If all goes according to plans, the construction of a new overpass bridge spanning Industrial Avenue as it meets with a Union Pacific Railroad line near the Santa Teresa port of entry could begin next year. The Santa Teresa Intermodal Ramp is designed to both better facilitate the flow of traffic at the busy port, while also making it possible for vehicles to not have to stop at a railroad crossing. Dona Ana County officials have long been interested in seeing the overpass built, spiriting an effort to apply for a $40 million grant that would come through a federal Department of Transportation program designed to eliminate railroad crossings. The county, in return, is committed to providing $8 million in funding as part of a local match requirement. That funding will more specifically come through the Federal Railroad Administration, under the auspices of the Transportation Department. According to county records, the grant funding will also contribute to the expansion of the Westpark Logistics Center, which will “relieve a freight and logistics bottleneck.” In addition, the ramp will “eliminate the potential for rail/vehicular crashes.” The Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program is funded at the level of $600 million a year for the next four fiscal years, paying for such efforts as bridge and tunnel construction, as well as track relocations and the installation of protective devices, signs, and signals to enhance safety at such crossings. By Garry Boulard
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An overwhelming number of respondents in a new industry survey say they are encountering difficulties in satisfying the requirements of the Build America, Buy America Act. That legislation, approved in May by President Biden, requires that all steel, iron, and manufactured products, among other items, for federal infrastructure projects must be produced in the U.S. According to the Buy America Materials Survey, conducted by the Associated General Contractors, exactly 93% out of the just over 600 polled said they were “currently experiencing long lead times” trying to obtain such materials. Among the items most difficult to secure in a timely fashion: plastic products, electrical equipment, nonferrous metal, and steel. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems were also frequently listed as unlikely to be easily secured domestically. Lead times have also increased for sprinkler systems, water pumps, and electrical equipment. But a lower number reported increased wait times for lumber, which may reflect the greater availability of that product in the last year. According to a press release accompanying the survey results, “widespread supply chain disruptions have made it difficult for firms to receive materials delivered on time, and as a result have impacted price volatility.” The consequences of the delayed materials is seen in the 58% of respondents reporting project cancelations, postponements, or projects being reduced in scale. The survey was conducted in September. Among companies responding, 49% specialized in building construction, followed by 24% centering on highway and transportation work, and 14% emphasizing utility infrastructure projects. By Garry Boulard The growing Hanover school district in southeast Colorado Springs is hoping to see passage in the November election of a new bond that will help fund facility construction and upgrade projects. With both an elementary school and high school serving more than 300 students, the district is one of the oldest established in Colorado and has in the last decade seen its enrollment grow by about 100 students. That growth is reflective of population trends in larger El Paso County, which has seen a 20% jump in the last ten years to its current 730,000 residents. That growth, in part, has prompted district officials to want to double the size of the current Prairie Heights Elementary School, located at 7930 Indian Village Heights in the city of Fountain. The construction would provide new space for art, music, media, and music classes that are currently being conducted in portable classrooms. Voters will be asked to approve a measure allowing the district to take on an additional nearly $14 million in debt, extending a bond originally approved in 2002. If approved, the bond would fund up to 30% of the elementary school expansion project, with the remaining 70% coming through the state’s innovative Building Excellent Schools Today grant program. By Garry Boulard Plans are still being studied for the construction of a visitors center in Albuquerque that will go up on the northeast side of the city at the base of the Sandia Mountain range. More specifically, the project will be built within the boundaries of the 640 acres of the Elena Gallegos Open Space area, which is nestled within the Cibola National Forest. City officials have said that the visitors center, or education center as it is frequently called, will be in response to the increased foot and bike traffic in the open space. That traffic has increased from just under 150,000 visitors in 2010 to over 258,100 in 2020. A feasibility study conducted earlier this year by the Albuquerque-based architectural firm of Dekker/Perich/Sabatini looked at several possible sites within the larger open space area, before suggesting a spot at the northeast corner of Tramway Boulevard and Simms Park Road. The study additionally recommended the construction of a one-story building measuring around 4,800 square feet at that site which would house a lobby, classroom space, offices, restrooms, meeting room, and coffee bar. While public input meetings on the project have already been held, a group called