A series of long-planned community halls may see construction soon in different locations of Mesa County, Colorado. Members of the Mesa County Board of Commissioners have given their approval to a plan that will see the building of at least four facilities, all designed to house community events, meetings, and classes. As currently planned, the structures will be built in the towns of Clifton, De Beque, Mack Loma, and Whitewater. The towns vary in population from around 500 people in De Beque to 21,000 in Clifton, and have traditionally lacked such community facility spaces. What is being called the Community Halls Project is expected to see actual work beginning in Clifton and De Beque next spring. The design process for those two centers is already underway. Funding for the project is coming from revenue generated by a sales tax that was approved by Mesa County voters in 1981. County officials have said that while the exact size and dimensions of the new halls have not yet been determined, they will generally be developed along the lines of a community hall earlier built in the town of Mesa, which includes a library, health clinic, and kitchen, among other amenities. It is expected that it will cost around $8 million to build all four of the planned new Mesa County community halls. By Garry Boulard
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An existing public school administration building in downtown Durango may be upgraded and repurposed as a new office and station for the city’s fire department. Officials with the Durango Fire Protection District say that they want to purchase a 4.3-acre site in the 1200 block of E. 12th Street, with the idea of demolishing a 1960s-era high school, while upgrading the next-door historic administration building. That latter structure is a three-story brick building that was opened in 1917 and served as a high school until 1976 when it became the Durango School District’s headquarters. As proposed, the project would cost around $15 million for the demolition of the high school and repurposing and remodeling of the administration building. That remodeling would likely see new space carved out for the fire department’s emergency services center, with the building’s spacious auditorium used for training sessions. The Durango School District has entered into a letter of intent with the Durango Fire Protection District, stipulating, in part, that the historic administration building be both preserved and maintained. The Durango Fire Protection District’s current downtown station, at 1235 Camino Del Rio, has a number of structural issues, lacks adequate space, and was never intended to be a permanent location for the fire department. While nothing between the fire district and the school district has been finalized, it is expected that once that transaction is completed, it will take up to 18 months to arrive at a design for the renovation of the administration building. The building, notable for its terra cotta trim, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. By Garry Boulard A new industry survey of more than five hundred construction professionals nationally reveals that more than half in the last year have used new project management software.
The flip side of the survey, conducted by the Software Advice company, reveals that 47% of the small construction businesses questioned are still awaiting to use the new technology. Despite that figure, an analysis of the survey asserts that construction companies that have embraced the new technology have generally found it to be the “most cost effective and efficient way” of performing core business functions. That new technology is proving most applicable, according to the survey, in project management, job costing, and estimating functions. In addition, the survey says that 53% of respondents are now using construction-specific software; followed by 48% who rely upon construction estimating software. A smaller 32% say they are using online meeting software, with 20% using website software. Business prospects for small construction companies appeared to play a minimal role in software purchase decisions, with 57% of companies anticipating a decrease in revenue for 2021 indicating that they have made such a purchase. The figure was the same for businesses anticipating an increase in revenue this year. Based in Austin, Software Advice provides research for construction companies, among other industries. By Garry Boulard Plans have advanced for the construction of an operations hub that will serve a growing transit system in Bullhead City, Arizona. Members of the Bullhead Area Transit System Commission have voted in favor of building the facility at the intersection of Hoppas Drive and Alona’s Way, on the southwest side of the city. The project has been long in the talking stage, with the City of Bullhead some 7 years ago receiving a Federal Transit Administration grant to fund construction of the facility. Since then, execution of the project has been delayed for a number of reasons, including the Covid-19 outbreak. But now the effort has been given new impetus with a vote by the Bullhead City Council authorizing the city to apply for $350,000 in capital funds for the design of the facility. The council has also given its approval to having the station built at the Hoppas Drive and Alona’s Way location. As planned, the new building will include vehicle storage space, with a series of exterior service bays to be used for work on the buses. According to city documents, the facility will also “provide office space for transit administration and customer service staff.” The Bullhead Area Transit System, popularly known by the acronym BATS, was established in the year 2000 and provides transportation to more than 180,000 people a year. It is owned by the City of Bullhead. By Garry Boulard A new and large apartment complex, which will include around 14,000 square feet of commercial space, is slated to go up in downtown Denver. The project, called Society Denver, will see the construction of a 12-story building housing some 600 apartments. Plans for the project at 123 Speer Boulevard have not been without some controversy. The site is the long-time home to the ABC network affiliate KMGH, operating its studios and offices in a 5-story building. That structure, according to local preservationists, is one of the few examples in Denver of the Brutalist architectural style so popular in the 1950s and 60s. Brutalist buildings are known for their massive, block-like appearances and have been either praised for expanding the boundaries of mostly government office architecture or condemned as visually forbidding. In May members of the Denver City Council turned down a move to designate the structure as a local landmark. That decision has now cleared the way for the New York-based Property Markets Group, in a joint venture with Greybrook Realty Partners, to announce plans for the new apartment complex, which will require the demolition of the KMGH building. Greybrook is based in Toronto. The partnership, after purchasing the building and site for $35 million, anticipate a two-phase construction project. Plans additionally call for the building of fitness studios, communal kitchens, and coworking spaces. Despite the dispute over preserving the KMGH building, the Property Markets Group has announced that it will work with a local neighborhood group called Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods as the project takes form. In a news release, Property Markets said it wanted to “ensure the development suits the surrounding neighborhood and community needs.” By Garry Boulard The big student housing construction boom of the last decade, fed in part by the large number of college-age Millennial Generation students born between 1981 and 1996, may be coming to an end. But experts in the field say opportunities exist for yet more new student housing, particularly for Generation Z students born between 1997 and 2012, if only on a smaller scale. According to a National Multifamily Housing Council report, enrollments at the nation’s colleges and universities have been generally, if marginally, decreasing for about 3 years now. The report, The Future of U.S. Student Housing Demand, contends that while enrollments nationally are expected to continue their decline in the next few years, developers specializing in niche projects should have plenty of work. The report contends that most of the new student housing will be seen at public four-year schools, with an estimated demand for around 448,000 new beds. Student housing demand at public two-year schools between now and the year 2031 will likely grow by around 79,000 beds. Affordability is expected to be a major factor in future student housing projects, primarily because the “growth segments of student demographics are from lower-income segments.” An additional factor: the ongoing reduction in government funding to many universities, which has, in turn, prompted schools to raise tuitions. Those raised tuitions, says the report, are “putting pressure on student budgets for housing.” In a news release, Mark Obrinsky, chief economist with the National Multifamily Housing Council, also noted that many universities in the last year have decided to reduce the amount of on-campus housing. But he added that those same schools “may pursue more public-private housing programs” to replace the on-campus housing model. By Garry Boulard Plans are underway for the construction of up to 65 new homes off a creek and near a rural village to the southeast of Santa Fe.
