that will go up on the northeast side of El Paso on a 175-acre site near Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. In a statement, Kelly Tomblin, chief executive officer of El Paso Electric, said the new plant, called Newman Unit 6, is designed to replace three natural gas facilities built more than sixty years ago, and will “use less natural gas, decrease water usage by 600 million gallons per year, and improve system reliability.” Last fall members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality gave their approval to the project, as did the Public Utility Commission of Texas. But now two environmental groups long opposed to the project have been granted a hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings relating specifically to the Environmental Quality Commission’s actions. Administrative Law Judge Rebecca Smith has ruled that both the Sierra Club and Chaparral Community Coalition for Helping the Environment have standing to challenge the environmental commission’s decision. Smith also tasked the two groups, along with El Paso Electric, to come to an agreement upon a date for the hearing. El Paso Electric has earlier said that it wants work to begin on the Newman Unit 6 plant by late 2021 with an eye to making the facility fully operational in 2023. By Garry Boulard Up to 83% of developers in a new survey say they have had to delay multifamily construction projects due to permitting issues.
The survey, done by the National Multifamily Housing Council, also shows an increasing number of respondents, at 56%, contending that projects were delayed because they were not economically feasible, an increase from 30% who indicated a similar trend earlier this year. In a statement, Doug Bibby, president of the Washington-based National Multifamily Housing Council, said the survey results reveal the “deep challenges that builders and developers are facing as the economy continues to recover from the depths of the pandemic.” Continued Bibby: “While we are encouraged by the overall prospects for the industry, skyrocketing construction costs and a lack of available labor makes it increasingly difficult and expensive for apartment homes to be built.” And that trend, adds Bibby, is only “worsening the affordability challenges facing communities across the country over the long term.” The survey also indicates that 100% of respondents have experienced price increases in materials, with 86% saying they had been impacted by a lack of materials. Although lumber prices have very recently been on a decided downward slide, respondents to the survey said that as of earlier this year those prices have remained high, prompting contractors to re-price projects or make modifications to their projects. Besides the price of lumber, respondents additionally said they were burdened by a lack of steel and copper availability, while also reporting shortages in drywall insulation, and cabinets and countertops. By Garry Boulard A move is on to repurpose a large tissue manufacturing facility in downtown Flagstaff into new retail space. The SCA Tissue factory, located on a 12-acre site at 1600 E. Butler Avenue, was closed down by the SCA company in mid-2017 as part of a strategic plan. Specializing in the manufacture of recycled towels, tissues, and napkin products, the Sundsvall, Sweden-based SCA, otherwise known as Svenska Cellulosa AB, made the decision to end production at the Flagstaff facility when it purchased another paper company and ended up with excess production capacity. Now the Reich Brothers company of New York has announced plans to build commercial space at the Butler Avenue site, space that will be partially occupied by a Kohl’s department store outlet. The Reich Brothers company specializes in acquiring and repurposing manufacturing and distribution facilities. The company currently has more than 10 million square feet of commercial real estate under management. It is expected that the repurposing project will result in around 77,000 square feet of new commercial, restaurant, and retail space, along with 50,000 square feet for light industrial use at the Butler Avenue facility, which was built in 1968. The repurposing project will also include new landscaping and lighting. Of that total site facility square footage, Kohl’s will comprise around 58,100 square feet. The three-phrase repurposing project has now received the approval of the Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission. By Garry Boulard A project designed to increase pier accessibility in a state park in Colorado is receiving just over $23,500 in funding from a popular state grants program. The Stalker Lake State Wildlife Area in northeast Colorado is getting the support from the Great Outdoors Colorado program, working in conjunction with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department. The project will see the construction of a concrete walkway that will lead to a fishing pier on the Stalker Lake’s south shore. As it now stands, wheelchair accessible fishing is only available at the top of a concrete dam that is part of the lake. The grant will fund not only the walkway but also a shade shelter as well as a new parking area. The Stalker Lake project is one of a handful of projects being recognized by the two agencies not only for promoting outdoor activity, but also adopting innovative solutions to park facility challenges. A beautification project in the Jackson Lake State Park in Orchard City has secured nearly $24,000 in grant funding for new signage. A total of 260 new markers composed of recycled materials will be installed across the park’s spacious campgrounds, with information printed in multiple languages. A new ice rink is set to be built at the Yampa River State Park in the town of Hayden. The project, receiving some $12,340 in grant funding, will replace the current makeshift rink made up largely of wooden frames. If all goes according to plans, the new rink will be built on one of the park’s parking lots and should be ready for skaters late this year. A unique program in its design, the Great Outdoors Colorado annually uses a portion of proceeds for the Colorado Lottery for any number of park infrastructure projects. In the last three decades the program has funded more than 5,300 individual projects across the state. By Garry Boulard After steady and unprecedented increases since the spring of 2020, the price of lumber is finally going down. Way down. According to various sources, overall prices have dropped more than 40% in the last month, at the very time that the country’s sawmills have decided to ramp up production. That 40% drop is regarded as the largest decline in the history of the industry. The framing composite index produced by the pricing service Random Lengths shows on-the-spot sales dropping by $122 to $1,324. “The pullback came just six weeks after the index rose $124 during the first week of May, its most on record,” notes the Wall Street Journal. Mills have “buzzed back to life in a rush to sell wood for prices few would have imagined possible a couple of years ago,” the New York Times is reporting, in a move greatly contributing to an increase in national supply. The sudden increase in sawmill production has brought the industry to a 13-year high. From the other end, the demand for lumber has decidedly decreased with new home construction of by 8.8% according to the National Association of Home Builders, and home improvement sales off by 8.1% between March and May. The overall price decline, according to analysts, is good news for the construction industry because it most likely means a coming end to both supply chain issues as well as panic buying. By Garry Boulard |
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