A popular submarine sandwich chain has announced plans to open two new locations in Denver, part of an expansion plan that is taking the Westville, New Jersey-based company further into the West. Founded in 1992 and known for its wide variety of hoagie sandwiches served with seeded bread, as well as cheesesteaks and vegetarian options, the PrimoHoagies company currently has around one hundred stores, primarily located along the East Coast. But the company, with annual revenues in excess of $56 million, has been increasingly expanding its footprint with new stores in South Carolina and Florida. In January, the chain announced it was opening eight new Texas locations, including one in Houston. According to the publication Franchising Today, the “company’s goal is to open between 10 to 30 new franchises per year.” Ultimately, PrimoHoagies wants to open five new stores in Colorado, with the first slated to begin operations at the end of this summer, and the other four to be announced later. The initial Denver store is slated for 6200 Leetsdale Drive, on the southeast side of the city. The company’s stores generally measure around 1,600 square feet and include seating space for as many as two dozen patrons. By Garry Boulard
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Plans are underway for the construction of a series of townhomes on the south side of Grand Junction that will go up in the section of the city known as the Riverfront at Dos Rios. The project, called Crawford Row, will see the construction of 3-story homes, housing either three or four bedrooms each, gourmet kitchens, and balconies. Floor plans for the townhomes will range from either 16 feet in width or 20 feet. The larger Riverfront at Dos Rios is a 58-acre mixed use site that city officials have spent years promoting as a vibrant combined open space, commercial, and light industrial development. It includes access to trail systems as well as access to the Colorado River. The Crawford Row project will ultimately see the construction of 56 townhomes that will also include private outdoor space and two-car garages. Crawford Row is named in honor of brothers George, J.A.K., and Thomas Crawford, three Grand Junction pioneers who owned a brick factory in the city in the late 19th century. The Riverfront at Dos Rios project began in earnest in 1990 when the City of Grand Junction purchased the site, which was formerly a landfill. Work at the site has already seen the building of a $120,000 bike park called the Dos Rios Bike Playground. By Garry Boulard A one-time state administrative office building in Taos may soon be demolished to make way for a new housing development. The one-story Mary Medina Building is located at 812 Gusdorf Road and is named after long-time Taos resident and artist Mary Medina. It was built in 1978 and regarded at the time as the latest in energy efficiency with its series of passive solar roof peaks. The 12,200 square foot building formerly housed offices belonging to the Department of Human Services, which ceased operations in the structure in 2004. In 2010 the structure was deeded to Taos by the state’s General Services Department. Since then, the building has remained vacant and a victim to vandalism. A plan to turn it into the headquarters of the city’s police department became reality. Now a new plan is being discussed that would see the structure leveled with the idea of then building new affordable housing at the site. In a presentation to the Taos Town Council, Rick Bellis, town manager, discussed the issuance of a Request for Proposals to take on the project. That RFP was subsequently approved by the council. The building is located just a little over a mile to the south of downtown Taos, in a neighborhood of industrial facilities and some new housing. By Garry Boulard Housing starts saw a substantial decrease of 14% last month, according to the most recent statistics compiled by the Census Bureau. The numbers were also off by 3.5% when compared with where things stood a year ago in May of 2021. The Census Bureau report additionally notes that “privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May” stood at just under 1.7 million, compared with April at 1.8 million, for an overall 7% decline. While single-family starts saw a noted decline of 9.2% between April and May, the multi-family starts were down a significant 27% during that same time period. Meanwhile, private sector housing completions in May came in at around 1.5 million. That number, notes the Census Bureau in its summary of recent trends, is “9.1% above the revised April estimate” of 1.3 million. Year-to-year, housing completions were up by 9.3%. In a statement, Jerry Konter, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said, Single-family home building is slowing as the impacts of higher interest rates reduce housing affordability.” Konter added that an important part of the equation is the rising cost of construction, noting that “residential construction materials are up 19% from a year ago.” By Garry Boulard Nearly 6 years after construction of a massive multipurpose arena in El Paso was proposed, city officials and others are trying to find a way to keep the controversial project on track. The proposed $180 million Multipurpose Cultural and Performing Arts Center was set to be funded through Quality of Life bonds approved by El Paso voters in 2012. But the project ran into immediate resistance from community activists and preservationists because it would have required the demolition of the historic Duranguito neighborhood. One and two-story structures in that neighborhood date back to the mid-19th century. A series of lawsuits, heard at various state and district court levels, have prevented any demolition work in the area, while, at the same time, the projected cost for the area has steadily increased to as much as $220 million and more. Now a steering committee has been established to serve as a precursor to a new feasibility study looking at all the pros and cons of the project. That feasibility study is being spearheaded by the M. Arthur Gensler & Associations, an architecture and design firm based in San Francisco. As announced, the committee’s membership is made up of various neighborhood, community, and business groups tasked with eliciting a variety of views on the project. The findings of the steering committee are expected to be presented to the El Paso City Council sometime early next year. By Garry Boulard Plans are now fully underway for the development of a two-story life sciences and technology building in Boulder that will provide working space for biotech companies. The project, as envisioned by the Conscience Bay Company, a real estate investment and development firm, will