A new casino in southern New Mexico may be the next project to be undertaken by the Fort Sill Apache tribe. The tribe is currently working to complete a 10,000 square foot truck plaza in Akela, New Mexico, some 42 miles to the west of Las Cruces. What is being called the Chiricahua Plaza will, upon completion in late 2022, include several retail options, convenience store, shower and laundry facilities, and electric vehicle charging stations. The project is going up at 20885 Frontage Road, off Interstate 10, on previously vacant land. Now a proposal is being aired for the development of a casino that will house between 80 and 100 slot machines. The gaming facility will be located within an existing 5,800 square foot Fort Sill Apache building. An exact schedule for when the new casino, which will require state and federal approval, will be built has not yet been announced. The Fort Sill Apache Tribe is a Federally Recognized Native American Tribe with trust land in New Mexico located within its historic aboriginal lands. A public comment period on the casino proposal has a July 27th deadline. By Garry Boulard
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The just-released Consumer Price Index report shows overall prices increasing by a significant 9.1% over last year at this time, with the cost of several items in some cases seeing double-digit increases. In a release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics it was noted that the increase was “broad-based, with the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food being the target contributors.” The energy index was up by 7.5% over May, with the gasoline index rising by 11.2%. The food index was once again on the upside, although to a lesser degree with a 1.0% rise. The largest contributors to the index’s overall rise, said the CLS release, were the “indexes for shelter, used cars and trucks, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, and new vehicles.” Staples contributing to the food index increase included bakery products, up by 2.1%, flour, with an increase of 5.3%, and dairy and related products, up by 1.7%. The medical care index saw a modest increase of 0.7% in June, while the apparel index was only marginally higher at 0.8%. After a nearly 4% increase in May, the energy index saw another significant increase in June at 7.5%, with the index for natural gas up by 8.2%. Altogether, the energy index has increased by a very large 41.6% since June of 2021, with the gasoline index recording a 59.9% increase in the last twelve months. Construction input prices were up by 1.9% over May, but a larger 20.1% over a year ago. In a statement, Anirban Basu, chief economist with the Associated Builders and Contractors, said, “It’s no secret that contractors and their customers have been walloped by massive increases in construction materials prices.” But Basu also pointed out that with the possibility of a recession looming, some commodity prices are expected to decrease, noting that the price of oil per barrel has dropped to well under $100, from an earlier level of $120. Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors, said the latest Consumer Price Index numbers show that “consumer price inflation is the highest in over 40 years, and showed no sign of slowing down in June.” Yun noted that home prices have also been on the rise since 2021 and added that “r=ents rose by 6% from last year and are rising at 10% annualized rate.” Continued Yun: “Rents will continue to rise in the upcoming years.” In a statement, President Biden called the CPI reading “unacceptably high,” adding: “Tackling inflation is my top priority—we need to make more progress, more quickly, in getting price increases under control.” By Garry Boulard Plans have been submitted to the City of Denver for the construction of both a twelve-story residential structure and nine-story mixed-use office structure, all a part of the same project. The structures will go up at 1801 Market Street in the Lower Downtown section of the city and will see the creation of nearly 200,00 square feet of space in the taller building, which will also house 103 units, and just over 323,000 square feet in the nine-story building. Below grade parking will provide space for nearly 400 vehicles. The project belongs to the Elevation Development Group, which is based in Denver and specializes in both private real estate acquisition as well as overall development. Elevation Development purchased the site, which is currently a parking lot operated by the Laz Parking company, for $22 million in the fall of 2017. The site is four blocks to the south of the Denver Union Station. The company has served as the co-developer of the $16 million project, a 332,000 square foot, ten-story building at the corner of 16th and Market streets just blocks away from the 1801 Market Street project. The 16M building is made up of Class AA office space, ground floor retail, and four floors of luxury apartments. By Garry Boulard A growing development firm with offices in Albuquerque is launching the construction of a big speculative building on the west side of the city. The facility, measuring just under 150,600 square feet, will go up inside the Westpointe40, a newly created business park at the intersection of Interstate 40 and 98th Street. The project belongs to Titan Development, which also has offices in Austin, Texas, a 23-year-old diverse development and real estate investment firm. The new structure at Westpointe40 is described as both a Class A and institutional-grade facility, and will include warehouse, distribution, and light manufacturing space. The building also features a rear-load configuration, 32-foot-high clearance, and high dock and grade level doors. Some 54,000 square feet of the structure is already pre-leased. In a statement, Sal Perdomo, Titan’s director of acquisitions and development, said that pre-leasing “not only demonstrates the strong demand for industrial space in our area, but also the trust that comes in developing with Titan.” Since 1999, Titan has completed more than $2.5 billion in real estate development projects in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, Texas, and California. In late May, the company purchased a master-planned industrial park in the city of Hutto, Texas, nearly 30 miles to the northeast of Austin. The 188-acre Hutto Mega TechCenter is expected to see construction of structures ranging in size from 200,000 to 1 million square feet, primarily serving tech and light industrial companies. By Garry Boulard Up to 57% of realtors in a new industry survey say they were prevented from closing a deal in 2021 due simply to a lack of inventory. The survey, conducted by the National Association of Realtors, is only the latest indication that the nation’s available housing stock has not been large enough for current needs. Realtors “continued to navigate a challenging housing market and cited the biggest factor holding back the housing market was tight inventory,” remarked Jessica Lautz, vice president of demographics and behavioral insights for the NAR. In a statement Lautz added that realtors were confronted with the supply challenge in a fast-changing market defined by buyers relocating throughout the months of the pandemic. For all of that, the survey reveals that the typical NAR member conducted a dozen transactions in 2021, representing a volume of $2.6 million. Perhaps because business overall