A building completed around 1908 and for generations housing law offices in downtown Fort Collins may soon be extensively repurposed as a restaurant. Located at 160 W. Mountain Avenue, the one-story structure measures some 9,000 square feet and has been designated as a Class C building. It was purchased by businessman William S. Hill in the early 1930s and subsequently used as offices for Hill's son and grandson, both of whom were lawyers. Now a plan is underway to update the structure and turn it primarily into restaurant space, with a portion of the building given over to retail. The project belongs to descendants of the Hill family as well as the Fort Collins-based Wayside Real Estate and is currently under review by the City of Fort Collins. The building is part of a block of contiguous structures, all of which were once mostly retail, but in recent years have become taverns, coffee shops, and eateries. Originally, the structure was the home to the Barkley, Bouton, and Crain Hardware Company before it was transformed into office space and has undergone several facade changes through the decades. Before any repurposing work can begin on the structures, notes the newspaper Coloradoan, the "city's historic preservation office will need to issue updated findings related to the building's status as a historic resource." Renderings of the repurposing show a building with an exposed original cornice and side patio facing out onto N. Mason Street. Upon completion of the project, the structure, which also has a basement level, will be officially called the William S. Hill Building. If the project secures city approval, it is expected that work on the structure will begin soon with a general 2024 completion date. By Garry Boulard
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A new hotel on the site of a former 1960s Travelodge Motel may be joining the Phoenix skyline. The companies Day and Sam Incorporated and Copper Square LLC have proposed building an eight-story hotel that would go up on a 2.2-acre site at the southwest corner of North 11th Street and E. Van Buren Street. As proposed, the project, which is being called the Ahir Hotel, would include 254 rooms and two levels of structured parking with space for 128 vehicles. Up to 5,000 square feet of non-residential space will be built on the hotel’s ground floor. According to city documents, the hotel will feature a façade “with a variety of colors and materials providing visual interest.” Trees will be planted on both the 11th Street and Van Buren Street side, which will “reduce the urban heat island effect, while also improving thermal comfort to site users and the surrounding neighborhood.” The project is scheduled to be reviewed by the Phoenix Planning Commission on November 2. The property is currently the home to a two-story building which was built in 1961 and formerly served as a Travelodge Motel, advertising such features as refrigerated air, free television, and room phones. Travelodge Motels were one of the first motel chains in the U.S., and rapidly expanded in the 1950s and 60s with a particular emphasis on downtown locations in the West. By Garry Boulard A move to streamline the administration of federal disaster assistance is moving forward in Washington. The Disaster Assistance Simplification Act has won the approval of the U.S. Senate and has since been sent to the House. It will, upon becoming law, not only expedite the process of disaster assistance, but will also create a new disaster intake system. Such a system, remarked Michigan Democrat Senator Gary Peters in a letter to the Western Governors Association, would “improve information flow within the expansive, multi-agency system of disaster assistance programs.” By so doing, a “single, comprehensive point of contact” would do away with “burdensome, duplicative application processes for people and communities recovering from a disaster.” As written, the bill would make it possible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to share information on disaster survivors with other federal agencies in an effort to make things easier for the survivors themselves. FEMA would also become the lead agency in implementing assistance for all disaster victims. In arguing for the legislation, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul remarked: “We live in a digital age, for goodness sakes. People shouldn’t have to fill out so many forms.” Added Rand: “We want the portal to be easier, easier to access for people to get into the computer, to fill out the forms, and one form instead of many forms.” The new bill is particularly important to residents living in the West where natural disasters have been occurring with greater frequency in recent decades. Those disasters, notes a statement from the Western Governors Association, include "floods, droughts, tornadoes, mudslides, earthquakes, hurricanes, and, particularly, wildfires.” By Garry Boulard Nine buildings have been purchased in one fell swoop in downtown El Paso, with the future use of the structures not yet announced. A company connected to the Parking Systems of America has acquired the properties, but according to published reports, said there are no plans for creating more parking lots on the block in question. While exact plans for the structures have not been revealed, it has been speculated that they may be upgraded for new retail purposes. In the spring of 2017, Parking Systems purchased a seven-story building located at 416 N. Stanton, as well as an adjacent parking lot with space for around 240 vehicles. The Dallas-based Parking Systems has