New student housing projects are either launching or in the planning stage across the country, even as the continuing presence of Covid-19 has negatively impacted enrollment numbers. Among the projects underway just this month: a $100 million student housing complex for Louisiana State University’s medical school in New Orleans; and a $1.1 billion mixed-use project at the Davis campus of the University of California that will include student housing. Meanwhile, plans have been announced for the building of a $32 million student housing facility at Morgan State University in Baltimore; along with an $87 million, 25-story student tower at Georgia State University. The new projects are coming at the same time that the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has released a new report showing that undergraduate enrollment is off by 4.4% over the fall of 2019. Four year colleges have been hit the hardest with a 10.5% decline, followed by private schools, seeing an 8.5% drop. Undergraduate enrollment, according to the center’s statistics, has dropped some 3.5% in Arizona in the last year, with Colorado taking a 5.9% decline, and New Mexico off by 9.7%. Compounding the challenge for new student housing is the overwhelming number of schools that are currently conducting classes online, with only 25% offering instruction in person. Even so, argues the publication Building Design + Construction: “There will always be a need for residence life that allows students to collaborate, socialize, and interact.” Agrees Multi-Housing News: “Student housing professionals remain optimistic about the future.” But industry sources say that while significantly large new student housing projects are expected to continue well into 2022, the nuts and bolts of their construction will change in response to the pandemic. Those sources predict less dense designs, with a greater emphasis on pedestrian flow in new student housing projects. Also on deck: more outdoor and open spaces, HVAC and touchless access, and increased Wi-Fi due to the fact that so many students will be video conferencing or streaming. By Garry Boulard
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A popular metro Albuquerque donut and coffee shop has received an early green light to build a new 1,300 square foot location in Rio Rancho. Members of the Rio Rancho Governing Body have given their approval to site plans for the project, which is slated to go up in the 2000 block of Unser Boulevard SE. As planned, the new Rise + Roast Donuts + Coffee outlet, located within the Petroglyph Medical Plaza, will feature a drive-up window, as well as space for both indoor and outdoor seating. Project architect for the new location is the Albuquerque-based 66 Architect LLC. A rendering of the project shows a one-story building with a wrap-around glass exterior. That exterior will be additionally comprised of stucco, metal and fiber board paneling. Rise + Roast opened its first location roughly 2 years ago at 401 Eubank Boulevard SE and has since sparked a devoted following for its lattes and wide variety of donuts, rolls, fritters and other delicacies. By Garry Boulard Work could begin early next year on the construction of a 60-bed hospital that will go up on the southeast side of Tucson. TMC HealthCare, which is based in Tucson, says the new hospital will be part of an ongoing three-phase program seeing the health care service build out a 22-acre campus medical campus at 10350 E. Drexel Road. That effort has so far seen the construction of a two-story, 44,000 square foot medical office structure housing primary and urgent care services that was opened in early 2017. Work is now underway on the project’s second phase: an ambulatory surgery center scheduled for completion in the fall of 2021. The third phase of the Rincon Health Campus will be the new 60-bed hospital, which will measure around 150,000 square feet. In a statement, Judy Rich, chief executive officer of TMC Health Care, said the company has offered services to metro Tucson for decades, but that “over time, we have expanded access to healthcare for communities in southeast Tucson.” Launched as the Tucson Medical Center, the health care service opened its first hospital in Tucson during World War II. It is thought that the new hospital will cost around $80 million to build. By Garry Boulard The market popularity of residential space in less dense parts of the country will become increasingly apparent next year as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, says a comprehensive new report. According to Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2021, published by the Urban Land Institute, homebuyers in the next year are going to be more interested in affordable housing largely in suburban locations. This means that a movement first tracked by demographers several years ago of young people moving out of urban cores and into the suburbs is only going to increase in 2021. “The next three to five years could be difficult as demographics favor suburban locations, and restrictions on public transit, office and retail/restaurant density, and live entertainment—and individuals’ concerns about them—make big city life less appealing,” notes the study. That same demographic is more interested than ever in neighborhoods with plenty of open spaces and parks. At the same time the ULI study is forecasting a growing demand among retailers for smaller spaces, a trend that may nicely dovetail with the need for mall owners to find new tenants. Those owners, suggests the study, will