A two-day auction is scheduled to begin on September 5 for a stand-alone 3,300-square-foot building in Westminster, Colorado that once housed a bank. Located at 2371 W. 128th Avenue, the one-story structure was built in 2002 and is graced by an airy front lobby and well over 2,500 square feet of office space. With a solar panel roof, the building also features a four-bay drive-up, 28 parking spaces, and sits on a 1.1-acre site. The structure, designated as a Class B building, was once a branch office for the Chase Bank which nationally closed nearly two dozen of its locations earlier this year. The publication 24/7 Wall Street has additionally predicted that Chase, with more than 4,700 branches nationally, may soon be closing down several hundred of its locations in favor of online banking. The Westminster property is being listed by the Denver real estate office of Cushman & Wakefield, with a starting auction bid of $150,000. By Garry Boulard
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Nearly two dozen buildings in Denver have been identified as possible candidates for adaptive reuse which could, in turn, be made available for affordable housing. In a study jointly conducted by both the City and County of Denver such factors as a building's proximity to transit, as well as its existing window-to-wall ratio, the shape of the building, and likelihood of window replacement were all considered in compiling the list. In a statement, Laura Aldrete noted that "Denver has a long history of successful adaptive reuse, and as the study indicates, there is a lot of potential downtown to provide additional housing to help transition from a Central Business District to a Central Neighborhood District." Aldrete, executive director of the city's Department of Community Planning and Development, added that the study is a first step in an effort that will include the building of partnerships to bring about the transition of the structures in question. It is thought that some 4.3 million square feet of downtown Denver office space could be readapted for residential use. Such office space, at the same time, could lead to the creation of more than 5,000 residential units. The study was funded through the American Rescue Plan Act. City officials have said that a next step in reconverting the office properties will include an outreach to the owners of the buildings to gauge their level of interest. By Garry Boulard Less than 50% of respondents in a new survey understand the basics of artificial intelligence, an understanding that varies depending upon the respondents' level of education. The survey, conducted several weeks ago by the Pew Research Center, revealed that only 42% of respondents knew that a deepfake is a seemingly real image, video, or audio of something that never really happened. An even smaller 32% had a grasp of large language models, such as Chat GPT, and how it produces answers based on word patterns and relationships taken from texts previously published on the internet. The average person's understanding of digital topics "varies notably depending on the subject," says a Pew narrative accompanying the survey results. By way of example, while 67% knew that cookies track a user's visits and activity on a site, only 48% could identify an example of two-factor authentication used to make online sites more secure. A much larger proportion at 87%, when given a choice of four passwords, could pick the most secure option. "Uncertainty is also common when it comes to privacy laws," notes the Pew narrative, with 52% of respondents not sure if the U.S. has a national privacy law; and 40% uncertain about the exact age under which minors are protected from having their personal data collected by a website without the consent of their parents. Generally, those with higher levels of education possess more digital knowledge: 64% of college-educated respondents could identify an example of an authentication, compared with 31% of those with only a high school education. Nearly 60% among the college graduates knew what a deepfake is, while that number declined to 28% among high school graduates. Both education-level groups did better with digital knowledge news items: 92% of college graduates knew that Elon Musk ran both Twitter and Tesla, with 64% of the high school graduates knowing the same. Just under 90% of college graduates knew that Facebook had changed its name to Meta, with 65% of the high school graduates also aware of the name change. Generally speaking, the Pew survey also showed that digital knowledge was tied to age, with those aged 65 years and above not knowing about two-factor authentications and large language models, while respondents in the 18 to 29 years of age range showed a greater grasp of such tools. Overall, noted the Pew narrative, respondents of all educational and age levels could answer a "median of five out of nine questions correctly" on the digital knowledge survey. Those in either category feeling digitally ignorant could take solace from the fact that only 4% of respondents could answer all of the nine questions correctly. By Garry Boulard A 9-acre parcel in northwest Albuquerque adjacent to the big Cottonwood Mall is being listed for sale for $15.9 million by a California broker. Located at 10000 Coors Bypass NW, the site encompasses just under 158,000 square feet of retail space that is currently occupied by three well-known chain operations in a building that serves as an an anchor to the larger Cottonwood Mall itself. Opened in the summer of 1996, the Cottonwood Mall is, after the Coronado Center, the second largest mall space in New Mexico and is the last such giant indoor retail space in the state. But the mall has also been financially challenged, with the owner of the building, the Columbus, Ohio-based Washington Prime Group, filing for bankruptcy protection in 2021. In the spring of 2022, a Bernalillo County Judge ordered the Spinoso Real Estate Group to chart a new course for the center. The financial decline