properties throughout Texas and focuses primarily on garages for Class A office properties, as well as surface lots. The new purchase, by Belclaire Realty of Dallas, which is described as the sister company of Parking Systems, takes in properties on four blocks of South Stanton Street, as well as a single property located at 201 E. Overland Avenue, several blocks away from Stanton Street. While a price for the combined properties was not divulged, the El Paso Times has reported that they went for just over $3 million. The buildings are mostly one-story structures in a retail part of downtown that between the 1940s and 90s was thriving, but in recent years has endured a large number of vacancies. The story of just one of the properties, at 300 S. Stanton, is instructive: recently the JJF Shoes store, it was a different shoe store a decade ago, called Shoe Show. Before that it was the home to the Household Furniture Company, and in the 1960s was the Plaza Furniture Company. Like most of the structures on the block, the one at 300 S. Stanton, is more than a century old. By Garry Boulard The durable Fry’s Food and Drug chain, an Arizona institution, has announced plans to build another four new supermarkets in the Grand Canyon State before the end of next year. Headquartered in Tolleson, Arizona, the company operates nearly 130 stores in the state, along with around one hundred fuel stations. While those stores are strategically located in all regions of the state, the company’s greatest market saturation has always been in metro Phoenix, where it currently has 27 stores. Founded in Contra Costa County, California, Fry’s begin its expansion into Phoenix in 1960, opening a store that featured “Arizona’s largest service meat department.” By the 1990s, the chain had around 90 stores in the state. At the end of that decade, the chain became a division of the Kroger Company. The new stores come in the wake of an expansion plan that has seen the company build seven stores in Arizona during the last five years, representing an overall investment of more than $550 million. While the company’s traditional stores ranged in size between 20,000 and 40,000 square feet, its Marketplace stores can be as large as 105,000 square feet. In announcing the expansion plans, Monica Garnes, president of the company, remarked that the building of those stores, “demonstrates Fry’s significant commitment to Arizona,” as well as its “positive impact on the state’s economy and employment numbers.” To date, only one location for the new Arizona stores has been announced: a $43 million Fry’s superstore in Marana. By Garry Boulard A proposal to spur development in underserved communities is currently working its way through the U.S. Senate, although its prospects in the House remain uncertain until that chamber elects a new Speaker. As introduced, the Community Development Investment Tax Credit is designed to free up capital for what are known as community development financial institutions. In presenting the legislation, Virginia Senator Mark Warner remarked that “talent and ambition are not confined by income bracket or zip code.” But, he added: “Unfortunately, access to start-up capital often is.” The bill would make both increased equity and long-term financial capital available for thousands of smaller banking institutions that provide financing in disadvantaged and low-to-moderate income communities. The bill, continued Warner, will create a “new tax credit, helping to spur important private-sector investments and allowing these communities lenders to grow.” In a statement submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the American Bankers Association this week noted that the legislation provides a “comprehensive framework for incentivizing investments” in both Community Development Financial Institutions as well as Minority Depository Institutions. In so doing, continues the ABA statement, the tax incentives encourage the “flow of capital into these vital institutions, stimulating local economies, creating jobs, and empowering disadvantaged individuals and businesses.” The legislation was originally introduced last year by Warner and Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker but failed for a lack of action. In an interview with the Albuquerque Journal, Joshua Smith, New Mexico senior vice president of the Washington Federal Bank, remarked that CDFIs additionally play a “huge part in facilitating financial literacy, business plan development, and also just giving people a confidence that they have resources to support them as they build small businesses.” The Senate bill, which could be voted upon in the next several weeks, is also requesting up to $341 million for a CDFI fund. By Garry Boulard It's taken months, particularly given the number of parties involved, but preliminary planning work is moving apace for what is being touted as a community innovation center in Fort Collins. The project is the product of a unique partnership between the City of Fort Collins, the Poudre River Public Library District, and the Poudre School District, and will go up on the southeast side of the city on a 10-acre site. By design, the center will house a full-services library, multi-use spaces, and both aquatics and recreational facilities. Land for the project, located adjacent to the Fossil Ridge High School at 5400 Ziegler Road, is being donated by the school district. The city is paying for the construction of the aquatic facility, while the Poudre River Public Library District is paying for the library portion of the project. Once the new library is completed, say