Plans are moving forward for the creation of a new executive office building that will belong to the State of New Mexico and go up in downtown Santa Fe. The project has been long discussed by state leaders and officials and will cost around $194 million to build. Earlier this year, state lawmakers approved around $85 million in capital outlay and general fund spending for the project. The idea of building a new administrative structure was given a green light in 2021 by members of the Capitol Buildings Planning Commission who viewed the proposal as an economy move, noting that it would ultimately save the state money by housing several agencies under one roof. The commission is composed of state legislators and cabinet members. Currently, the state is spending upwards of $10 million annually leasing more than 500,000 square feet of space in various locations in Santa Fe. Officials also note that having state employees in a new space will make it easier to renovate other office space in need of upgrading. The new building would go up near the intersection of Don Gaspar Avenue and S. Capitol Street, across the street from the State Capitol. Initial descriptions of the structure see it as having two floors, measuring around 192,000 square feet. Before any construction could begin, four one-story residential structures would have to be demolished. Because those structures are historic casitas and part of the officially designated Santa Fe Historic District, the demolition would need city approval. That approval would most likely not come until later this year. If all goes as planned after that, the demolition will occur next summer, with a Request for Proposals for the construction of the new building issued in June 2024. By Garry Boulard
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In a move designed to address a rapid increase in inflation, the Federal Reserve has announced that it is raising interest rates by 0.75%. That is the largest hike in rates since 1994, when President Bill Clinton was still in his first term. In a press conference, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell remarked that “inflation is much too high, and we understand the hardship it is causing, and we’re moving expeditiously to bring it back down.” The Chairman continued: “Inflation remains well above our longer-run goal of 2%. Over the 12 months ending in March, total Personal Consumption Expenditures prices rose 6.6%; excluding the volatile food and energy categories.” Powell added: “Aggregate demand is strong, and bottlenecks and supply constraints are limiting how quickly production can respond. Disruptions to supply have been larger, and longer lasting than anticipated, and price pressures have spread to a broader range of goods and services.” Wall Street responded positively to Powell’s announcement, jumping around 303 points, after nearly a week of dormant activity. “Anchoring expectations has been a core part of the central bank’s approach over the last decade,” noted the Wall Street Journal in a report on the Fed action, adding that “volatile conditions are demanding flexibility.” Said the Financial Times: “The decision marks an abrupt pivot from the Fed’s previously telegraphed plans for a second consecutive 0.50 percentage point rate rise.” In his conference with reporters, Powell hinted that additional rate hikes may be in the making. “We will be looking for compelling evidence that inflation is moving down, consistent with inflation returning to 2%. We anticipate that ongoing rate increases will be appropriate.” By Garry Boulard A new industrial park is the offing for the industrial park-friendly city of Surprise, Arizona. The Dallas-based Mohr Capital has just announced its acquisition of just over 46 acres with a plan of building two sizable structures largely designed for distribution and manufacturing purposes. The two facilities, one measuring nearly 454,000 square feet and the other 250,500, will be part of the still-developing Summit Business Park at the intersection of Cactus Road and Dysart Road. Mohr Capital specializes in the funding of large office and industrial development properties. Earlier this year it was announced that Mohr had closed on upwards of $80 million in deals between late last year and early 2022. In a statement, Tom Theobald, senior vice-president for Mohr Capital, said the new Surprise development will “answer the needs of the growing community and new industries entering the West Valley submarket.” Work is expected to begin on the new Mohr facilities in Surprise later this summer, with a summer 2023 completion date. By Garry Boulard The City of Las Cruces has issued a Request for Qualifications to build an affordable housing project on a currently vacant 5-acre site. That site, at 1101 W. Amador Avenue, was formerly owned by the Albuquerque-based Brewer Oil Company. Last year the City of Las Cruces purchased the property for around $1.1 million. If the site, in a mostly industrial section of the city, is developed it would be a part of the larger Mesilla Valley Community of Hope campus, which is located two blocks away. That campus is dedicated to providing housing and shelter for those in need. As envisioned, the project could see the construction of one or two structures that would house anywhere from 60 to 150 rental units. According to the RFQ, development of the site would also include “appropriate programming and administrative space, as well as designated supportive services space.” The request is specifically looking for proposals from experienced Low Income Housing Tax Credit firms, in particularly those “experienced with mixed income and supportive housing” projects. Submission deadline for the RFQ is June 30. By Garry Boulard Contractors’ bid prices in May reached historic highs, according to a new report just issued by the Washington-based Associated General Contractors of America. That increase, says the AGC, is the result of the “soaring costs for materials and service” continuing to confront contractors nationally. Overall, the producer price index for nonresidential construction was up by nearly 2% in May, following an unprecedented 18.9% for the year to date. Meanwhile, what contractors say they would charge to build a given structure has increased by 0.4%, after an equally big 19.3% jump over the spring of 2021. In a statement, Ken Simonson, chief economist with the AGC, remarked: “After enduring more than a year of runaway increases in the cost of items needed to build projects, contractors have finally raised their bid prices by an equivalent amount.” Simonson added that the “runup in materials costs appears likely to continue to pressure contractors’ profit margins.” The largest year-to-year cost increases include diesel fuel, up by 84.9%; steel mill products and aluminum mill shapes, with increases of nearly 33% and 31.2% respectively; and paint, up by 31.6%. At the same time, plastic construction products have increased by just under 30%; while gypsum building materials have gone up nearly 24%. With trucking costs everywhere skyrocketing for a variety of different industries, it should be no surprise that the country’s builders have absorbed a 25.8% rise in such prices since the spring of 2021. Ultimately, says the AGC in a press release accompanying the report, “ongoing materials costs will continue to threaten the profit margins of many contractors.” “Higher construction prices run the risk of forcing public agencies and private developers to rethink planned projects,” remarked