The Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that new construction jobs increased in a 12-month period between September 2018 and September of this year in 244 out of 358 metro areas surveyed. Only in 61 metro areas did the job rate decrease, while 53 metro areas reported no substantive change. The largest gains had a distinctly Western flavor with the Dallas-Plano-Irving area producing 15,000 new construction jobs, for a 10 percent increase. Once again, the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area showed double-digit construction job increases, adding 12,400 new jobs, for a 10 percent increase. The only other metro area that came close to the Dallas and Phoenix area growth was the Long Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale region, which saw 10,700 new construction jobs, for an overall 7 percent increase. Construction job decreases were reported in metro New York City, which lost 3,600 jobs between September 2018 and September 2019—for a 2 percent decline. The job loss was nearly as severe in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area of North Carolina where more than 3,400 jobs were lost, for a 5 percent decline. According to the BLS, the vast majority of job losses in all nonfarm employment occurred in the Midwest, while the states of the West saw anywhere from 0.1 to 3 percent growth. A separate reported issued by the BLS noted that the nation’s construction industry has added an average of 13,000 jobs per month so far in 2019. That report, Current Employment Statistics Highlights, added: “The October employment change followed weaker economic indicators for construction in September with declining residential building permits and new home sales.” By Garry Boulard
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In a northern Colorado school district that has in recent years experienced double-digit enrollment growth, plans are now underway for the construction of two new schools. The more than half-century old Greeley West High School, located at 2401 35th Avenue, has long been in need of upgrading. But a study conducted by the Cunningham Group architectural firm, which has offices in Denver, earlier recommended that the facility be torn down and replaced with an entirely new facility. Now voters in the Greeley-Evens School District have given their approval to a $395 million bond that will pay for the construction of a new Greeley West High School, as well as a handful of other facility projects. Also scheduled for work: the construction of two new elementary schools, and a 50,000 square foot addition to the S. Christa McAuliffe STEM Academy at 600 51st Avenue. Another 35,000 square foot addition will go up at the Chappelow K-8 Arts Magnet School at 2001 34th Street, while every school in the district is slated to see safety and security upgrades. During the campaign for the bond, school officials noted that the district has grown by more than 7,000 students since 1999, and now has at least 5,000 more students than it can reasonably accommodate. Even more pressing: estimates indicate that the district may see the addition of another 1,400 students in the next few years. The enrollment growth is reflective of the population growth in larger Weld County, which added 10,000 new people in just 2017 alone, and today has a total population of more than 314,000. That population growth is primarily sparked by oil and natural gas production, an industry so large locally that earlier this year Weld County launched its own oil and gas department with the idea of more efficiently processing drilling permit applications. The Greeley-Evans School District is headquartered in Greeley, but also encompasses the city of Evans. By Garry Boulard The Labor Department is looking at a proposal that would allow employers to disclose worker retirement plans via a website. The idea behind the proposal is to reduce the time and expense of sending lengthy retirement plan documents through the mail, as is traditionally the practice with many businesses. In a statement, Eugene Scalia, Secretary of Labor, said that by using modern technology, the nation’s employers could realize savings in the “billions of dollars.” Scalia continued: “The U.S. Department of Labor is focusing on rulemaking that eliminates unnecessary burdens while furthering the needs of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States.” The Labor Department estimates that as much as $2.4 billion in the next decade could be saved by companies through the elimination of printing, paper, and mailing costs. In offering the proposal, the Department of Labor has also issued a Request for Information for contractors on how to work an online retirement information system. The deadline for the Request for Information is November 22. A press release issued by the Labor Department says it is also looking for input on a “broad range of disclosure-related topics, including scope, content, design and delivery.” The new online retirement information proposal was developed after months of study by the Labor Deparment’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. The website Plansponsor noted that in addition to putting retirement information online, employers in the near future may be able to further supplant printed policy information by hosting annual meetings with the recordkeeping firms. Those meetings would be designed to “refresh plan details, such as employer contributions, and how adding e-delivery could simplify their own notification process, whether it’s including asset allocation or savings decisions.” By Garry Boulard A Birmingham, Alabama-based developer who is already building one luxury apartment complex in Colorado Springs has announced plans to build another. Crowne Partners says it wants to build what will be called The Crowne at Rio Vista on an 18-acre site on the northeast side of the city. The project, near the intersection of Powers Boulevard and Barnes Road, will include 285 individual units. Those apartments will vary in size from one to three bedrooms, with rents running from $1,200 to just under $2,000 a month. The four-building Crowne at Rio Vista will also include a fitness room, swimming pool, club room, yoga room, several courtyards, a dog park, and outdoor fireplaces and grills. Crowne Partners’ other upscale apartment complex in Colorado Springs is called The Crowne at Briargate. The company has developed similar rental projects in Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. With a population increase fueled by its coming health care and technology industries, Colorado Springs has seen its average monthly rents increase in the last three years by more than 1 percent. By Garry Boulard el paso voters approve big bond for school district security upgrades and other facility projects11/7/2019 Nearly 60 percent of voters in the Ysleta Independent School District have given their approval to a historic $425 million bond designed to fund a variety of school building projects. With a nod to the increasing incidence of school place violence, the bond will also fund a series of security and safety upgrades across the district. The largest projects will see the district building two new elementary schools and one middle school. Meanwhile, the Bel Air High School at 731 N. Yarbrough Drive will see a complete upgrading, with plans also announced for the rebuilding of the Dolphin Terrace Elementary School at 9790 Pickerel Drive. The