officials with the library district, the existing Council Tree Library at 2733 Council Tree Avenue, which is said to be too small for current purposes, will be closed. Work on the project could begin sometime in 2025. Before then, the three participating entities are expected to sign an Intergovernmental Agreement that will provide guidance on the project moving forward. By Garry Boulard A non-profit housing group called Homewise has announced plans to build up to half a dozen affordable townhomes in a historic residential section of Albuquerque. The project will go up at 119 High Street SW within the Huning Highlands neighborhood, on property that until this spring was the site of a 7,100 square-foot, two-story home that was nearly completely destroyed in a fire. The fire was most likely not viewed as a tragedy for neighbors who had complained about the condition of the more than century-old building, abandoned and boarded up for the most part of the last decade. In 2021, Homewise, with offices in both Albuquerque and Santa Fe, purchased the site with plans to repurpose the home, dividing the space into several condominium units. Now the organization is looking at the potential of a site that measures about a tenth of an acre, exploring the possibility of constructing either 5 or 6 townhomes, depending upon future input from the Albuquerque Landmarks Commission. The project, if approved, will become reality in a part of town populated with stately brick and wooden structures dating to the 1880s. Ironically, the affordable housing project will also be going up in a neighborhood where the average rent, according to various sources, is in excess of $1,500. Homewise was established in 1986 with a mission of providing affordable housing and financing for such housing. According to the group's latest annual report, it has thus provided $3.5 million in down payment assistance for home purchases, along with building 60 new homes in metro Santa Fe. By Garry Boulard Small Businesses Increasingly Embracing Artificial Intelligence Technology, Says New Survey10/18/2023 While perhaps not everyone is exactly sure what artificial intelligence is, a new survey is showing that nearly 50% of small business owners would like to use the computer science in their work. Compiled by the Washington-based business research company Morning Consult, the survey notes that 46% of respondents say they would find value in using AI technology for such purposes as inventory and supply chain management. But at the same time, an equally large 44% indicated that they are concerned that using any kind of AI tools may expose them to cybersecurity risks. The survey, done in conjunction with the wireless network operator giant Verizon, recorded the responses of nearly 700 small and midsize business nationally, and additionally showed that 35% of respondents thought AI technology could “offset pain points caused by labor shortages.” The Morning Consult/Verizon survey comports with another survey published in the newspaper Small Business Now showing that a large 91% of small businesses who are using AI say they think it has made their business more successful. In a news release accompanying the Morning Consult/Verizon survey, it was also noted that a growing number of small businesses were also increasingly upgrading their internet connection bandwidth, nearly doubling from 27% in 2020 to 53% this year. But for all of that, noted the release, “a good portion of small and midsize businesses are failing to invest in cybersecurity proportionately to their investment in internet bandwidth and other technology upgrades.” In fact, only around a third of responding businesses said they had implemented new technology security systems, and almost half, at 45%, do not offer cybersecurity employee training. By Garry Boulard Denver's Metropolitan State University Wants to Build New Residential and Commercial Structures10/18/2023 Up to 420,000 square feet of mixed-use space could see construction in Denver if plans for a university project become reality. The Metropolitan State University of Denver wants to build both new residential and retail space on its spacious 150-acre Auraria campus in the central part of the city. As envisioned, the project will go up near the intersection of the Auraria Parkway and 11th Street. According to just-announced plans, more than 300 units of mixed-income affordable housing will be built, with a portion of those units available for the school’s faculty and staff. That residential building will also include facilities for the school’s Auraria Higher Education Center, which features programs for children from 12 months to 5 years of age. In a statement, Colleen Walker, chief executive officer of the Auraria Higher Education Center, said the mission behind the new project is to “create new spaces for accessible housing opportunities, early and higher educational programs, and continue to support workforce development.” The retail and/or commercial building part of the project will house classroom space for the school’s workforce development. If all goes as currently planned, work on the commercial building could launch next summer, with a rough completion date of the end of 2025. Work on the residential building is set to begin sometime in early 2025, with a late 2026 completion date. Founded in 1965, the Metropolitan State University is defined as an opportunity school, with an emphasis on smaller class sizes. In the fall of 2022, the school had an enrollment of nearly 16,000 students. By Garry Boulard |
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