New Multi-Family Residential Complex Planned for Increasingly Popular Denver Neighborhood12/18/2020 A project that will see the construction of 278 residential units could start work on the south side of Denver sometime next year. The Houston-based Hanover Company has paid $9.5 million for a 2.5-acre site in the city’s Overland neighborhood, with the hope of putting up a 5-story apartment complex there. The location, on the southwest corner of West Jewell Avenue and South Acoma Street, is in an area of older warehouses and garages, as well as some new apartment structures. Several other area multifamily projects are currently in the planning stage there. The larger Overland neighborhood is one of the oldest sections of Denver where houses on average list for just under $500,000. The project, named Hanover South Broadway, will also include parking spaces on all levels of the structure for 344 vehicles. Project designer is the Houston-based architectural firm, W. Partnership. The site is two blocks to the west of the city’s S. Broadway Street, a thoroughfare lined with historic structures and stores. Development plans for what is being called Hanover South Broadway have now been approved by the City of Denver’s Community Planning and Development Department. Last month Hanover unveiled plans to build an urban village in Houston called Autry Park that will feature 5 towers, 1,500 residential units, and up to 350,000 square feet of office space. Hanover currently has projects in the building stage in California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. By Garry Boulard
0 Comments
A small community with around 2,500 people that is a part of the Navajo Nation may see the construction of a new 7-mile pipeline delivering vital and needed water. The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority is in the process of seeking nearly $5 million in funding to build the project’s infrastructure. That money would come through the New Mexico Water Project Fund, which is overseen by the New Mexico Finance Authority. The lack of available water in the Tohajilee community, 30 miles to the west of Albuquerque, has only naturally become a pressing concern to its residents. In recent weeks and months, notes the Navajo Times, the community has “relied on donations from private, city, county, federal and tribal sources for drinking water. For washing dishes and bathing, they’ve been using well water.” Those donations have come in the form of tanks of water being regularly hauled by truck to the Tohajilee community. The failure of several water wells have only added to the community’s challenges. An additional obstacle confronting the project is a current effort to secure some 2 miles of private land needed to build the new pipeline. That land is owned by Western Albuquerque Land Holdings. The New Mexico State Legislature earlier this year approved spending nearly $40 million in water system construction and upgrade projects through the Water Project Fund. In recent months, the Water Fund has awarded $5.7 million for the constriction of 1.4 miles of pipeline to the City of Gallup; and $2.2 million for a water pipeline and tank replacement project in Ruidoso Downs, among other projects. A timetable for the construction of the new Tohajilee pipeline has not yet been announced. By Garry Boulard Up to $45 billion in funding for public transit emergency relief may be a part of the final stimulus legislation approved in Congress. The transit industry has taken a decided hit since the Covid 19 onset and subsequent economic shutdown, with a decided drop in ridership, bringing with it an accompanying drop in fare revenues. According to a survey published by the Washington-based American Public Transportation Association, roughly 20% of all public transit agencies in recent months have transferred funds intended for capital projects to basic operational costs. The survey also revealed that 35% of the responding agencies said they had either delayed or outright cancelled capital improvement projects because of the pandemic. Those projects included new station construction and track upgrades. In a statement, Paul Skoutelas, president of the APTA, has urged Congress to approve new transit funding, contending that such funding will “ensure that public transit agencies can survive and help our communities recover from the economic fallout of the pandemic.” Skoutelas added: “The public transportation industry’s very survival is at stake.” Although the earlier proposed Coronavirus Response Additional Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020 did not contain transportation funding, a new bi-partisan relief package provides $45 billion for transportation. That legislation is slowly moving forward, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said from the Senate floor, remarking: “We made major headway hammering out a targeted pandemic relief package that would be able to pass both chambers with bipartisan majorities.” By Garry Boulard A project that will see the construction of a 16-story apartment building in the always-popular River North Art District has cleared an important hurdle. Members of the Denver City Council have given their approval to a re-zoning request for the project, which is slated to go up at 3225 Denargo Street. That site was once a part of the larger and historic Denargo Market, offering