bond will fund refrigerated air installation projects in a host of the district’s schools. In an interview with the El Paso Times after the successful passage of the bond, Ysleta Independent School District Superintendent Xavier De La Torre remarked: “I never want to have a discussion with a parent and have to admit that some of our older schools are less safe than some of our new schools.” The superintendent added that the goal of the district now is to make sure “all of our schools are equally safe for all students and staff.” By Garry Boulard A nationally known independent craft brewery based in Fort Collins expects to see work begin sometime early next year on a long-planned micro-winery that will also include blending and packing space. The Odell Brewing Company, which was launched three decades ago inside a converted grain elevator, is today regarded as one of the largest breweries in the country with a distribution network comprising nearly two dozen states. Now the company wants to transform an existing structure on property it owns at 824 E Lincoln Avenue on the eastern side of downtown Fort Collins. As planned, the facility will house a wine cellar and tasting room, as well as outdoor shaded patio space. The micro-winery will make Odell's first foray into the wine business. The exact type of wine the brewery will produce has not yet been announced. "It's wide open, both metaphorically and geographically," Odell director of marketing Alex Kayne recently told the publication The Drinks Business." Upon completion sometime next summer, the facility will offer wine on tap, as well as packing it in cans for distribution throughout Colorado. By Garry Boulard After showing greater interest in renting, Baby Boomers across the country may be returning to the home-buying market, according to a new survey release by the Washington-based National Association of Home Builders. In its latest Housing Market Index, the association is reporting that people above the age of 55 are expressing increase interest not only in single-family homes, but multi-family condominiums as well. Would-be homeowners born in 1964 or earlier "continue to seek downsized homes, but with higher end features and amenities," said Karen Schroeder, the chairperson of NAHB'S 55+ Housing Industry Council. In a statement, Schroeder added, "While conditions remain positive, headwinds such as labor shortages and rising construction costs are still dampening the market a bit." The NAHB's latest index survey covers industry sentiment from July to September of this year, a period of time that has seen builders expressing the most confidence in the 55 years of age or older market since before the onset of the Great Recession. The index also looks at such variables as current sales, expected sales in the next six months, and prospective buyer traffic. While the index showing for expected sales and the traffic of prospective buyers was actually down in the most recent quarter, the category that mattered most - current sales - showed a two-point increase. According to the NAHB index, Baby Boomer interest in single-family and multi-family condominiums have shown a gradual but steady increase since 2013. Contractors building new houses with the needs of Baby Boomers in mind will also be building for a massive demographic: According to the Pew Research Center, more than 72 million people currently comprise the Baby Boomer generation. It is second in size only to hose born between 1981 and 1996, making up the Millennial Generation, which currently numbers around 73 million. By Garry Boulard Work could begin early next year on the construction of a $40 million office building geared for high-tech tenants in Tempe. The project is being developed by Irgens Partners LLC, a commercial real estate developer with offices in Phoenix. The six-story project is set to go up on a 2.3-acre site at 979 East Playa del Norte Drive near Discovery Triangle, a 25 square-mile economic development area that includes both Tempe and Phoenix. As planned, the roughly 92,000 square foot building will include sustainable design features with floor to ceiling glass windows and office space heights topping out at twelve feet. Also included in the project is an outdoor landscaped patio and parking space for 364 vehicles. Members of the Tempe City Council have now signed off on a development agreement with Irgens to get the project built. Launched in 1983, and with offices in Illinois and Wisconsin, Irgens specializes in both healthcare and commercial real estate projects. By Garry Boulard Nearly a dozen long-planned campus and facility construction and upgrade projects will become reality if voters prove willing to approve an $84 million general obligation bond. The planned Central New Mexico Community College projects include the design and construction of trades and applied technologies facilities on the school’s main campus, as well as the phase one work on a new Film Production Center of Excellence. In discussing the need to build and expand the school’s trades and applied technologies facilities, CNM President Katherine Winograd recently told the Albuquerque Journal: “This part of education is very hands-on, very lab-intensive, very equipment-intensive.” The largest community college in New Mexico, CNM is also planning to build a multi-generational learning facility in Albuquerque’s South Valley, while improving its busy student services building. Additional work will see the building of an outdoor lecture hall and amphitheater, also on the main campus, and general facility renovations on the school’s Westside Campus. By Garry Boulard The Washington-based financial news service Kiplinger is giving high marks to Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico for tax policies that spur economic growth and investment. The publishing giant classifies Arizona in the “most tax-friendly” category for its relatively low personal income and property tax rates, also noting that Arizona’s average state and local sales tax rate currently stands at 8.3 percent. Both Colorado and New Mexico are listed in the marginally less favorable categories of “tax friendly.” Colorado is applauded for having a lower than average income and property tax rate, with an overall sales tax rate of 7.6 percent. New Mexico’s income and property tax rate is also lower than the national average, while its sales tax currently stands at a competitive 7.8 percent. Meanwhile, jobs in the three states are slated to increase anywhere from 1.9 percent to 2.5 percent in 2020, with Arizona hitting the 2.5 percent mark. Those jobs, says Kiplinger, will be “well distributed across sectors from good paying blue-collar work in construction, manufacturing, and trucking businesses to sophisticated R&D expansions.” Colorado will see a 2.1 percent increase in jobs, although the state’s growth may occur at a “moderately slower pace than last year because the supply of skilled workers is running low.” New Mexico will see a 1.9 percent increase in jobs, with “most of the hiring gains in the state’s mining sector which includes oil and gas extraction.” The publication states: “New Mexico is the only one of the energy-producing states not to have seen a reduction in rights because of the fall in oil prices.” The publication says that on a national level, 2020 promises the “best growth since before the Great Recession.” By Garry Boulard |
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