increasingly prove willing to break down the spaces left vacant in the wake of closed department stores such as Sears and JC Penny in order to accommodate the more modest needs of newer retailers. The study, done in conjunction with the tax and consulting service PwC, is based on information provided by more than 1,600 leading real estate experts, and says that overall, Sunbelt cities are likely to prove more popular in 2021 than their counterparts in the North. Noting that while properties with a large public use component such as sports and entertainment venues are proving less appealing because of the pandemic, “logistics facilities and data centers are generally thriving.” The study also looks at the future of the urban office, noting that because of the pandemic, many companies have adjusted to having staff working remotely and may keep that practice intact long after Covid-19 has finally died. “On the other hand,” suggests the study, “the belief is strong among our interviewees that offices provide an amenity-rich environment that fosters communication, creativity, and collaboration that cannot easily be replicated in a workforce entirely ensconced in their homes.” By Garry Boulard A decision is expected to be made before the end of the year regarding the construction of a new skate park in Las Cruces or the renovation of an existing one. Members of the Las Cruces City council are weighing the two options, both of which will cost more than $1 million. One calls for upgrading an existing 33,000 square foot facility at 151 N. Walnut Street that was built in 1998, but has since experienced some structural decline. It is thought that it will cost just over $1 million for the upgrade. The second option envisions the construction of a new park, with a cost estimate of $1.4 million. Earlier this year, Las Cruces received some $845,000 in funding to be applied for either project as a capital outlay approved by the New Mexico State Legislature. The city is also contemplating construction of several smaller “skate spots” in existing parks in various parts of the city, measuring anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 square feet, with a cost estimates ranging between $50,000 and $200,000. The city is accepting public comments on the various skate park proposals until November 23, with the hope of making a decision before the end of the year. An online petition organized last year attracted around 2,000 signatures asking for a new park. City officials say the design work on either option could begin in early 2021. By Garry Boulard Addressing an ongoing controversy, members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission are expected to vote next week on new rules that will limit the amount of land that can be used for oil and gas exploration. The commission has already approved a 2,000-foot setback between any drilling and a residential dwelling, while also taking into consideration the proximity of communities that have been historically impacted by past drilling activity. Those communities include Native American, minority, and low-income neighborhoods where drilling may have taken place. Now members of the commission are expected to decide on a proposal that will additionally ban drilling activity within 500 feet or more of riparian areas, up from the current 300 feet. In 2018 Colorado voters rejected a state proposition that would have increased by 2,000 additional feet the then existing 500-foot drilling setback. But last year Colorado lawmakers approved a bill changing the mission of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation from one of basically promoting drilling, to one that looks at such activity more critically. The change of the commission’s purpose has been met with criticism by the state’s oil and gas drillers, as well as the Denver-based Common Sense Institute which recently claimed that such proposed setbacks, or buffer zones, could eliminate up to $2 billion in drilling, costing the state and local governments $130 million in tax revenue. Last year, Colorado was the fifth largest oil-producing state in the country at 187 million barrels per year, behind New Mexico’s 339 million and Texas’ 1.8 billion barrels. By Garry Boulard A comprehensive infrastructure bill with a dollar value of around $2 trillion could be introduced by a new Biden Administration and passed by Congress late next spring. Or so says John Porcari, an adviser to the Biden transition team and former Department of Transportation deputy secretary. In an address to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Porcari said the impetus behind such a bill will be Biden himself, noting that the former Vice-President, “has long been an advocate of infrastructure. He feels it in his bones.” Porcari said he is convinced that a President Biden will endeavor to be fiscally responsible, while still promoting large infrastructure solutions. “Every dollar is going to need to do double or triple duty,” Porcari remarked. “We need to think of transportation investments not as an end, but as a means to an end.” Continued Porcari: “We need equity, righting some of the ways of the past. Our aging infrastructure needs to be replaced. How do we do this in an equitable way?” The transportation construction industry should also expect a greater emphasis on transit spending, in particular zero-emission transit for cities whose populations exceed 100,000 people, which would include Albuquerque, Denver, El Paso, Phoenix and Tucson, among other Western cities. Porcari additionally said that state