of the mall is seen in two figures: in 2014 the mall was appraised for around $175 million. A new appraisal conducted last year came in at just over $95 million. The sale of the site, as listed by Institutional Property Advisers, does not include the mall's retail properties, according to Albuquerque Business First. The listing, however, mentions that the property is located in "one of the city's premiere retail hubs." The three tenants in the adjacent building include Hobby Lobby, which takes up nearly 54,000 square feet; Home Life Furniture at 81,000 square feet; and a Mor furniture store, measuring 23,100 square feet. Based in Calabasas, California, the commercial real estate firm Institutional Property Advisers specializes in retail, office & industrial, and multi-family properties nationally. By Garry Boulard Plans are now underway for the construction of a modern cancer care center that will go up on the El Paso campus of Texas Tech University. The long-discussed and hoped-for project has taken a significant leap forward with a $25 million donation, designed to build a facility that will house research and treatment space. That donation by Steve Fox, chief executive officer of the El Paso-based car dealership Fox Auto Team, is being combined with $65 million earlier approved for the project by members of the Texas State Legislature. Fox, who has survived both tongue and throat cancer, said he wanted to see the center located in El Paso after driving to and from Houston for treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. In a press conference, Jacob Cintron, chief executive officer of the University Medical Center at Texas Tech, said the new center will not only be focused on providing care to cancer patients, but also "research, which our community deserves." Richard Lange, president of University Health Sciences Center at Texas Tech, said the new facility will be a "cutting edge cancer center," adding: "This endeavor exemplifies our unwavering commitment to advancing knowledge, extending compassion, and fostering hope for our families in our Borderplex." The center will be built on the school's campus, which is located at 5001 El Paso Drive, and will be named in honor of Fox and his wife Nancy. By Garry Boulard A new effort is underway, bringing together a variety of federal and state agencies, to better develop workforce training initiatives across the country. What is being officially called the Workforce Strategic Planning Collaborative is seeing the Department of Labor partnering with the National Governors Association with a goal, among other things, of making sure workforce programs are demand-driven and actually match employer needs. The effort is seen as being particularly timely as more and more projects, requiring more and more workers, come into play, funded by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In a statement, Brent Parton, assistant secretary at the Labor Department, remarked: "We hope to bolster workforce development services delivered nationwide to ensure that workers in the U.S., including traditionally underserved populations and those with significant barriers to employment, get on a path to high-quality jobs and careers." A press release issued by the National Governors Association noted that by federal law states are required to "submit new four-year plans for workforce development in 2024." By doing so, the partnership between the Labor Department and the NGA will assist the nation's governors during that planning process so that "they can achieve their goals." "Today's labor market has made workforce development a top priority for Governors," remarked Timothy Blute. "We look forward to helping governors capitalize on this strategic opportunity, address widespread talent shortages, and carry out their vision for building a stronger workforce in their states through this new collaborative," continues Blute, who is the director of the NGA's Center for Best Practices. Workforce development funding opportunities are not only being made available through the huge $1.2 trillion Infrastructure and Investment Act, but also via the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, and the $891 billion Inflation Reduction Act, also passed in 2022. By Garry Boulard A growing healthcare provider may be planning to build a new location inside a master-planned community in the city of Surprise, Arizona. The Scottsdale-based Honor Health, which was created in 2014 as the result of a merger between two large Arizona healthcare organizations, is thinking about constructing a facility within the borders of the Asante planned community near 163rd Avenue and Asante Boulevard. In so doing, Honor Health, which operates half a dozen hospitals in both Phoenix and Scottsdale, along with another seventy specialty and urgent care locations, would be catering to a residential base some 43 miles to the west of its corporate offices. According to reports, Honor Health is considering a land purchase in a part of the Asante community called Asante Trails that is given over to commercial development. The 101-acre site will include office space, a hotel, and both retail and restaurant space. Notes the Phoenix Business Journal: the Asante Trails section is envisioned as a "101-acre mixed-used property" that is expected to include a "proposed hospital campus and medical office buildings." Members of the Surprise City Council have signed off on the rezoning of the site in question, allowing for greater commercial development. According to city documents, a trail network will make up a part of the site, with connection points planned to adjacent roadways, "and to the central amenity area." The larger Asante community could ultimately see the construction of up to 2,700 homes on what is currently nearly 850 acres of vacant land in the far West Valley. Honor Health has been significantly expanding its footprint in southern Arizona. In April, the healthcare system announced plans to build a $170 million facility in