In an effort to increase its affordable housing stock, the City of Grand Junction has put on this November’s ballot two proposals designed to raise building and construction funds. One proposal calls for increasing the city’s lodging tax by 1%. The second question asks voters to approve a measure imposing an 8% short-term rental tax. According to city officials, the lodging tax increase is expected to generate just over $1 million a year, with the short-term rental tax bringing in at least $325,000. Studies have shown that increasing rents in the southwest Colorado city, now at more than $850 for a one-bedroom apartment, and the median listing home price at $415,000, is making it increasingly difficult for those earning a working wage to live in Grand Junction. Mayor Anna Stout has given her support to the two proposals, remarking to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel that every day the city fails to put more affordable units on the market, are “days that people are sleeping in our parks or crashing on people’s couches or foregoing medicine or food to be able to pay for housing.” The measures have sparked the opposition of several business groups, including the Horizon Drive Business District. That district comprises more than two thirds of the city’s hotels, with some hotel owners saying the proposals will hurt tourism. Although voters in 2019 approved a measure doubling the lodging tax to its current 6%, a poll recently conducted by the Sentinel indicated that 32% were in favor of both the new lodging tax and short-term rental tax, while a little over 50% signaled their opposition. By Garry Boulard
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Extensive renovations to Gurley Hall on the University of New Mexico’s Gallup campus will see the construction of new stairs and a pedestrian bridge inside the popular facility, as well as overall floor, ceiling, and wall renovations. The work, however, will only begin if voters next month approve a $215 million statewide general obligation bond, with an estimated $3 million going to the Gurley Hall upgrades. Additional Gurley Hall work is set to include the installation of new windows at the main entry façade of the structure, the creation of new student breakout spaces in two locations in the building, not to mention renovations to and the expansion of the current kitchen space. Another $3 million in bond funding will target upgrades to the Fred Peralta Hall on UNM’s Taos campus. That 11,600 square foot structure, housing the school’s woodworking, ceramics, and drawing classes, will see an upgrade of the heating, ventilation, and cooling system as well as exterior improvements to campus safety lighting and signage. The Learning Center Resource Center at UNM’s Valencia campus, meanwhile, is in line for a roof replacement and solar panel installation project, which will be funded by up to $900,000 in general obligation bonds. General obligation bond questions in New Mexico have met with voter approval in the last five election cycles dating to 2012. A $155 million bond during the Great Recession year of 2010 was defeated by a narrow 50.1% to 49.9% margin. By Garry Boulard Relief to the tune of $800 million has now been awarded to farmers and ranchers across the country, according to a new report just released by the federal Department of Agriculture. In a statement, Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Department Secretary, said the funding has helped to “keep our farmers farming,” while providing a “fresh start for producers in challenging positions.” The funding is coming out of a larger $3.1 billion pool that is part of the Inflation Reduction Act approved by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in August. As of mid-October, more than 13,000 individual farm loans have been approved by the agency, targeting assistance specifically to borrowers who had received loans via the Agriculture Department’s Farm Service Agency. Of those 13,000 loans, roughly 11,000 resulted in formerly delinquent borrowers being able to bring their accounts up to date. At the same time, according to a press released issued by the Agriculture Department, roughly 2,000 borrowers who have had their farms foreclosed on while remaining in debt, “have had this debt resolved in order to cease debt collections and garnishment, relieving that burden.” Plans currently call for the Department of Agriculture to administer up to $66 million in separate automatic payments, using existing pandemic relief funds. That funding will target up to 7,000 borrowers who had earlier received Farm Service Agency assistance. The Agriculture Department’s moves have proven popular with various segments of the nation’s agricultural industry. Billy Hackett, policy specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, characterized the agency’s assistance efforts as “historic in scale and scope,” establishing a “foundational precedent to aid underserved farmers who have long trod an uncertain path.” In August, Vilsack also announced that the Agriculture Department was releasing some $300 million for farmers to purchase land and take on capital projects. By Garry Boulard A nearly 3,000 square foot structure in Phoenix that was built in 1966 is now on the market for $750,000. The structure, located at 6830 N. 35th Avenue, originally served as an outlet for the national Whataburger restaurant chain, and