A travel website thinks the multi-floor Humanities Building on the main Albuquerque campus of the University of New Mexico looks like “the worst brick-laying job we’ve ever seen.”

That critique is part of a 50-state survey conducted by Travel.alot.com called “The Ugliest Building in Every State.”

The UNM structure, completed in 1974, is particularly burdened by windows arranged by a designer who was seemingly “actively trying to prevent natural light.”

The only thing good that the site can say about the 42,400 square foot structure is that it isn’t like a handful of buildings built in Los Alamos, the work of the same designer, W.C. Kruger and Associates.
“At least this building won’t give you radiation poisoning,” notes Travel.alot.

Arizona is taken to task for its famous Tempe City Hall building, otherwise known as the upside down pyramid. Designed by architects Kemper Goodwin and Michael Goodwin and completed in 1971, the structure is proof that pyramid making should be left to the ancient Egyptians: “They at least had sense enough to build them right-side up,” says the site.

In perhaps one of its most controversial choices, Travel.alot negatively critiques the 146,000 square foot Frederick C. Hamilton Building, which is a part of the larger Denver Art Museum. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, it was completed in 2006.

 “This design doesn’t scream ‘art museum’ as much as it screams ‘supervillain’s lair,’” the site says of the structure, before asking: “Why is it that art museums are frequently designed to look like the most unappealing, unartistic buildings possible?”

Travel.alot, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, additionally provides lists of the best and worst sports stadiums in the country, vacation destinations, and fastest-growing cities, among other topics.
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In compiling its ugliest building list, the site asks readers: “Would you like to see these replaced with something more beautiful?”

​By Garry Boulard

Industrial real estate trends for the rest of the year may stabilize, says a new report just issued by the Santa Barbara, California-based Yardi Matrix, noting expectations that the sector will “cool somewhat but continue to expand and remain one of the most attractive asset classes in commercial real estate.”

In the report, Industrial Outlook Solid for 2023, the survey notes the industrial sector’s wild ride since 2000: “Demand skyrocketed, vacancies plummeted, and investors drove up average sale prices by more than 50%.

But now the advent of rising interest rates and a looming recession are likely to “slow leasing activity as businesses pause expansion plans and grapple with a higher cost of borrowing.”

Matters may be more complicated by the normalization of the supply chain, which will lead to “less need for increased inventories than was common in recent years, further slowing leasing.”

At the same time, “import flow will continue to drive demand in already tight port markets,” with ports along the East Coast and California needing increased industrial space.

The role played last year by rising interest rates helps explain a transaction volume last year that dropped to around $88.3 billion, down significantly from $125.7 billion recorded in 2021. For all of that, Yardi Matrix suggests that industrial real estate sales volume “could quickly rebound once rate hikes stop and the market adjusts to the new environment.”

Fueling expectations that the industrial sector may shortly prove in better shape than is popularly imagined, the report also predicts that “E-commerce will continue to create industrial demand in 2023, albeit at lower levels than seen during previous years.”

Online purchases are likely to continue their share of retail sales, while the demand for “last-mile distribution facilities will grow, especially for well-located facilities in high-growth markets.”

Currently, there’s 713 million square feet of industrial space nationally that is under construction. Among the top four markets listed by Yardi Matrix: Phoenix, with 55 million square feet; and Denver at 13.4 million square feet.

​By Garry Boulard

A $1 billion plan to repurpose a one-time popular Phoenix shopping mall into a retail walkable village is taking a huge step forward.

Concord Wilshire Capital, in a partnership with TLG Partners, has announced its purchase of the Metrocenter Mall, located at 9617 N. Metro Parkway.

Opened in the fall of 1973, the 1.4 million square foot mall for decades was the home to around 100 individual stores, as well as a 12-screen movie theater.

The mall went into a decline in the 1990s as several stores moved out and customer traffic decreased. A subsequent renovation of the property failed to forestall the mall’s eventual closing in 2020.