replace a one-story existing structure at 3825 Walnut Street in an area of mostly office and warehouse facilities. Sitting on a just over 5-acre site, what is being called the Ridgeway Science & Tech will be built to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification and will uniquely include a solar canopy shading a parking lot, as well as a rain and pollinator garden. Project designer is Stantec, a global design firm based in Edmonton, Canada. According to Conscience Bay officials, the new Boulder project is intended to respond to a fast-growing need for more life sciences research and development and laboratory space, particularly in the booming north central part of Colorado. Conscience Bay, based in Boulder, specializes in both office and industrial projects, as well as farm and ranch development. A site review plan for the Walnut Street project is scheduled to be submitted to the City of Boulder by next spring, with actual construction starting by the summer of 2024. By Garry Boulard Up to $700 million has now been allocated for a wide variety of tribal land water wells and on-site wastewater disposal systems work. The funding, to be spent between now and 2026, is going to the Indian Health Service Sanitation Facilities Construction Program and is part of a larger $3.5 billion to be spent on such projects secured through last year’s Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act. By design, the funding will pay for the construction and upgrading of wells and disposal systems serving up to 71,000 Native American homes. Some $581 million will go for Tier 1 projects where the design and engineering work has been completed. In a statement, Xavier Becerra, the secretary of Health and Human Services, noted that the investment “is in response to the longstanding recommendations of tribal leaders shared in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Indian Health Service.” The funding will include nearly $12 million for wastewater improvements at the Acoma Pueblo’s McCarty’s Village in New Mexico; $48 million for a cast iron water pipe replacement project with the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian tribes in Colorado; and $23 million for a booster extension in Arizona’s Coalmine Canyon, on the border of the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe, among dozens of other projects. Arizona Senate Mark Kelly, also in a statement, noted that he had seen “firsthand the incredible impact of improved water and wastewater systems on tribal communities, and now, thanks to our bipartisan infrastructure law, even more families and businesses can benefit from investments in these shovel-ready projects.” By Garry Boulard A just over 78,300 square-foot industrial building that has been the home to the well-known Royal White Cement company on the southeast side of Glendale, Arizona is on the market for $10.2 million. Built in 1952, the barn-like structure is located at 5855 North 51st Avenue and sits on a 3.3-acre site in an industrial neighborhood. The building, which includes dock loading facilities, a warehouse height of 24 feet, two bathrooms, and office space, was for more than 40 years home to the Big Tin Shed, a company providing a wide variety of furniture. The Royal White Cement company moved into the building in the late summer of 2020. Based in Houston, the Royal White Cement company was launched in 1999 and specializes in a product called White Portland Cement, which is used for sidewalks, pavements, and bridges. The North 51st Avenue property is listed with Phoenix Commercial Brokers. By Garry Boulard Work could begin next spring on the construction of a new medical office building in Santa Fe. The project would go up some 8 miles to the southwest of downtown Santa Fe at 4000 Buckner Road on currently vacant land. As proposed by the developer, the Walnut Creek, California-based Meridian Property Company, the building would be three stories in height and measure around 95,000 square feet. Although Meridian is acquiring just over 18 acres on Buckner to build the facility, the office building is expected to only comprise around 9 acres, with the rest of the site possibly being given over to commercial development in the distant future. Details regarding the project are expected to be presented to the Santa Fe Planning Commission sometime this fall. If that body signals its approval and work launches early next year, the first phase of the building could be completed by the end of 2024. Meridian is a full-service real estate developer with an emphasis on healthcare and office projects primarily in California, but also Arizona and Nevada. In April, it sold for just under $18 million the Grunow Memorial Medical Center it had earlier renovated in Phoenix. By Garry Boulard Despite supply chain challengers and other complications, a solid 40% of small businesses in a new survey say they are regularly exporting goods and services. Published by the National Small Business Association, the 2022 Small Business Exporting Survey reveals that for most respondents, exporting remains only a segment of their business, although a significant 11% said it comprised more than half of their sales. An additional 14% said such sales make up anywhere from 21 to 50% of their sales. Not only did 40% of the respondents indicate they are selling to a customer outside the U.S., but 53% said they would be interested in doing so. In a summation accompanying the survey results, which was done in conjunction with the Export-Import Bank of the United States, it was noted that “small businesses today are thinking more globally and are seeking more international business opportunities.” The survey also notes that small business exporting is a relatively recent thing, with 39% of respondents saying they have sold goods and services overseas only in the last five years. A smaller group, at 14%, said they had done so in the last 6 to 10 years. Overwhelmingly, most respondents were exporting goods and serves to Canada, followed by the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Mexico. Respondents revealed that they were doing less exporting with Asian countries most frequently associated in the public mind with trade. Japan, for example, represented only 26% of the countries receiving small business goods, followed by China at 23% and Korea at 18%. The report added that while small businesses are interested in increasing the export side of their portfolios, they don’t know how, indicating a need for the kind of “export-related assistance and education” that can be provided through such agencies as the Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, and the Export-Import Bank. By Garry Boulard |
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