Government mandated rules governing the use of unionized construction labor is unfairly stigmatizing workers who don’t belong to a union, asserts a report released by the Associated Builders and Contractors. The report also charges that project labor agreements on federally supported construction projects can increase the cost of a given project by anywhere from 12% to 20%. Describing such agreements as “anti-competitive,” Ben Brubeck, vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs for ABC, added that those same agreements “effectively exclude nearly 9 out of 10 U.S. construction workers who freely choose not to join a union.” Brubeck, in overview comments on the report, also said that project labor agreements hold “employees’ compensation for ransom unless they join a union, pay union fees and prop up struggling union pension plans.” Brubeck added that project labor agreements “steer contractors to unionized contractors and workers at the expense of the best quality nonunion contractors and workers.” Project labor agreements have been used for decades and are essentially collective bargaining agreements establishing conditions and terms of employment on a given construction project with one of several unions. Labor historians have said that the first significant use of such agreements was seen during the building of the Hoover Dam in the early 1930s. The AFL-CIO maintains that such agreements ultimately protect taxpayers by “eliminating costly delays due to labor conflicts or shortages of skilled workers.” Earlier this year the Biden Administration indicated that it wanted to expand the federal government’s use of project labor agreements. The report referenced by ABC was authored by John McGowan, a former accounting professor at Saint Louis University. By Garry Boulard
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Officials with the Las Cruces Public Schools are anticipating a wide variety of facility construction and upgrade projects, depending upon the fortunes of a $50 million bond to be decided upon by voters next month. One of the largest items to be funded by the bond will see $11 million going for the building of new maintenance facilities at the current site of the district’s operations annex in the 1500 block of Tashiro Drive. Kitchen space at both the Highland Elementary School at 4201 Emerald Street and the Lynn Middle School at 950 S. Walnut Street are both slated to be remodeled at a cost of $2.5 million each. Just under $2 million will target the building of an interior wall at the Zia Middle School at 1300 New Mexico State Road 101, while security updates to nearly a dozen schools, totaling $1.3 million, will go for the building of new fences, safety doors, and the installation of intercom systems. The bond will additionally provide $350,000 in funding for the construction of a bus loop, also at the Zia Middle School. Exactly $1 million will go for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance projects throughout the district. In a sign of the school district’s continued growth, $5.6 million will be partly used to acquire land that may be used for future building projects. With around 25,000 student and 40 schools, the Las Cruces Public Schools system comprises the second largest district in New Mexico. By Garry Boulard A nearly 60-year-old middle school in Anthony, New Mexico, could see renovation work, depending upon the approval of voters in the Gadsden Independent School District.
That district has placed on the November ballot a question asking for passage of a $38 million general obligation bond to upgrade the Gadsden Middle School, which is located at 1301 Washington Street and was built in 1965. The bond will provide around $11.5 million to renovate the one-story brick school, with additional funding for the project coming through New Mexico’s Public School Capital Outlay Council. The bond funding will also support ongoing renovation work at the district’s Chaparral Middle School, as well as upgrades to the Chaparral High School. The Gadsden Independent School District is made up of nearly 30 schools, serving just over 13,000 students. Those schools are located in Anthony, Chaparral, and Sunland Park, among other locations in southern New Mexico. By Garry Boulard More than a dozen states across the country saw the addition of new construction jobs last month, according to a new analysis. Those states are in every region of the nation from West Virginia and North Carolina in the east, to South Dakota in the middle of the country, to Idaho, Utah, and Washington state in the West. As compiled by the Associated General Contractors of America, the nationwide survey also showed Texas adding 8,900 new construction jobs last month, and Florida up by 6,900 jobs. Smaller gains were recorded in Connecticut with 1,700 news job, and Delaware, seeing a 700-job gain. In the West, Arizona picked up 2,500 new construction jobs from August to September; with Colorado reporting an additional 400 new jobs over August. New Mexico, during this same time period, witnessed a loss of 100 jobs. While the September overall job increases were welcome news, the AGC survey points out that those gains nevertheless took place in only 14 states. Meanwhile, 36 other states last month experienced declines. In a statement, Ken Simonson, chief economist with the AGC, noted that “construction employment remains below pre-pandemic levels in more than two-thirds of the states.” Simon pointed to ongoing issues with the international supply chain as well as Congress’ failure to so far pass an infrastructure bill as two reasons why construction employment in so many states remains quiescent. Looking at the picture from the perspective of the pre-pandemic days of early 2020, the AGC survey ranked Idaho as number one in growth, with a 9.3% increase in construction jobs; followed by Utah, with an 8.2% jump; and South Dakota, up by 8%. The biggest losers from February 2020 to last month were Louisiana, with a 16.1% decline; followed by Wyoming, off by 15.7%, and New York, down by 11.6%. By Garry Boulard Plans have been submitted to the City of Goodyear, Arizona for the building of a an expansive 930-acre master planned community on the south side of the city. The project, called Terrasante, is being developed by the Phoenix-based RVG Partners and will uniquely include a regional hospital medical center campus comprising some 65 acres. The larger development, according to plans, could see the construction of just over 2,700 homes. The medical care campus will include healthcare facilities serving a rapidly growing part of Goodyear to the south of the Gila River. According to the Census Bureau, Goodyear is one of the fastest growing cities in Arizona, jumping from 18,000 people to over 95,000 in the last two decades. Long in the planning and talking stage, the master-planned community, on currently vacant land near the Estrella Mountains, could come with an initial $200 million price tag. Plans for the community include plenty of green space and parks as well as the building of a trail system. The planned homes, in a suburban neighborhood pattern, will be separated by the large swaths of green space. Future development at the site could also see the construction of an elementary school. A schedule for when work will begin on the Terrasante project has not yet been announced. By Garry Boulard Additional