departments of transportation should expect an increase in federal grant programs, with various projects being supported by accelerated Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants. Those state DOTs, said Porcari, should soon begin to implement checklist reviews of the projects that are most needed within their state borders in order to better respond to the imminent Biden effort. According to multiple sources, the Biden infrastructure effort will see at least $50 billion delegated to road, highway, and bridge repairs in the first year; and $3.5 million for competitive Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development grants and Infrastructure for Rebuilding America funding. It is also thought that there could be a doubling of funding for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program, which supports any number of airport infrastructure construction and upgrading projects. By Garry Boulard Six months ago the big Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced plans to build a $12 billion manufacturing plant in Phoenix at an undisclosed site. Now members of the Phoenix City Council are contemplating funding up to $205 million in new public infrastructure work to support the construction and operation of that plant. According to a city document, the building of the infrastructure is important because the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will bring “one of the largest foreign investments in Arizona history and provide thousands of quality jobs” to the state. If the council approves a development agreement with TSMC it will also be committing itself to more than $200 million in infrastructure work, including the construction of new streets, sidewalks, gutters, and streetlights. The effort will also see the building of public water infrastructure with a pressure reducing station and 16-inch to 54-inch diameter water transmission lines, as well as wastewater system improvements with 15-inch to 60-inch diameter gravity sewer mains and one or more lift stations. Although the exact location for the new plant has not been publicly announced, the Phoenix Business Journal last month said the facility will most likely go up on the north side of Phoenix, on a portion of 3,500-acre site near Loop 303 and Interstate 17. By Garry Boulard A popular and much-used stadium in Grand Junction may soon be in line for extensive renovations. Built in 1949, the Ralph Stocker Stadium is located at 998 N. 12th Street on the northeast side of the city and serves as the home to Colorado Mesa University Mavericks football team. The stadium is a part of the city’s larger Lincoln Park. A plan, detailed by the architectural firm of Perkins & Will, which has offices in Denver, envisions the demolition of existing stands on the west side of the city-owned stadium, and the building of new bleachers as well as a festival plaza. Additional stadium work is calling for the creation of a new concourse and new concessions, storage, and meeting room space, among other features. It is thought that the work on the Stocker building could cost as much as $11 million to complete. And that’s not to mention upgrade and renovation plans for the Sam Suplizio Field, which is also a part of the master plan for the 42-acre Lincoln Park site. The city may enter into a partnership with Colorado Mesa University and the Junior College World Series organization for the stadium work. Members of the Grand Junction City Council, meanwhile, are contemplating the refinancing of the stadium to help fund the new renovation work. By Garry Boulard After a precipitous decline of 14% this year, construction starts nationally are expected to increase by 4% next year, providing the latest evidence of a recovering industry, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The industry number-crunching service is predicting a 5% jump in residential construction next year, with nonresidential construction up by 3%. The residential sector, notes Richard Branch, Dodge chief economist, will “exceed its 2019 level of starts, thanks to historically low mortgage rates that will boost single-family housing.” The report is additionally predicting that the overall dollar value of single-family housing starts will be up by 7%, with the number of units growing by 6%. Reflecting the unprecedented growth of e-commerce businesses, commercial building starts, which includes new warehouse construction, are expected to be up by 5% in the next 12 months. Data center construction, listed in the office construction category, is also slated to see an increase, as well as institutional construction, which will be marginally up by 1%. But the report is also expecting to see a decline in education construction as well as a drop in petrochemical work. The strongest category heading into next year will be seen in electric utilities and gas plant work, forecast for a 35% jump. The utilities and plants sector is anticipated to see increased wind farm work, along with starts expected on several large liquefied natural gas export facilities. While the numbers for 2021 are for the most part on the up side, Branch notes that the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent economic shutdown prompted a “deep drop off in construction starts in the first half of 2020.” Overall, the industry suffered a loss of $738 million this year. “While the recovery is underway, the road to recovery will be long and fraught with potential potholes,” Branch predicts. By Garry Boulard |
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