A Santa Fe businessman has purchased around 1,200 acres near the Cow Creek, eight miles to the east of the village of Pecos, with the idea of building the residences in phases over a period of two decades, with the first 19 to go up in the next four years. The two to three-bedroom houses will be built on 2 to 7-acre sites, with water well and septic system connections. The project has sparked some opposition among area residents who have expressed concerns that the development will attract too much traffic in a decidedly rural part of the state, while also putting pressure on the area’s groundwater supply. In response, project owner and developer Gerald Peters has maintained that his goal is to preserve the waters of the wooded Cow Creek, which is a tributary to the Pecos River. In a statement to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Peters asserted that the proposed development “does not threaten the quality of lifestyle or the environment that currently exists.” An environmental analysis is currently underway regarding the project, which is also expected to be the subject of an upcoming Miguel County Zoning Commission. By Garry Boulard In a move to continue development and construction of a 7-acre downtown Albuquerque site, the leaders and thinkers behind an ongoing business innovation hub are updating its master plan. The public-private Innovate ABQ, at the corner of Central Avenue and Broadway Boulevard NE, was launched more than 5 years ago and has since seen the construction of a number of structures including the Lobo Rainforest Building, and a 13,000 square foot community center that belongs to Central New Mexico Community College. From the start, the project’s goal, besides fostering economic development, has been to build compact, technically-wired structures on a campus dominated by walkable space. At the same time, Innovate ABQ has been challenged with what to do with perhaps the most visible structure at the site, the 80 year-old former First Baptist Church, a 71,000 square -foot brick building that includes a 400-seat chapel. According to reports, the one-time church may now be redeveloped over time in phases. Meanwhile, the larger site may be expected to see the building of 4 to 5-story multi-tenant structures. Those structures, notes the Albuquerque Journal, “would be scaled to need, with perhaps 5,000 square-foot spaces created for different tenants rather than a huge, 100,000 square-foot facility for one agency or institution.” Plans are also emphasizing the need for the site to be more of an integral part of City of Albuquerque’s efforts to develop a kind of downtown hub with retail and entertainment space on the west side of the Innovate ABQ site. The updated master plan for the site is being handled by the internationally known architectural firm of Perkins & Will, which put together the original master plan in 2015. Initially, it was thought that the vast majority of new development and construction at the site would be completed by 2024. By Garry Boulard The price that contractors say they would charge to tackle a building project has seen a marginal increase over May of this year and a more significant increase when compared with June of last year.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the producer price index for nonresidential projects was up by 0.4% over May, and 2.4% over June of 2020, during the first months of the pandemic. At the same time, that same index measuring material costs saw a 3.8% jump since May and a large 26.3% over June of last year. The increases, in fact, for most materials were for the most part all in the double-digit category, with insulation materials up by 10%, plastic construction products by 22%, aluminum mill shapes seeing a 33% rise; and steel mill products increased by 88%. Two categories saw historic triple-digit increases in the last 12 months: lumber and plywood, up by 101%, and diesel fuel, with an increase of 127%. Looking at all industries, the Labor Statistics Bureau noted a 5.5% increase in prices, which it characterized as the “largest advance since 12-month data were first calculated in August 2014.” By Garry Boulard The expanding Tucson International Airport is expected to see a series of infrastructure upgrades and improvements, largely supported through new funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. Those upgrades are needed in order for the airport to meet current FAA safety standards. Located at 7250 S. Tucson Boulevard, the airport is receiving an $18.5 million grant for an ongoing, multi-phase and facility-wide modernization effort. The work is part of the airport’s larger Airfield Safety Enhancement project, an ongoing $218 million effort that also includes the installation of new aircraft guidance systems. That funding is expected to pay as well for security upgrades, the expansion of several taxiways, and construction of a second full-length runway. That runway, according to airport officials, is expected to support an increase in commercial flights out of Tucson. The new work is said to be the largest of its kind in the history of the Tucson fcility, which was opened as a commercial airport in 1948. A long-range effort - construction on all of the airport projects - is targeted for completion by early 2025. By Garry Boulard |
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