Save the Elena Gallegos Citizens Committee has been formed in opposition to the project. That group asserts that the building of any facility in the area would violate a 40-year-old legal covenant governing the space and restricting construction to such amenities as picnic tables and benches, restrooms, and shelters. A website for the group also argues that proposed center has the potential of causing “very real and serious harm” to the Elena Gallegos Open Space’s ecosystem. By Garry Boulard In an effort to quicken the pace of home construction, a number of state agencies and localities are implementing programs to build new modular housing. The Colorado Department of Transportation has just announced plans to spend up to $6.5 million on modular home projects for its large maintenance staff. Those homes will be built along the Interstate 70 corridor, as well as in several mountain towns. The Town of Frisco, in the central part of the state, could see the building of nearly two dozen such structures. The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting on an increase in such construction up and down the state, with one company, Factory OS taking on projects everywhere from South Lake Tahoe to Santa Cruz and Los Angeles. At the same time, the company Oaxaca Interests, based in Grand Prairie, Texas, has announced a new manufacturing plant that will be dedicated solely to making modular homes, with the first such homes scheduled to hit the market by next spring. According to the site Fortune Business Insights, the global modular construction market is expected to reach the $114 billion mark in 2028, up from last year’s $75 billion. The Fortune report also notes that the market is divided into two segments: permanent modular construction and relocatable modular construction, with permanent construction “the largest market share and fastest-growing segment.” Relocatable modular construction, meanwhile, is also expected to see an increase, responding to the need for temporary housing for emergency and relief operations. The market is additionally being helped by today’s technology, notes the site Motley Fool, pointing specifically to the use of 3D printing and robotics in the building of such homes. Those structures cost “10% to 20% less than site-built homes,” and could be seen as smart investments with the advent of “rising home prices and insufficient housing supply.” According to the Charlottesville, Virginia-based Modular Home Builders Association, modular home construction is likely to increase in popularity in the coming years, due to a combination of factors, including affordability, energy efficiency, and an abbreviated construction time. The association notes that an additional advantage for the modular home sector: they can be placed in any number of rural areas, even in the most remote spots, while construction companies are very often confined to building homes “in particular locations advantageous to them and the real estate companies.” By Garry Boulard Construction could begin sometime next year on the building of a long-planned 2,000-foot taxiway at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The airport is receiving up to $194 million in federal funds for the project made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Altogether, the project is expected to cost around $260 million, with the rest of the funding coming out of the airport’s passenger facilities charges. Earlier this spring, the project was given a green light by the Phoenix City Council. In announcing the federal funding, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said the new taxiway will make it possible for planes to both land and take off more quickly, contributing to a better aircraft flow. Gallego added that the runway will also come in handy during storms: “Having a bigger, better tarmac will allow us to adapt and have more ability to keep planes flying.” Located at 3400 E. Sky Harbor Boulevard some three miles to the east of downtown Phoenix, the Phoenix airport was opened in 1928 and is the eighth-busiest airport in the country. Airport officials say passenger traffic has jumped by 20% since August of 2021. Responding to that growth, the airport recently saw the completion of the final concourse at Terminal 4, a $310 million project providing an abundance of new retail space, as well as a 24,000 square foot transfer bridge. Preliminary planning for the taxiway project is already underway. An exact timetable for its construction has not yet been revealed. By Garry Boulard One of the fastest-growing school districts in Arizona is hoping to see passage next month of a nearly $200 million bond that will pay for the construction of two new schools, while also upgrading facilities across the district. The Queen Creek Unified School District is based in the southern Arizona city of Queen Creek, which has experienced a population explosion in the last two decades. That explosion has taken the city from 4,300 residents to now nearly 60,000, largely made up of people moving from Phoenix, which is nearly 40 miles to the northwest. A reporter for the Phoenix New Times visiting the city last fall observed: “It’s hard to miss the signs of rapid growth. Brand-new shopping centers overtake your view as you enter the town. Construction crews and road closures herald new housing developments and infrastructure improvements.” That population growth is reflected in the number of students enrolled in the district’s schools: up from just over 7,000 in the fall of 2016 to the current 12,600. District officials are forecasting that by 2024, total student enrollment will be nearing the 17,000 mark. Not surprisingly, at least nine