Can ground floor space in commercial and retail buildings be used for residential purposes? For decades, according to new study published by the American Planning Association, cities and towns have restricted the use of such space primarily to stores, restaurants, bars, and salons. But because the advent of the Covid 19 pandemic led to the closing of many retail and commercial operations, the APA study is suggesting that zoning officials across the country should re-think how ground level space is used. “Many cities simply have too much zoning requiring ground-floor retail,” notes the study, which appears in the APA’s magazine Zoning Practice. “These types of blanket requirements are not sustainable and lead to a high number of vacant storefronts,” the study asserts. Reviewing more flexible ground floor rules adapted in such cities as Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Los Angeles, the study, authored by Tim Smith, an urban planning lecturer with the University of Chicago, argues that more flexible zoning can solve two problems at one time. Zoning allowing for ground floor residential space in Grand Rapids, for example, has proved a response to both a “sharp rise in vacant storefronts and the need for added housing, especially affordable housing.” In Ann Arbor, Michigan, the city’s planning commission this month approved a developer’s plan to allow for apartments on the ground floor of a project known as The George. That building was opened in 2018, but the advertised first level retail never materialized, leading to a proposal to use the empty space for something else. In an essay published by the APA promoting Smith’s study, it is noted that long-standing zoning policy resistance to ground floor residences have primarily been centered on the argument that “residences generate very little foot traffic.” “But,” continues the APA post, “You’d have to be living on an another planet to miss the fact that we have a major undersupply of housing in the U.S.” “Furthermore,” adds the post, “the shortage is acute in many areas with an oversupply of storefront spaces.” By Garry Boulard
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Planning is underway to turn a former bus station in downtown Grand Junction into a modern multi-purpose complex. The large facility, located on a less than one-acre site at 230 S. Fifth Street, has been abandoned since early 2021 when the Greyhound company moved its operations to another location in the city. Shortly after Greyhound left the site, the Grand Junction Downtown Development Authority purchased the land for around $700,000. Now, working with the Aspen-based Headwaters Housing Partners, the DDA has announced plans to transform the terminal space into a mixed-use property with both residential units and ground-level community space. To be called “The Terminal,” the new complex will see the construction of a multi-story structure housing up to 72 residential units, with space for art studios, exhibitions, and galleries. In an interview with the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Adam Roy, project engineer with Headwaters Housing, described the terminal building itself as a “cool little bus station with the 1930s architecture, kind of this art deco style,” that he said would be preserved as part of the project. By Garry Boulard Up to $270 million a year in tax revenue will be delegated to an affordable housing fund in Colorado, depending upon the results of this November’s election. The ballot proposal will set aside 0.01% of the state’s income tax revenue for the fund to greatly increase Colorado’s affordable housing stock. The effort is being pushed by a group called Make Colorado Affordable, which proved successful in securing nearly 231,000 signatures to get the initiative on the state ballot. Just under 125,000 signatures, by law, were needed. On the state ballot, the proposal will read as the Dedicated State Income Tax Revenue for Affordable Housing Programs. If passed, proponents say the initiative could fund the construction of a combination of 170,000 homes and rental units across Colorado over a span of two decades. During that period, the initiative could bring in more than $5 billion in revenue. The housing would be geared for those making incomes at or below 60% of the area’s median income. Earlier this year the US Census estimated that Colorado has an immediate shortage of some 225,000 affordable housing units. By Garry Boulard Although quarterly economic growth has been strong since the fall of 2020, a panel of economic analysts are suggesting that the good times may be soon over. The New York-based Conference Board, a research group made up of more than 1,000 corporations, is anticipating a flat economic performance for the final quarter of this year, and an outright recession in early 2023. In a just-released forecast, the board noted that its Leading Economic Index is off by 1.6% in its appraisals of the nation’s economy from now until the end of the year when compared to the numbers from the first six months of 2022. A variety of trend lines are impacting the Conference Board’s forecasts including the highest inflation rates since the late 1970s, reduced manufacturing, and ongoing supply chain challenges. In a statement, Ataman Ozyildirim, senior director of economics at the Conference Board, said, “Consumer pessimism and equity market volatility as well as slowing labor markets, housing construction, and manufacturing new orders, suggest that economic weakness will intensify and spread more broadly throughout the US economy.” According to the publication CFO Dive, the actions of the Federal Reserve could also be playing a part as it “tries to curb price pressures by raising the federal funds rate at the fastest pace since the 1980s.” Although the Conference Board’s forecast represents one of the strongest recession predictions to date, the good news is that it is also anticipating that should a recession occur, it will be a “short, but mild” one. By Garry Boulard Up to $20 million in federal funding is being awarded to the building of a high-tech facility in El Paso that will transform treated wastewater into safe and fresh drinking water. The Advanced Water Purification Facility belongs to the El Paso Water company and is expected to see construction launch early next year. As planned, the facility, which is also designed to conserve available water resources, will be capable of treating up to 10 million gallons per day of secondary effluent as part of a process producing purified water. That water will then be introduced into the company’s larger potable water distribution system. The new facility will be located on an existing campus that will also include a surface water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant. The funding, authorized by the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is coming through the federal Bureau of Reclamation, which altogether is receiving more than $8.3 billion to support water delivery systems and dam upgrades nationally. In the just-announced round of funding, just under $310 million will be going to 25 individual water projects regionally. In a