Stephen Sandherr, AGC chief executive officer. Sandherr added that federal officials need to remove remaining tariffs, support a competitive materials market, and “take every possible step to support a supply chain struggling to restart after the pandemic.” By Garry Boulard A nearly 13,000 square foot industrial building that has housed one of the most popular breweries in western Colorado is up for sale for $2.9 million. Built in 2013, the structure at 905 Struthers Avenue in Grand Junction, has long been the home to the Kannah Creek’s Edgewater Brewing Company. That building, on a 1.3-acre site, includes bar space for up to 60 people and a backroom with room enough for 100 people. Located in a defined Opportunity Zone, the structure also features a patio, as well as modern, high-tech brewing equipment. Listed with Transworld Commercial Real Estate, which is based in Littleton, the property is just off the banks of the Colorado River near the Amphitheater at Las Colonias Park. Breweries nationally took a hit during the early months of the Covid 19 outbreak, seeing a 75% decline in business. Up to 500 such establishments were closed by the end of 2020. There are currently nearly one hundred breweries nationally of various sizes listed for sale on the real estate site Loopnet. By Garry Boulard A rezoning proposal for a massive mixed-use development on the western side of the Greeley, Colorado has won the initial approval of the Greeley City Council. The Cheyenne, Wyoming-based Edwards Development, in a planned unit development proposal, wants to build what could be around 5,800 residential units on some 822 acres currently made up of farmland. The project, which will go up south of U.S. Route 34, east of Weld County Road 17, and to the west of Colorado State Highway 257, would also see the building of commercial and industrial space. The commercial and industrial portions of the project would be built near the roadways bordering the site. Edwards Development, which for more than four decades has been a subdivision developer, additionally plans to create designated open spaces and parks at the huge site as well as walking trails. It is expected that around 141 acres of the site will be given over to open spaces and parks. The residential units themselves are expected to be everything from single and multi-family structures, we well as duplexes and townhomes. According to city documents, the residential units will comprise 421 acres of the site. Plans for a school, which would be a part of the Johnstown-Milliken Re-5J School District, have also been announced for the site. The LAI Design Group, based in Englewood, has signed on as the architect and planner for the project, while the Lone Tree-based CWC Consulting Group is providing civil engineering and surveying services. An objection to the proposal has been raised by two oil and gas exploration companies claiming that there is a coal formation underneath the site in question. A second hearing by the city council is expected to be held in the months to come, with an emphasis on public input. If finally approved, the large development would be partly responding to Greeley and larger Weld County’s double-digit population growth in the last two decades. By Garry Boulard Congress may vote in weeks on a bill that will extend tax credits for employees on staff during the year of the Covid 19 outbreak. As scheduled, the Employee Retention Tax Credit Act will expire at the end of this calendar year. The legislation as originally passed as part of the larger Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act was signed into law by President Trump at the end of March 2020. The ERTCA legislation was designed to encourage, through tax incentives, both businesses and nonprofits to keep workers on the payroll, particularly during a period when tens of thousands of businesses across the country were laying off staff due to the pandemic. Various industry associations are urging Congress to extend the legislation, with the Associated Builders and Contractors noting its continued importance during a time when “many small businesses face the challenges of navigating a pandemic and ensuring their employees are compensated.” A joint letter sent to the Congressional leadership by such disparate groups as the Associated General Contractors of America, the American Staffing Association, and the American Rental Association, additionally notes that “the need for passage has only grown more dire as employers face ongoing supply chain disruptions and increasing inflation, making the costs of operating insurmountable in many cases.” The bill to keep the tax credit in place, otherwise known as HR 6161, is currently under review in the House Committee on Ways and Means. By Garry Boulard A new and modernistically designed building in Las Cruces housing a Dutch Bros coffee outlet is now on the market with an asking price of $2.2 million. Located at 3000 N. Main Street, the one-story structure measures just under 900 square feet and includes outdoor seating space, a double-lane drive-through, and interior kitchen space. Built on the north side of the city, the structure sits on a just under 1-acre site on a throughway populated with one-story buildings housing retail and offices. The property is listed with the Velocity Retail Group, which is based in Phoenix. Launched in Grants Pass, Oregon in 1992, the Dutch Bros. Coffee chain has enjoyed significant growth in recent years, with roughly 540 outlets and revenue last year in excess of $497 million. Most of the company’s stores are located along the West coast, with outlets now also in Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. The original Dutch Bros locations measured around 400 square feet, with more recent stores coming in at 950 square feet. By Garry Boulard Flying over a section of New Mexico that has seen more than 310,000 acres scorched by a wildfire, President Joe Biden said he is committed to using federal dollars to help affected areas recover. “I think we have a responsibility as a government to deal with the communities who are put in such jeopardy,” said Biden, who added: “And today I am announcing that the federal government is covering 100% of the cost.” Biden also said that he is pushing for passage of the Hermit’s Peak Fire Assistance Act, which will require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to absorb additional costs associated with the recovery effort. The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire started in mid-April and has to date destroyed upwards of 750 structures. Reports indicate that another more than 50 structures in various areas of the fire have been significantly damaged. More than 25,000 people in Mora and San Miguel counties have also been evacuated because of the fire. Meeting with state leaders, including Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Biden said federal funds will target the repair of water facilities, bridges, roads, and irrigation ditches damaged by the fire. “We have a responsibility to help this state recover, to help the families who have been here for centuries,” Biden remarked. If passed, the Hermit’s Peak Fire Assistance Act would establish a claims office for losses related to the fire; and will provide for assistances with mortgages and temporary living or relocation costs, among other things. The legislation is currently under review in the House Committee on the Judiciary. By Garry Boulard |
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