A development plan pertaining to a massive 389-acre site in Louisville, Colorado is expected to be unveiled sometime early next year. The site, on the southern side of Louisville at the intersection of US Route 36 and Northwest Parkway, has been the subject of spirited debate regarding a proposal to turn it into a mixed-use development. That proposal, by the Denver-based Brue Baukol Capital Partners, has called for the construction of some 2.5 million square feet of commercial development. What is being called Redtail Ridge would also see just over 1,300 age-restricted residential units, and another 900 units, of which 224 would be designated as affordable housing. Decades ago, the property in question was a mining site and has been previously owned by the Storage Technology Corporation as well as the exploration corporation ConocoPhillips. Now Brue Baukol, specializing in real estate investment, has officially purchased the site for an undisclosed amount. Last summer, Brue Baukol presented an outline of its development plans for the Redtail Ridge project to the Louisville City Council. But those plans sparked opposition from area residents objecting to the density of the project as well as the traffic it may spark. Brue Baukol officials have since said that they have taken into consideration concerns about the project, concerns that may be more fully addressed in the revised development plan. In a statement, Geoff Baukol, president of Brue Baukol, said the company understands “what it takes to transform this site into a place that meets the demands of modern companies, while maintaining what we all love about Colorado, including ample open space and trail connections.” By Garry Boulard
0 Comments
Restaurants across the country are continuing to physically readapt their properties in order to meet the requirements of a pandemic clientele. According to industry sources this has especially meant the building of drive-up features, as well as the installation of walls and partitions, which can often be altered, in cities and states where indoor dining is still allowed. The industry has also seen an unprecedented degree of outdoor space construction in smaller built spaces, often requiring both cooling and heating features. Those heating sources are either comprised of propane or natural gas. Many locations have seen the construction of barn-like structures, now commonly called “streeteries,” that include lighting, floors, and window spaces. Other popular options include the building of igloo domes and pole tents. According to the website Curbed, the construction price tag for such buildings, often made of plywood, ranges between $5,000 and $25,000. But if the new structure requires a property insurance policy alternation, the new structures could eventually cost as much as $50,000. Industry say the new structures have to, of course, pass local and county safety laws, and may be subject to changing lockdown health rules. Restaurants have been facing generally dire economic times in recent months, so much so that the National Restaurant Association last week sent a message to Congress asking for emergency relief. The group is promoting what it calls a Blueprint for Restaurant Revival, asking for the creation of a special fund designed to help the nation’s restaurants get the liquidity they need to survive. The group is also asking for a long-term loan program allowing restaurants to maintain payrolls while taking care of basic operating costs. “More than 500,000 restaurants of every business type—franchise, chain, and independent—are in an unprecedented economic decline,” Sean Kennedy, the group’s vice-president for public affairs, wrote, “and for every day that passes without a solution from Congress, thousands more restaurants across the country will close their doors for good.” Statistics released by the association indicate that some 17% of the nation’s restaurants, equaling in excess of 110,000 businesses, have closed their doors since last spring. By Garry Boulard A nearly 600,000 square foot structure that formerly served as a hospital in Albuquerque may be updated and re-purposed as a new homeless shelter. City officials have announced that they are looking at the building at 5400 Gibson Boulevard SE with the hope of purchasing what once was the Lovelace Medical Center. The Lovelace Health System sold the building in 2007 after moving into new facilities to the east of downtown Albuquerque. Since then portions of the building, on a nearly 17-acre site, have been leased out by various medical care entities, while the City of Albuquerque has continued eyeing the property for a modern combined homeless shelter and services facility. Mayor Tim Keller has told the Albuquerque Journal that the building could serve as a “24/7 drop-off site for first responders,” as well as a resource for behavioral and medical health services. Last month the State of New Mexico announced the unveiling of a Covid-19 care service taking up roughly half of the square footage of the building, seeing a transformation of that part of the structure undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers. City officials say the structure, which was built in 1980, is large enough to accommodate both the new Covid-19 treatment services, as well as a homeless shelter, with private individual rooms and intake space. Details regarding the ultimate purchase of the former Lovelace Medical Center have not yet been revealed. By Garry Boulard Work may began sometime in the first quarter of next year on a new manufacturing plant in the Santa Teresa