trucked-in produce and foods from area farms. In recent years, the area has undergone a transformation with the construction of new and upper end mixed-use apartment complexes. Now, Cypress Real Estate Advisors, which is based in Austin, wants to build 325 apartments at the site. The project, expected to cost around $20 million to complete, will also include 49 affordable housing units, the result of an agreement Cypress earlier fashioned with Denver’s Department of Housing Stability. Work on the new complex could begin next year. Cypress has emerged as an energetic developer of mixed-use properties across the country, with a focus on Colorado, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. By Garry Boulard The City of Colorado Springs has issued a Request for Proposals for the renovation of one of the city’s oldest public parks. Located at 4540 Fenton Road on the southeast side of the city, the Panorama Park has served the residents of a primarily lower-income neighborhood for more than four decades. But city officials say the park is underutilized because it has fallen into a state of neglect and is in need of a major renovation. That renovation, expected to cost around $9 million, will see a number of facility upgrades at the 13.5-acre site, including the building of new basketball and baseball fields, as well as a walking loop. Other aspects of the project will see the replacement of aging equipment, an interactive water spray area, large shelters for special events, and new bathroom facilities. The upgrading could additionally include construction of a community garden as well as a fenced-off dog park. The Panorama Park project was the subject of a study conducted two years ago by the Washington-based Urban Land Institute, which, according to city documents, looked at the upgrading as a “launching point to address an underserved community and their needs.” Members of the Colorado Springs City Council recently voted to approve some $3.7 million for the project, with the non-profit Great Outdoors Colorado group, which uses the proceeds of the state’s lottery for park projects, kicking in another $350,000. Additional funding is coming from a variety of public and non-profit sources. Work could begin on the Panorama Park renovation sometime next year. Submission deadline for the RFP is January 7. By Garry Boulard In order to finance continuing transportation infrastructure projects, more and more states are looking at the growth of electric and hybrid vehicles and seeing a promising new source of money. According to a report just issued by the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures, 28 states have now implemented such policies in the form of registration fees for both electric and hybrid vehicles. The move is seen as an inevitable result of the ongoing need for transportation infrastructure construction and upgrading, with state officials noting that the owners of such vehicles, by not using gasoline, are not contributing to fuel tax revenues. Those taxes at both the federal and state level have long been regarded as a primary source for road and bridge construction funding. The registration fees are categorized under the heading of “road user charges,” a transportation funding mechanism seeking to align the actual use of a given roadway by a driver. Last year more than 727,000 electric and hybrid vehicles were sold in the U.S., a number that is expected to substantially increase in 2021. While electric vehicles are in many ways unconventional, they still use a very conventional means of getting around: driving on streets, roads, and highways, all of which contribute to the infrastructure’s stress. The NCSL report, Special Fees on Plug-In Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, notes that proponents of raising registration fees are doing so to “bring equity among drivers by ensuring all drivers pay for using roadways.” In the Western states, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado have all imposed such feels, while the idea has yet to move beyond the talking stage in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. In Colorado, the current annual registration fee is set at $50 for all plug-in electric vehicles; Utah requires a $90 fee; while Wyoming has passed legislation requiring a $200 annual fee. Notes the report: “At least five states—California, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi and Utah—structure the additional fees to grow over time by tying the fees to the consumer price index or another inflated-related metric." “These states,” continues the report, “are striving to avoid the declining purchasing power of gas taxes due to years of fixed-rate structures.” By Garry Boulard A development agreement serving as a necessary precursor to a massive highway project in Arizona has been approved by members of the Kingman City Council. Both Kingman and State of Arizona officials have been pushing for years for the construction of a compact diamond interchange connected to the busy Interstate 40, which runs east to west through the city. What is being called the Rancho Santa Fe Traffic Interchange Project is expected to ultimately cost $46 million to complete. Last year, roughly $20 million in state funding was secured for the project. Business groups and public officials contend that construction of the interchange will open up