is in an area populated with one-story retail space. Listed by the real estate company Home Smart Commercial, which has offices in Phoenix, the one-story structure featuring the familiar Whataburger pitched A roof design is designated as a Class C structure and sits on a less than half acre site. The Whataburger chain was founded in 1950 in Corpus Christi, Texas and soon opened new locations across the Lone Star State. It expanded into Arizona beginning in 1963 and today has more than 880 stores primarily in the West and South. By the 1960s, the company’s steel-framed buildings featured a triangular shape in the form of a giant A. Those A-frame buildings, according to the newspaper, San Antonio Report, were “set toward the rear of the site with a long canopy extending out toward the street to provide shade for diners who chose to eat in their cars.” The company began to phase out the iconic A-frame design in the 1980s. In recent years, the building on N. 35th Avenue has served as the home to a business called Teaching & Learning Stuff, a school supply store. By Garry Boulard To address a challenge that experts say is getting worse by the year, Tim Keller has unveiled a plan to build up to 5,000 new housing units in the Duke City within the next three years. In a press conference, the Albuquerque Mayor likened the city’s current housing situation to that of being “in a rowboat against the tidal wave—and we’ve got to deal with the tidal wave.” A multi-pronged effort, the mayor’s plan includes an effort to repurpose existing commercial spaces for residential purposes while also pushing for zoning changes that will allow for the construction of smaller dwelling units on existing residential properties. What is being called the “Housing Forward ABQ” plan, if made reality, will also allow for transitioning hotel and motel space into residential units. Keller said that Albuquerque needs up to 13,000 new residential units to address current needs, noting: “There is no doubt that Albuquerque is in a housing crisis. We know that over half the renters have seen a 30% increase in the amount of income they have to spend on rent.” An additional approach to the issue, according to a City of Albuquerque news release, will go after steep apartment application fees, “clarifying that deposits must be refundable, and capping other fees, especially in complexes that accept workers.” Like many other cities, Albuquerque’s housing challenges have been exacerbated by market trends pegging the average rent for a three-room apartment at more than $1,800, according to the site Rent Café. That figure is up by around 38% since 2019. By Garry Boulard Despite reports of an oncoming recession, U.S. manufacturing posted a gain in September, with increases in both durable and nondurable goods, according to a new Federal Reserve report. Altogether, factory production saw a 0.4% increase last month. Compared year to year, the increase was up a substantial 4.7%. That 0.4% increase proved a pleasant surprise: in a poll of economists conducted by the Wall Street Journal it was thought that the September output increase would be no higher than 0.1%. While U.S. factory production has been on wild up-and-down ride since late 2021, the September figures mark the third monthly increase in a row. Mining production was up by even more, at 0.6%, while the utilities output dropped 0.3%. According to a press release issued by the Federal Reserve, “most major market groups posted increases in September.” Gains were particularly noted in the production of nonmetallic mineral products, fabricated metal products, computer and electronic products, and motor vehicles and parts. The Fed also pointed to additional increases in “food, beverage, and tobacco products; apparel and leather, chemicals, and petroleum and coal products.” In looking at the latest numbers, the financial site Bloomberg noted that “domestic demand for merchandise has generally softened amid both shifting consumer preferences and inflation.” For all of that, the site Investing contends that the latest manufacturing numbers are a “fresh illustration that most of the U.S. economy is running hot by any historical measure.” By Garry Boulard Planning for the building of a new middle school in northern Colorado that will house as many as 900 students could begin in earnest next year, depending upon results of a bond election three weeks from now. Officials with the Weld RE-4 School District, which is based in Windsor, are hoping to see the passage of a $271 million bond package that will be primarily used to not only build a new middle school, but also two new elementary schools. The growing district, made up of ten schools, serves students in both Windsor and Severance, as well as the west side of the city of Greeley. All three cities have seen double-digit increases in their populations in the last decade, a trend reflected in the growing enrollment growth of Weld RE-4 School District, which has gone from just over 4,000 students a decade ago, to more than 8,100 in the last academic year. The bond, which earlier was proposed as a $294 million package, will also fund the construction expansion of the Severance Middle School, located at 1801 Avery Plaza Street, adding 300 new seats; as well as new space adding nearly 500 seats at the Severance High School, located at 1200 Hidden Valley Parkway. Plans additionally call for the expansion