elementary, middle, and high schools in the district are either currently operating at 90% operational capacity or are expected to reach that point by the fall of 2023. As planned, the bond will also fund upgrades to athletic facilities, as well as cross-district security upgrades. By Garry Boulard A combination of factors is leading to a perceptible slowdown in the national office real estate market, according to a comprehensive new report just released by the National Association of Realtors. The Commercial Market Insights Report notes that going into the third quarter of 2022, the office sector is struggling: “Although more people returned to their offices, after four quarters with positive net absorption, demand for office space dropped as net absorption turned negative again.” At the same time the “industrial boom continues to show no signs of stopping,” while the demand for multifamily housing remains fairly strong. In fact, industrial sector net absorption is at nearly 425 million square feet as of early fall. Although demand in the industrial sector may have tapered in recent months, says the report, the “volume of industrial space absorbed continues to be double that of pre-pandemic times.” Both Phoenix and Denver are listed among the top ten areas nationally with the strongest industrial sector absorption. Phoenix is seeing 23.4 million square feet net absorption, while the Mile High City’s numbers came in at 12.7 million. Most of the top 10 areas with the slowest year-to-year absorption were on either the East or West coast, although Colorado Springs saw a decline of 429,000 square feet. Although the spending power of consumers nationally has continued to decrease heading into late 2022, retail sector real estate remains strong. In fact, the overall worth of this market sector was up to $383 billion as of August. That figure is a strong 19% improvement over where things stood in the pre-pandemic month of August 2019. This means that net absorption in the retail sector has now been on the positive side for seven quarters in a row, with the quarter ending in September coming in at 23.2 million square feet. “General retail and neighborhood centers have driven the demand,” says the report, “accounting for nearly 90% of the net absorption.” The problematic office sector, meanwhile, is lagging. As of late this summer, some 6.5% of employed persons were still teleworking because of the Covid 19 pandemic. Although this sector saw four quarters on the plus side, from mid-2021 to mid-2022, “demand for office space dropped as net absorption turned negative again.” In a press release accompanying the latest NAR report, it was noted that “inflation, interest rates, supply chain, and geopolitical events are the main factors that will determine how commercial real estate will perform in the following months.” By Garry Boulard A single unit in one of downtown Denver’s more luxurious mixed-use properties is set to go to auction, beginning on November 17. What is called Unit 200 is in the upscale Beauvallon at the corner of Lincoln Steet and East 10th Avenue and encompasses just over 12,000 square feet of office and retail space. The space was previously used as a fitness and spa facility. The larger 15-story twin tower Beauvallon houses two and three-bedroom apartments, a spacious lobby swimming pool, a European garden, and two open air firepits. Condo units for sale in the building are usually priced anywhere from $500,000 to well over $2 million. The structure is located near the border of the city’s Golden Triangle neighborhood, in an area dominated by recent multi-level office and apartment buildings. The building, which was opened in 2005, is designed in what is described as a modified French Baroque style. That design has not been to everyone’s taste. In 2015, the publication Westword described the complex as “two piles of beige blobs marked by heavy arches,” with the towers “copped by ridiculous domes.” Businesses operating in the retail section of the building include a barbershop, dry cleaner, dental practice, and both coffee shop and restaurant space. The anticipated two-day auction listing is being handled by the Denver CRBE offices, with a minimum starting bid of $350,000. By Garry Boulard A building once used to house city offices in Farmington, New Mexico is set to be repurposed as a food bank facility. The Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration has announced that it is awarding a $915,900 grant to San Juan College to upgrade space in the structure for use as an innovative food hub. The officially named Harvest Food Hub serves as a marketplace for locally grown and produced food. According to its website, the group makes it possible for “farmers to work together to meet the growing demand for local, sustainable food in San Juan County.” Bulk and wholesale offerings from the Hub are, in turn, sold to area schools, restaurants, and other institutions. In announcing the grant, Alejandra Castillo, assistant EDA secretary, said the funding will “support small businesses and entrepreneurs, creating jobs and promoting economic resilience in New Mexico.” The space to be renovated at 310 W. Animas Street, on the south side of downtown Farmington, measures around 1,600 square feet. A larger portion of the building is already being used for retail purposes by the group, and additionally includes walk-in freezers and coolers. The EDA grant for the repurposing project is being matched by around $230,000 in local funds. If all goes as anticipated, the repurposing work is expected to begin in December, with a general completion date of around spring 2024. By Garry Boulard |
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