has been good, despite the inventory challenges, just under 80% of the realtors polled in the survey said they were certain that they would remain in the industry for at least two more years. According to the NAR, more than 6.1 million existing homes were sold in 2021, the largest number since 2006. Indicating that more people are getting into the industry, the survey also revealed that the NAR’s membership last year jumped to 1.5 million, up from 1.4 million in 2020. The inventory question, meanwhile, may be improving. According to the site Realtor.com, active listings for homes nationwide is now up by 19%, with the number of new listings up by 4.5% over last year at this time. By Garry Boulard A one year-old commercial and retail center in the Pima Reservation entertainment corridor in Scottsdale is hitting the market with a $24.1 million price tag. Located in northeast Scottsdale at 9210 to 9240 E Via de Ventura, the one-story Block at Pima Center makes up nearly 38,000 square feet and is defined as Class B building space. The center was built last year and is currently entirely leased. Listed by Newmark Knight Frank realtors of Phoenix, the property is part of a growing part of Scottsdale seeing the construction of new office and retail centers in the last several years. The direct vicinity includes the Talking Stick Resort and OdySea Aquarium. Tenants at the center include a Starbucks outlet, White Castle restaurant, Spinato’s Pizza, and Texas Roundhouse steakhouse. By Garry Boulard State and federal funding is expected to pay for construction of a series of new electric charging stations across New Mexico, say sources. At least $10 million for the effort is coming through funds earlier approved by the New Mexico State Legislature. But additional funds to the tune of $38 million are coming through the big federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In a statement, Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham remarked that New Mexico has a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to make truly transformative investments in communities large and small around our state.” As planned, the new stations will be built at intervals of 50 miles along Interstate 10, Interstate 25, and Interstate 40. The first station is planned for the city of Socorro in south central New Mexico, on city property off Interstate 25. Federal funding of upwards of $5 billion has been made available for charging station construction projects across the country, with those funds to be used in the next 5 years. Earlier this year, Jerry Valdez, director of the New Mexico Department of Transportation, said efforts are under way to work with “federal, state, tribal, local, regional, and a wide range of private sector stakeholders to deploy and expand access to electric vehicle infrastructure with an emphasis on equity in rural areas.” According to the site Stacker.com, there were more than 2,600 registered electric vehicles in New Mexico as of late this spring. By Garry Boulard The service sector, providing goods and materials to various industries, is reporting growth in June, continuing a trend that has been on the upside since the spring of 2020. According to the Tempe, Arizona-based Institute for Supply Management, all of the 18 sectors it follows also reported an increase in the cost of materials. The construction industry saw price increases in basic building materials, as well as diesel fuel, paint and polyvinyl chloride, steel products, and transformers, among other items. Respondents in the Institute’s most recent ISM Report on Business pointed to a wide variety of challenges, including increased interest rates, inflation, and ongoing supply chain problems. But despite the overall supply chain problems, a growing number of factory managers, according to the survey, said their suppliers were picking up the pace of deliveries. The survey also revealed that electrical components, microchips, baby formula, needles and syringes, and paper products are among the commodities most often listed as being in short supply. In a statement, Timothy Fiore, chair of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing business survey committee, said, “The U.S. manufacturing sector continues to be powered, though less so in June, by demand, while held back by supply chain constraints.” At the same time, “companies improved their progress on addressing moderate-term labor shortages at all tiers of the supply chain.” The Institute for Supply Management is the largest supply management association in the world with more than 50,000 members worldwide. The ISM Report on Business has been in continual publication since 1923. By Garry Boulard One of Denver’s oldest high-rises is set to go to auction later next month. Located at 518 17th Street, what is called the DC Building was built in 1954 and sits on the site of the original Denver Club mansion. With 24 floors, the structure measures just under 275,000 square feet. For years the structure, which was built by legendary Texas oilmen John D. and Clint Murchison, Jr., has served as the office home to any number of attorneys, realtors, and business associations. A chapel on the building’s second floor was dedicated in honor of President Dwight Eisenhower in 1955 who was recovering in Denver at the time from a heart attack. Regarded as one of the city’s first modern high-rises, the structure was designed in the sleek International Style and is regarded as one of Denver’s architectural treasures. In recent years the building has seen up to $10 million in upgrades, and additionally houses a lounge with a two-lane bowling alley, a fitness center and common area conference rooms. The auction for the building, which is listed with the Los Angeles-based Newmark realtors, will begin on August 22 with a minimum starting bid of $9 million. By Garry Boulard In a move to alleviate an ongoing workforce housing shortage, city officials in Glenwood Springs, in far western Colorado, are seeing great potential in reconverted motel and hotel rooms. Members of the Glenwood Springs City Council have given their unanimous approval to an ordinance making it possible to transform such rooms into extended-stay residential units. An amendment to the ordinance would additionally require that motel and hotel owners renting out rooms for such purposes must have kitchenettes with each unit, along with on-site laundry facilities, and adequate exterior lighting. The ordinance is said to be particularly geared for older motels and hotels, and properties otherwise classified as motor lodges. As earlier discussed by city officials, the use of such spaces could require some reconversion, as well as the retrofitting of fire suppression and fire sprinkler systems. The project has long been discussed by those same city officials, as well as developers and residents, in a city where the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is now at roughly the $1,700 mark, above the state median of $1,200. A Glenwood Springs ad hoc committee formed to explore the city’s housing needs recently noted that given the current rate of rents, such professionals as police officers, teachers, and nurses would be hard pressed to find adequate housing in the city. “These are people and jobs we need for a healthy community and economy,” a Glenwood Springs Planning and Zoning Commission report noted. By Garry Boulard |
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