Border Zone. The New Mexico Economic Development Department has announced that it is awarding $160,000 in Local Economic Development Act funding to Cymmetrik to help get the project underway. Launched in 1969 in the city of Taipai, Taiwan, Cymmetrik in the last five decades has emerged as a major presence in the packaging materials and labels world. With eight other manufacturing facilities to its name, Cymmetrik makes labels that are used in everything from the communications, to food and beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. That includes ingredient labels on the sides of olive oil bottles, warning labels, and even bar codes. In a statement, Anton Tao, a Cymmetrik spokesperson, said the new Santa Teresa facility will mark the company’s “first manufacturing site in North America.” State and local officials have been working for months with the company in an effort to secure its agreement to build in Santa Teresa. Melinda Allen, interim president of the New Mexico Partnership, which was instrumental in the deal, asserted that one of the reasons why Cymmetrik finally decided to locate in the Land of Enchantment is the state’s “strategic location and world-class manufacturing environment.” Those assets, added Allen, have proven to be enticing assets for “companies that are rethinking their global strategies.” By Garry Boulard Objecting to a questionnaire that it regards as invasive, the Associated General Contractors of America is filing a suit centering on a survey sent to companies receiving loans as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. The AGC, the largest general contractors’ industry group in the country, is suing both the U.S. Small Business Administration as well as the federal Office of Management and Budget, asking for a change in the questionnaire’s wording. That questionnaire is designed to help the SBA and budget office determine whether applicants are eligible to have their Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven. “The administration has every right, and obligation, to ensure businesses were eligible to apply for and receive the federal loans,” AGC chief executive officer Stephen Sandherr said in a statement regarding the lawsuit. “But they do not,” continued Sandherr, “have the right to use a secretly crafted form to gather unprecedented amounts of proprietary information that has little or nothing to do with the economic uncertainty that led businesses to apply for the loans in the first place.” The SBA had earlier announced that all businesses receiving loans of more than $2 million were required to fill out what is called a “loan necessity questionnaire,” detailing their financial status and operations since the Covid-19 onset. That questionnaire, which has proven both controversial and unpopular throughout the building industry, asks for information from companies for everything from their dividend payments to gross revenues and any capital improvement projects. The AGC particularly argues that the program, as established under this year’s big Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, originally asked only for a “good faith certification” on the part of companies applying for loans attesting to their uncertain economic status. That formulation changed, charges the AGC, with the loan forgiveness questionnaire, which the group contends violates Congressional intent and retroactively changes the criteria for the loan. The AGC suit has been filed in the United State District Court for the District of Columbia. By Garry Boulard A working design for the creation an inclusive park in Roswell is expected to be submitted to the City of Roswell sometime next spring. Such parks, designed to offer a variety of play facilities for children at all levels of ability, are today going up across the country. Just this last month, new inclusive park projects have been announced in Harlingen, Texas; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Pensacola, Florida; and Salisbury, Maryland. According to the Auburn, Virginia-based National Recreation and Parks Association, inclusive parks have been signally embraced by public parks and recreation departments in all regions of the country, with most of the new projects being seen in suburban areas. But, according to the association, at least 71% of parks departments in urban areas, and 67% in rural areas, have also seen inclusive park construction in the last decade. Members of the New Mexico State Legislature earlier approved a $1.4 million capital outlay appropriation for the building of an inclusive park in Roswell, with its location subsequently approved by the Roswell City Council in October. That location is on the west side of the city, near the Roswell Recreation and Aquatic Center at 1402 W. College Boulevard. The engineering firm of Bohannan Huston, with offices in Albuquerque, has been brought in to work with Roswell’s Parks and Recreation Department on a design for the facility. According to the city’s Infrastructure Committee documents, the new Roswell inclusive park project will include the construction of a dancing fountain, picnic area and bathroom, as well as new drainage and lighting. If all goes well, work is expected to begin on the Cielo Grande All Inclusive Park later next year, with a rough completion date of late 2021. By Garry Boulard In an effort to spur the building of more affordable housing units in Tempe, Mayor Corey Woods is proposing the creation of a fund to pay for such in-demand projects. “As a longtime affordable housing advocate, I am determined to achieve a