Construction on a new seven-story apartment complex in downtown Denver is set to go up on the current site of a Ramada by Wyndham hotel. The San Antonio-based Kairoi Residential has purchased the site, with plans to first demolish the 3-story hotel in order to make way for the new apartment project. That project will see the building of 334 apartment units, along with around 6,000 square feet of retail space, at the nearly 2-acre site located at 1150 E. Colfax Avenue. Plans also call for parking on two levels. The property was formerly the site of the Heart O’ Denver Motor Hotel whose Tiki Lounge was known for its wide array of Polynesian cocktails. Last year the Kairoi company built the Park 17 luxury apartment complex on E. 17th Street in Denver. Specializing primarily in residential projects, Kairoi builds and oversees developments primarily in Texas, but also in Arizona and Colorado. Although a construction schedule for the new Denver apartment complex has not been announced, it was earlier estimated that it would probably take between 24 and 30 months to complete the project. By Garry Boulard
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The Government Accountability Office has just issued an opinion declaring that President Biden was within his rights earlier this year when he called a halt to all current and future border wall funding. The GAO describes the President’s decision as a delay, but not a funds impoundment. Congress had earlier appropriated funds to the Department of Homeland Security specifically for building either fencing or a barrier system along the U.S./Mexico border. In calling for a pause in the project, the President was also ordering a pause in the obligation of funding for the wall’s construction. According to the GAO, both the Homeland Security department and the Office of Management and Budget have demonstrated that delaying the project was needed to “perform environmental reviews and consult with various stakeholders.” In other words, Biden’s order did not comprise an illegal stoppage of some $1.4 billion in funding for the wall project previously approved by Congress. Last week the White House announced that more than $2 billion that was diverted from military construction projects by President Trump to be used to build the border wall will now be re-routed to those projects. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has announced a plan to build a wall for the Texas part of the border with Mexico. Although Abbot has not yet provided a construction schedule for a Texas wall, he said he would spearhead an effort to raise funds throughout the country to pay for the project. By Garry Boulard Work could begin later this year on the construction of a new $134 million medical facility in northern Glendale, Arizona. Phoenix’s Children Hospital says it wants to build a new facility in the growing city that will house up to two dozen inpatient beds, six operating rooms, and 2 minor procedure rooms. The project, which will go up in the city’s Abrazo Arrowhead Campus near 67th Avenue and Union Hills Drive, will also include a medical office building measuring some 45,000 square feet that will provide cardiology, neurology, oncology and orthopedic services. Founded in 1980, the Phoenix Children’s Hospital comprises one of the largest pediatric health systems in the country. Besides its 381-bed location in Phoenix, the hospital has urgent and specialty care service facilities in half a dozen other Arizona cities including Flagstaff and Tucson. Earlier this year Phoenix Children’s announced plans to build a new freestanding emergency department and multi-specialty clinic in Avondale. That project at 1665 N. Avondale Boulevard is expected to be completed in early 2023. In a statement, Robert Meyer, chief executive officer of Phoenix’s Children, said the decision to build a new hospital in Glendale was partly in response to the city’s population boom, which he said, “has spiked the demand for pediatric health care services.” If all goes as expected, work on the new Glendale hospital will be completed by the spring of 2024. By Garry Boulard A move to build a new rail line in the Front Range of Colorado has taken a significant step forward. Members of the Colorado State Legislature have voted in favor of a bill creating the Front Range Passenger Rail District as a necessary preliminary toward the construction of what is estimated to be a $2.5 billion project. As envisioned, the new route would travel parallel to the north-to-south Interstate 25, serving as a passenger alternative in the fastest-growing part of the state, and could run from Fort Collins in the north to Pueblo in the south. Supporters of the idea say President Biden’s proposal to spend up to $80 billion in rail expansion and improvements as part of his infrastructure bill could also partially spur the construction of the Front Range line. As stated in the bill approved by Colorado lawmakers, the new Front Range Passenger Rail District will be empowered to raise taxes, the revenues of which can be used to build the line. The district is expected to be officially established by early next year. By Garry Boulard A small public structure in downtown Tucson City that has been listed with the National Register of Historic Places for the last three decades may be demolished later this year.
The 142 square-foot Stone Avenue Underpass Pump House, at the corner of Stone Avenue and Sixth Street, stands as an obstacle to the big Downtown Links project, which is connecting the Barraza-Aviation Parkway to nearby Interstate 10. When work initially began on the larger Stone Avenue underpass project in 1935, the Arizona Republic made note of an “elaborate pumping station, containing two pumps,” designed to “clear the roadway of possible flood waters.” The pump house is solidly built, with reenforced concrete walls and roof. Its architecture is distinguished by a decorative arching pattern to the top of the structure’s exterior walls. The adjacent underpass itself was built to allow for two lanes of traffic, tunneling underneath a Southern Pacific rail line. Now officials with the City of Tucson Department of Transportation & Mobility say plans call for the construction of a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge that will be partly built at the site of the pump house. But, aware of the small structure’s historic significance, the City of Tucson has issued a notice offering anyone who is interested the chance to save the building by both purchasing and removing it. If no bids for the building are received or accepted by August, the Tucson City Council is expected to approve a motion to raze the structure. The larger Downtown Links project is set for completion during the first quarter of 2023 and includes the construction of four new bridges as well as multi-use paths. By Garry Boulard Big Santolina Residentail Community Project Could See Construction of Solar Farm and Landfill6/14/2021 The massive Santolina master planned community on the far southwest side of Albuquerque may eventually also be the home to both a solar farm and landfill.
Western Albuquerque Land Holdings, the company developing a project that is expected to see the construction of more than 38,000 homes, has petitioned the Bernalillo County Planning Commission to allow for up to 6,400 acres of the site to be devoted to a solar farm. The company also hopes to win approval for the creation of a landfill that would comprise some 300 acres. Both projects would be developed on the site via special-use permits. Plans for the 13,700-acre Santolina project were approved by members of the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners in the summer of 2015, after weeks of contentious debate sparked by opponents who said the development, with a town center and several business parks, would have a damaging impact on the metro area’s water supply. The project, which is expected to take up to 50 years to fully build out, has since been the subject of extended litigation. Western Albuquerque Land Holdings has previously been unsuccessful in trying to obtain approval from the planning commission to build the solar farm and landfill as a form of interim land use. The company had planned to make a presentation to the planning commission on June 2, but instead asked for a two-month deferral allowing it to reschedule for that body’s August 17 meeting. By Garry Boulard Plans are underway for the construction of a 24,000 square-foot recreation center in Pueblo County, Colorado that will include multi-use fields and community gardens. The project, which has been long in the talking stage, would specifically go up in the small St. Charles Mesa community, and as envisioned by county officials, would provide a home for the Colorado State University’s Pueblo campus as well as a local 4H Foundation chapter. As planned, the center will be built at the former 9-acre site of the El Pueblo Adolescent Treatment Center at 1 El Pueblo Ranch Way on land purchased by Pueblo County some 3 years ago. The mostly vacant site is located 4 miles to the southeast of downtown Pueblo. Partial funding for the project was secured in 2016 with the county’s 1A ballot initiative, which passed with 61% of the vote. But, according to reports, the additional funding needed to pay for the actual $3.5 million construction of the new facility will have to be found elsewhere. County officials are now contemplating issuing a Request for Proposals asking for ideas for center. By Garry Boulard |
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