Phoenix to be called the Deer Valley Medical Center. Work on that three-phase project is expected to be completed sometime in 2025. By Garry Boulard A large highway project in Colorado, seeing the improvement of more than 60 miles of a corridor of Interstate 25, is receiving an unprecedented $510 million in funding. That support is coming through the Build America Bureau, which is a part of the federal Department of Transportation, funding a transportation project which both state and local leaders in Colorado have long hoped to see made reality. As planned, the project will also see the building of 52 miles of express toll lanes between Denver and Fort Collins. In a release issued by the Transportation Department it is noted that the project will result in improved travel times, the rehabilitation of older rail crossings and structures, and enhanced bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. The $501 million, in the form of a low-interest loan, will additionally "correct geometric deficiencies, improve safety, and replace aging infrastructure," Heather Paddock, director of the Colorado Department of Transportation's Region 4, said in a statement. The Build America Bureau is designed to support transportation infrastructure projects across the country. In doing so, the agency accesses grants and credit opportunities for state and municipal transportation projects. The corridor project has been long in the planning stage and is regarded as a reflection of increased vehicular traffic in the Denver area in recent years. According to the Colorado Transportation Department, Interstate 25 between Denver and Fort Collins sees upwards of 240,000 vehicles a day. The plan, notes the Denver Gazette, is to have "three lanes of traffic, both ways, the entire way between Denver and Fort Collins by 2028." By Garry Boulard The national economy is performing better than popular opinion might have it, with steady growth thus far for most of this year and positive signs for the rest of 2023. That upbeat assessment is being offered in a new report, Midyear 2023 Outlook, published by financial services giant J.P. Morgan Chase & Company. The reports notes that for the first six months of this year the nation's Gross Domestic Product has increased by anywhere from 2% to 2.4%, with consumer spending remaining steady. And even as business sentiment and business investment has remained flat for most of 2023, says the report, "there are indications this is turning the corner." Similarly, "monetary policy has been restrictive for several months now, and we think the hiking cycle is nearing its end." Noting the Federal Reserve's ongoing increase in interest rates over the last year, the study predicts: "We expect the Fed to be on hold through the middle of next year, provided inflation continues on its downward glide path." In fact, the inflation trend line has been moving in "the right direction," although the J.P. Morgan analysts nonetheless acknowledge that it has "proven to be more persistent than expected through the first half of the year." Contributing to the decline in inflation has been a notable decrease in energy prices, while at the same time a reduction in "core services inflation" has dropped from 7.3% earlier this year to 6.1% last month. Founded by John Pierpont Morgan during the Civil War, J.P. Morgan and Company rose to become one of the largest private banking houses on Wall Street. Morgan, with an eventual personal wealth of more than $80 million, summed up his optimistic capitalism in one sentence: "Go as far as you can see; when you get there you will be able to see farther." J.P. Morgan and Company merged with Chase Manhattan in 2000 to become one of the largest banks in the world. Its regularly published outlook reports are regarded as incisive snapshots of the national economy at any given point in time. By Garry Boulard Phoenix remains in the top ten of cities nationally building the most homes, according to a new industry survey, having completed just under 47,300 units last year. The survey, compiled by the San Diego-based data analysis company Construction Coverage, includes home building activity in Mesa and Chandler in its overall metro Phoenix profile, noting that the area heading into this year also saw a median home price of just over $446,000. Despite the strong numbers coming out of metro Phoenix, new home building nationally, says a narrative accompanying the survey, remains markedly down: "The lack of housing supply has been exacerbated by significant underinvestment in new housing since the Great Recession." And even though such activity picked up during the immediate years of the pandemic, "as of June 2023, new authorizations declined 26% after peaking in December 2021." The narrative adds that a combination of inflated construction costs and elevated mortgage interest rates, "produced 12 straight monthly declines in builder confidence during 2022." The latest total number of new units for metro Phoenix represents an increase over 2020, when the figures stood at 35,400. The area's home asking price, representing the ever-increasing popularity of moving to and living in southern Arizona, is also significantly up over 2020 when that average stood just below $278,000. Arizona in general, meanwhile, according to the survey, is among the top 15 states in terms of new home building, a pattern typical of industry trends in the West. Such "fast-growing states," notes the narrative, "are moving faster than others in authorizing new construction." "At the local level," the narrative continues, "major metros in these fast-growing states are also among those leading in new home construction." Not only are the largest metro areas in the West in the forefront of new home construction, but such construction in the West's mid-sized cities has also set a national pace, with Greeley, Colorado; Orem, Utah; and Boise City, Idaho; among the top ten locations nationally. By Garry Boulard |
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