of the Windsor Charter Academy, located at 680 Academy Court. Safety upgrades and new security infrastructure will also be undertaken district-wide, if the bond passes. Prospects for the bond’s passage are uncertain: last November voters in the district rejected by a 51% to 49% margin a smaller $179 million bond, also for facility construction and upgrade projects. By Garry Boulard A successful motel located in the middle of a greatly romanticized Old West is up for sale in southeastern Arizona. The Larian Motel sits on a 2-acre site at 410 Fremont Street in Tombstone, a city with a population of 1,300 people that is most known as the site of the famous 1881 Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. That shootout between such legends as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, representing the law; and Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers, representing the other side, is popularly seen as the most famous shootout in the history of the Old West. The one-story motel sits next to the Schieffelin Hall, which was erected in 1881 as an opera house and is thought to be the largest existing adobe structure in the in the southwest region. Built in 1952, the Lorain Motel was never visited by Earp, Holliday or any of the outlaws. But it’s regarded as a tourist mainstay whose early construction was greeted by the local Tombstone Epitaph as simply “another downtown motel project.” The property has endured through the decades as Tombstone’s legend, known as the “town too tough to die” and captured in countless films and books, has endured as well. Renovated in 2013, the 13-room motel is classified as a Class C building and is listed by the real estate company DeLex Realty of Glendale for $1.3 million. By Garry Boulard It was one thing, nearly a year ago, to see the successful passage of the giant $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It’s quite another to spur the funding and approval process for any number of road, bridge, water, and broadband projects across the country. To that end, President Biden has just announced a renewed effort to get as many projects underway as soon as possible. “We just have to keep it going,” Biden remarked at the site of a new subway line project in Los Angeles. “And I know we can.” So far, at least $180 billion has been approved for projects, with funding primarily going to state, local, and tribal governments. As part of the effort to push things from the talking stage to the doing stage, the Department of Transportation has announced the creation of what is being called a Project Delivery Center of Excellence. That center will be tasked with bringing together builders, engineers, project managers, and transportation officials, among others, to tackle such thorny construction issues as best practices, project cost estimates and overruns, and change orders. Speaking at a White House summit on the topic, Mitch Landrieu, national coordinator for infrastructure projects under the new legislation, remarked: “We’re really going to push hard to make it go faster and try to do it better, and try to get at least all the federal agencies focused on accelerating the pace of design, construction, permitting.” The Biden Administration has additionally announced the hiring of more than 2,500 engineers, environmental analysts, and technology specialists in a variety of federal agencies to help facilitate the implementation process for infrastructure projects. By Garry Boulard A plan to build a nearly 81,000 square-foot, two-story center that will be devoted to cancer care and treatment in Santa Fe has cleared an important hurdle. Members of the Santa Fe City Council have given their approval to the building of the center, which will go up alongside the larger Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, located at 455 St. Michael’s Drive. The plan has been long in the talking stage and subject to public input meetings. Neighborhood opposition to the project centered primarily on concerns regarding the amount of traffic the facility would draw, as well as noise. Those concerns most likely explained what turned out to be a close 5 to 4 council vote in favor of the project, which will also see construction of a parking lot and covered walkway. Work is expected to begin on the cancer treatment center by next year, with an anticipated 2024 completion date. Earlier this year, Christus officials said they were committed to building a facility which would join together several disciplines under one roof, with a particular focus on both expanded services and patient experience. At the time of that announcement, Lillian Montoya, Christus chief executive officer, said the new center would feature “outstanding physicians, cutting edge technology and modern facilities.” As planned, the center will also include linear accelerators for radiation treatment and imaging equipment, as well as an infusion and immunotherapy center, and “fast-track room” designed for quick procedures. The Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center is the oldest general hospital in New Mexico, and the largest of its kind in the populous northern section of the state. Four years ago the medical center saw a $40 million expansion of its facilities, resulting in larger patient rooms and more space for technology and equipment. By Garry Boulard |
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