statement, Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science with the Department of the Interior, said the Bureau of Reclamation funding for a variety of projects throughout the West represents the “largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history.” By Garry Boulard Plans may soon be underway soon for the construction of a new fire station in Las Cruces, depending upon the results of the upcoming November election. Voters in the city are being asked to approve a series of general obligation bonds, the largest of which, at $10 million, will help pay for the construction of that station. The facility will serve the residents of City Council District 5 in the East Mesa section of the city. According to Las Cruces Fire Department officials, the existence of a new station will make it possible to greatly reduce response times in the sprawling district. The Las Cruces Fire Department currently has eight operating stations in various parts of the city. The most recent station, Number 8, was built in 2018. Las Cruces voters will also decide on three other bond issues in the November election: one is asking for $6 million for the creation of an affordable housing fund; while a $2 million bond will go for general improvements to the city’s parks. A final bond, set at $5 million, will be used to tackle the phase two work on the East Mesa Recreational Complex at 550 N. Sonoma Ranch Boulevard. Las Cruces voters in the past have been generally supportive of general obligation bond proposals, approving nearly $36 million in bonds for recreational facility work in 2018. Those four bond proposals that year passed with anywhere from 57% to 70% of the vote. By Garry Boulard Nearly $1.7 billion in federal funds has been awarded to various localities for the construction of facilities and stations for low emission buses as well as the purchase of the buses themselves. The Federal Transit Administration has announced a series of awards to dozens of cities and transportation districts through its Low and No Emission Bus and Facilities program. The program is specifically supporting projects, according to an FTA release, that “will use zero emissions technology, which reduces air pollution.” Those same projects, continues the FTA announcement, must de dedicated to meeting President Biden’s “goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.” In one of the larger grants, the Colorado Department of Transportation is receiving $34.7 million for the building of a new charging and operations bus facility serving the commuters of Lake, Park, and Summit counties. The new facility will replace an existing, but aging, facility belonging to the Summit Stage rural transit agency. Just over $2.8 million will go for the construction of a new bus maintenance facility belonging to the Grand Valley Transit in Mesa County. The new facility will provide more space for mechanics to maintain the transit’s low emissions fleet. The City of Las Cruces is receiving just under $2.2 million for the construction completion of a new transit and operations facility. The facility is designed to expand the city’s Roadrunner Transit fleet, while providing more space for maintenance work. The most recent round for the FTA’s Low and No Emission program is seeing funding support for some 150 projects in 48 states. The final grant awards came after applications were submitted for around 530 projects in response to the agency’s earlier Notice of Funding Opportunity. By Garry Boulard A just-over 14,000 square foot building in a section of downtown Tucson populated with mostly newer multi-story office structures will be the subject of a three-day auction beginning on September 19. Located at 160 Alameda Street, the two-story building has for years been the home to a Big Brothers and Big Sisters youth center and underwent an extensive renovation in 2013. The structure in the 1980s and 90s housed offices for Southern Arizona Legal Aid. The building houses a dozen private offices, as well as a kitchenette, and reception areas on both floors. Listed by the Tucson-based real estate firm of Larsen Baker, the building is classified as a Class B structure and sits on a less than one-acre site. The starting auction bid for the Alameda Street building is $350,000. By Garry Boulard A two-story abandoned building just to the north of downtown Albuquerque may soon be upgraded to make way for city offices. What was formerly the offices of the law firm Dubois, Cooksey, & Bischoff at 2040 Fourth Street NW was built in 1990 and measures just under 6,000 square feet. The site includes some 500 square feet of storage space. The law firm moved out of the building around two years ago. Defined as a Class B office structure, the building was listed for sale for $695,000 and is on the other side of a block dominated by a park recently closed by the city that had become the scene of drug dealing and sex trafficking, according to sources. Reports indicate that the building may serve as the new home to such agencies as the city’s Family and Community Services, Parks and Recreation, and Solid Waste departments. By Garry Boulard For the first time in more than 2 years, house prices nationally may be cooling off, with parts of the Midwest and Plains states forecast to see the slowest growth in 2023, followed by formerly hot spots in Arizona and Colorado. The Seattle-based Zillow Group is estimating that house prices between now and next summer will increase by only 2.4%. That’s a significantly smaller figure than what the tech real estate company predicted earlier this summer when it charted growth at 7.8%. The new Zillow numbers come as homes sales in general have dropped nationally, with new home sales down by 17.4% last month, and existing home sales off by 20.2%. Home price declines of between 1% and 4% are being seen in such disparate locations as Fargo, North Dakota, with a 1.5% drop, and Charleston, West Virginia, off by 4%. Although Texas has long been at the forefront of increased home prices, Laredo is charted for a 1.9% drop, and Odessa, seeing a decline of 3.3%. The booming Tucson market, on the other hand, is expected to see a 5.3% price increase, with the Lake Havasu City and Kingman market at an even higher 6.8%. New Mexico price increases are ranging between 3.5% in Las Cruces and Farmington at 4.8%. Albuquerque is charted for a 4.3% hike. Price hikes are charted lower for the booming Denver metro market at 1.2% and Greeley at 1.9%. But representing the increasing popularity of the southern and western portions of the Centennial State, Pueblo is charted for a 6.3% jump, with Grand Junction up by 4.2%. Other analysts have also forecast declines in real estate prices heading into 2023, although Zillow has for the most part remained bullish. Notes the publication Fortune: “If Zillow’s 2.4% uptick comes to fruition, it would mark the lowest year-over-year home price growth jump since 2012.” Last week the National Association of Realtors noted a drop of $10,000 in average home prices in July, with an overall 10.8% decline. The average home price in July, nonetheless, still stood at just under $404,000. By Garry Boulard |
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