both Kingman and Mohave County, as well as larger and mostly rural northwestern Arizona, to commerce and industrial development. Most importantly, from the Kingman point of view, is that the building of the interchange and necessary connector roads will provide a direct link between I-40 and the Kingman Municipal Airport, 10 miles to the northeast of the city. A final design for the project, which has been studied and promoted on and off for at least three decades, has been approved by the Arizona Department of Transportation. By Garry Boulard A Request for Proposals has been issued by the City of Albuquerque, along with the city’s Department of Family and Community Services, for the construction of new a mixed-use, mixed-income housing development. Project site is 5 acres located at 3524 4th Street NW, bordering what is known as the North Corridor Metropolitan Redevelopment Area. That area, some 2 miles to the north of downtown Albuquerque, with a large number of garages and warehouses, has enjoyed renewed popularity in recent years with infill development and new apartment projects. The L-shaped property, formerly containing facilities for the Brown Construction Company, was purchased through the city’s Workforce Housing Trust Funds in 2015 for $1.1 million, with subsequent city documents saying that the site “will be developed as a high-quality, mixed-use site.” A small number of existing buildings on the site have since been demolished. As planned, at least 30% of the units in the complex will be designated as affordable housing. The Request for Proposals has a submission deadline of February 2, 2021. By Garry Boulard Two separate pieces of legislation are moving forward in Congress, both designed to provide different degrees of coronavirus economic relief. Roughly a dozen Senators have now unveiled a $748 billion bill that will include hundreds of billions in unemployment benefits, as well as funding for everything from transportation to education and vaccine distribution. If passed, the legislation would likely mean at least sixteen weeks of unemployment compensation for those out of work due to the pandemic economy, with checks averaging $300 a week per individual. A second bill, with a $160 billion price tag, will see funding going directly to state and local governments and may also include a short-term liability shield for employers. For months, members of Congress have been unable to fashion a bill that would win passage in both the House and Senate, with disagreements centering on the size of the legislation. As the two new proposals are being digested, there are reports that several more bills pertaining to various aspects of relief legislation may be introduced in the next several days. House Speaker Pelosi has also remained in talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in the hope of coming up with a more comprehensive bill. But so far those talks have proven unproductive. Negotiations have repeatedly hit a wall regarding the size of a new relief bill, with many Democrats pushing for a $3.4 trillion package, and Republicans suggesting a significantly smaller $500 billion approach. There is also a move calling for the sending of direct checks, which is not mentioned in the two most recent pandemic relief bills. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley are pushing for legislation that will make possible checks of up to $1,200 per individual, and $500 per child. The Department of Labor estimates that around 12 million Americans will no longer be eligible for unemployment compensation by the week of Christmas if Congress fails to extend funding for the program. “I think it would send a terrible message if we’re home celebrating Christmas and people’s unemployment has run out and businesses are being closed,” Utah Senator Mitt Romney remarked last week. Romney is one of the movers behind the $748 billion unemployment relief bill. The Washington Post, meanwhile, is reporting that Congressional leaders in both parties are determined to include the stimulus legislation with a larger bill that must be approved by Friday, designed to keep the government running. By Garry Boulard In a part of the city that is already populated with modern multi-story apartment buildings, plans have been announced for the construction of a 12-story building housing 270 units. The project will go up on a vacant 1.1-acre site at 575 E. 20th Avenue in the Uptown section of Denver. That site was previously owned by the Housing Authority for the City and County of Denver, before being purchased in 2018 by Nava Real Estate Development. Not long after that $7.1 million purchase, Nava announced plans to build its own apartment high-rise at the site with just under 250 units. Nava eventually abandoned those plans, allowing the Opus Group, which has offices in Denver, to purchase the property. Specializing in commercial real estate development, Opus is currently in the process of building another 277-unit apartment complex near the city’s Empower Field at Mile High stadium. In September, Opus saw the completion of nearly 265,000 square feet of industrial space at the Potomac Park at Dove Valley in Englewood. Opus has submitted a concept plan to the City of Denver for its 20th Avenue project. A construction schedule has not yet been announced. By Garry Boulard |
Get stories like these right to your inbox.
|