funding has been secured for the construction of an 8-story condo development in a mostly industrial part of Denver’s River North Art District. As proposed, the structure will house14 one-bedroom units, 27 two-bedroom units, and 8 three-bedroom condos, all to eventually be sold at affordable rates. Members of the Denver City Council have given their approval to a $2.4 million loan that will come from the city’s Department of Housing Stability to build the project. It is expected that, in total, it will cost just under $18 million to build the project. Because the site for the project, near the banks of the South Platte River, is an unusual rectangular-shaped piece of land, the structure housing the units will have a triangular design. That site was purchased in late 2020 by two entities working with the nonprofit Urban Land Conservancy, which promotes the building of affordable housing in metro Denver. If the project secures final city approval, work is expected to launch on the Chestnut Place Condos in the first quarter of next year. By Garry Boulard Rent prices across the nation are continuing at an unprecedented pace, according to a new industry survey. The Yardi Matrix company, based in Santa Barbara, California, is reporting that rents in September were up by a significant 11.4% over September of last year. The current average now stands at $1,558, with occupancy rates, at 95.9%, up ten points over last fall. Looking at the trends in 140 markets nationally, the Yardi Matrix survey shows that what is called “lifestyle rents” are up by 13.4%, with the “renter-by-necessity” category up 9.5%. Lifestyle renting applies to those who have voluntarily opted to go the apartment route instead of purchasing a home, a growing category that includes everyone from retiring Baby Boomers to members of the Millennial generation. The steady pace of rental increases, says the Multi Housing News, is not without concerns in the industry. So far, notes the publication, renters have been generally able to sustain higher rents, particularly in the upscale segment. “But affordability concerns are likely to resurface if rents continue to increase,” it adds. Regionally, rent increases have been most notable across the Sunbelt, fueled in part by job growth and domestic migration, with Phoenix seeing the biggest jump this year at 22.8%. Tampa, Las Vegas, and Miami all came in a close second place with 22.6% increases. Surprisingly, larger cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago saw smaller increases over last year, primarily because rental prices in those cities are already high, with the Big Apple fetching rents of anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000 per month. Despite the ongoing year-to-year rent growth, the Yardi Matrix survey notes that a process of “deceleration” may be at work: September’s growth over August was the smallest monthly growth since the beginning of this year. By Garry Boulard A plan to build a new learning center at the University of Texas at El Paso is taking a big step forward with the promise of significant funding from the Texas State Legislature. Lawmakers in Austin have now given their approval to a bill that will provide around $52 million to build the long-planned Advanced Teaching and Learning Complex. The legislation, SB 52, is currently on its way to Governor George Abbott for his signature. The complex will be a part of the larger College of Liberal Arts and set to replace the current Liberal Arts Building, which was built in the early 1960, as well as the 42-year-old Academic Advising Building. The $52 million appropriation will be funded through tuition revenue bonds. Those bonds are issued by institutions of higher learning in Texas and supported through tuition revenue. Altogether, it is expected that it will cost around $113 million to build the new UTEP building. According to state documents, the complex will be designed to be a “21st century collaborative learning environment.” A timeline for when construction on the new complex will begin has not yet been announced. By Garry Boulard Plans are in the discussion phase for the redevelopment of a nearly 70-acre park in Colorado Springs. Located on the northeast side of the city, the Bulldog Coleman Community Park, off Barnes Road, near an intersection with N. Powers Boulevard, has long been regarded as both an underdeveloped and underused public open space. Named in honor of local businessman and philanthropist Norman “Bulldog” Coleman, the park was expanded by the City of Colorado Springs earlier this year in a land swap with a developer, giving the site an additional 23 acres. With hopes of hiring a master planner, Colorado Springs has said it wants to see the development of a “multi-faceted and sports-oriented hub” on the property, with the possibility of design work for the project beginning by early next year. City documents indicate that any plans for the Coleman Park, located in an area of significant recent suburban development, will both be done in conjunction with the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department, and subject to public input. Local voters in 2019 approved a measure officially known as 2B, which provided $7 million in funding for park construction and upgrade initiatives, including $242,000 to launch a development plan for the Coleman Park. By Garry Boulard In the face of industry challenges, builder confidence continues to rise, according to a new survey just released by the National Association of Home Builders. In conjunction with Wells Fargo Bank & Company, the NAHB’s Housing Market Index is based on a survey conducted every month of the single-family market. The survey tasks respondents with rating market conditions for the sale of new homes both at the present time and over the course of the next half year. Any number over 50 indicates that builders view conditions as good rather than not good. Ten years ago, in the midst of the Great Recession, home builders gave both questions a dormant 14. That number had dramatically increased to 71 just preceding the Covid-19 outbreak, before dropping to 30. The latest response, at 80, shows a generally buoyant industry response that has been apparent for most of this year. The West is currently leading the positive response, with builders in the region giving conditions an 83 grade, followed by the South at 80. The response was significantly lower in the Northeast and Midwest, recording a 69 and 72 score respectively. The West, in fact, has remained the score leader throughout the entirety of this year, although that number has declined from a very strong 92 recorded in January. Despite those buoyant overall numbers, builders are not without concerns, said Chuck Fowke, NAHB chairman, in a statement. “Builders continue to grapple with ongoing supply chain disruptions and labor shortages that are delaying completion times and putting pressure on building materials and home prices,” Fowke remarked. NAHB has been conducting the Housing Market Index since 1985. Its first survey in January of that year revealed a rather lackluster 50 in response to current homebuilding conditions and prospects six months out. The lowest response was recorded in January of 2009 in one of the most challenging months of the Great Recession, with the index coming in at 8. By Garry Boulard |
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