guaranteed pace of growth for our affordable and workforce housing stock,” Woods said in a statement. The Mayor’s proposal calls for half of all new building permit fees to go directly to a group called the Tempe Coalition for Affordable Housing, which purchases, builds, upgrades, and maintains affordable housing properties in the city. “We need to take action to prioritize sustainable revenue sources that we, the city, can control,” Woods continued. Those fees, according to city officials, could be worth up to at least $2 million annually. Currently, such fees are deposited into the city’s general fund and used for any number of departmental projects. Woods’ proposal is in response to a housing study conducted last year contending that Tempe will need at least 11,000 new affordable units built in the next two decades in order to keep up with current population trends. The Mayor’s initiative is expected to be reviewed by the Tempe City Council on January 14. By Garry Boulard By a large 355 to 78 vote, members of the U.S. House have approved a new defense spending bill that includes $8.5 billion for military construction. The $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act also includes $70 million for local schools educating military children, as well as special and hazard pay for soldiers on dangerous assignments. The measure is now on its way to the Senate. While agreeing with the renewed expenditures for military construction projects, President Trump has said he will consider vetoing the legislation for a number of reasons, one of which is a provision calling for the renaming of military bases honoring Confederate generals. Should the President carry out his veto threat, Congressional members will almost certainly vote to override that veto, but would have to do that before the end of the current session on January 3. The fiscal 2021 measure is one of the most extensive of its kind in recent years. The largest portion of funding at $635 billion will go for base spending. Base construction projects in line for that funding include everything from new aircraft hangars, warehouses, information centers, air traffic control towers, and new barracks. Last year the Trump Administration diverted more than $3.6 billion in funds previously approved by Congress for base construction projects to the continued construction of the U.S./Mexico border wall. By Garry Boulard A long-standing wish among transit fans in Colorado to see the construction of a high speed passenger rail system in the sprawling Front Range could come with a $2.8 billion price tag. That’s the conclusion of a study that has just been presented to the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission. That commission is tasked with rail construction projects, and works with local governments to that end. As discussed, the line would follow the same route of the north to south Interstate 25, with stops in Fort Collins, Longmont, Boulder, Denver, and Colorado Springs. The line would initially run anywhere from two to six round trips daily. A more limited system would connect only Boulder and Denver, with the possibility of expanding the line later on. The system has sparked increasing interest in recent years as the population of Colorado has grown from 4.3 million two decades ago, to just under 5.8 million today, resulting in a subsequent increase in highway and road traffic. Transit supporters point out that at least half of that number, at 2.9 million, is comprised of residents living in the metro Denver area. Construction of the system has won the support of a wide array of Colorado public officials, including Governor Jared Polis, who has indicated that he regards its development as one of his top legislative priorities for next year. The Colorado State Legislature is scheduled to begin its winter 2021 session on January 13. Earlier this fall, the Colorado Department of Transportation received $2.5 million from the federal Department of Transportation for rail infrastructure work, with $548,000 available to study the Front Range rail proposal. By Garry Boulard An Albuquerque project that will see the construction of nearly 100 rental housing units, the vast majority of which will be classified as affordable, is receiving House and Urban Development Home Funding. The Hiland Plaza is set to go up on a currently vacant site at 5000 Central Avenue SE. That site was formerly the home of the Desert Sands Hotel, which was built in 1957 but demolished after more than a decade of decline in late 2016. The spirit of the Desert Sands, however, one of several dozen motels along Central Avenue typifying a mid-20th century Western streamline design, will live on with the creation of the Hiland Plaza. More specifically, the new project, according to city documents, will exemplify the Moderne architectural movement seen in many motels, hotels, restaurants, and shopping plazas in the West, primarily from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. To be developed with the Greater Albuquerque Housing Partnership, the Hiland Plaza will see the construction of a four-story structure, with some commercial space, a patio, trees, and landscaping. The project, which may also be eligible for a low income housing tax credit through the New Mexico Finance Authority, will feature 75 units for residents at or below 60% of the American Median income level. Another sixteen units will be offered at the market rate. Altogether, the project is expected to cost around $20 million to complete. By Garry Boulard |
Get stories like these right to your inbox.
|