Now Concord and TLG want to substantially transform the site, beginning with the demolition of the mall.

Once completed, work will begin on the building of a village space that will include over 2,600 apartment units, up to 150,000 square feet of commercial space, and a parking garage that, combined with surface parking, will be able to accommodate around 4,100 vehicles.

Included as part of the new project: pedestrian and bicycle pathways, pet-friendly parks, and an amphitheater.

In a statement, Chris Nieberding, chief executive officer of TLG, remarked, “We are creating a one-of-a-kind community by addressing the needs of the community and integrating the vision of the City.”

Work is expected to begin on the first phase of the project later this year.
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Concord Wilshire Capital has offices in Miami, while TLG Partners is based in New York.

​By Garry Boulard

The former Clarion Inn, a 9-floor hotel about 5 miles to the north of downtown Denver, will soon be repurposed as a transitional housing complex with up to 215 residential units.

The Denver-based nonprofit Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has purchased the property at 200 W. 48th Avenue for $24 million, with plans to begin an upgrading of the 40 year-old hotel soon.

What is being called Renewal Village is also receiving some $4 million in federal funds via the recent 2023 fiscal year appropriations bill to create 108 supportive housing units and 107 units of transitional housing.

That $4 million will target cooling and heating system upgrades, the installation of a fire sprinkler system, and the building of new kitchenettes.

In a statement, John Parvensky, chief executive officer of the Coalition, said the upgrades to the one-time hotel will “transform the lives of those who will become the Coalition’s newest residents in 2023.”

Funding for the purchase of the Clarion came via a combination of the Denver Office of Housing Stability, the Division of Housing with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, and Adams County.

The Coalition, which was formed in the early 1990s, is tasked with reducing homelessness, offering assistance to more than 22,000 individuals and families annually. The organization currently operates nearly two dozen properties providing housing to around 4,000 people every night.
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The modernistically curved-shaped Clarion building was formerly branded as a Quality Inn, and before that, a Travelodge Hotel.

​By Garry Boulard

To upgrade and modernize small shipyards across the country, the federal Maritime Administration is making available up to $20 million funding in competitive grants.

The funding, more specifically, is coming through the Maritime Administration’s Small Shipyard Grant Program, which was launched in 2008 and has thus far awarded 323 grants with a total dollar value of $282 million.

In making the grant announcement, Ann Phillips, Administrator of the Maritime Administration, said, “Small shipyards are essential to the U.S. maritime industry and critical to ensuring that we have a resilient industry base.”

Continued Phillips: “These shipyards are an economic pillar, strengthening our maritime industry and the communities along and near our nation’s ports and waterways, and employing thousands of Americans, who ensure the nation maintains expertise and skills critical to our economic and national security.”

By design, the grants are only for shipyards employing up to 1,200 people. Last year the program awarded just under $20 million in grants to 24 small shipyards.
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Deadline for grant applications to the Maritime Administration is February 27.

​By Garry Boulard

Funding to the tune of $2 million has now been secured for the construction of a new fire station in Tubac, Arizona.

That funding is coming through the fiscal year 2023 omnibus legislation, after a specific request by Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Krysten Sinema. In all, the Grand Canyon State is receiving around $132 million out of Washington for various projects throughout the state.

The current 4,600 square foot fire station in Tubac is around 50 years old. In a statement, Tubac Fire District Chief Cheryl Horvath said the new station will “help us accommodate larger equipment, provide better resources for our hardworking personnel, and improve our ability to serve our growing community.”

The current station is located at 2227 Interstate 19/Frontage Road and has long needed upgrading. Among the issues plaguing it are outdated ventilation and water systems, restrooms and bathrooms that are not Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, and too-narrow garage doors.

He facility also lacks an automatic sprinkler system.

With an estimated price tag of $1 million to bring the current facility up to date, members of the Tubac Fire District Governing Board voted in 2021 in favor of building a new station instead.

According to plans, the new facility will feature just under 8,800 square feet of fire truck and garage space, as well as some 5,300 square feet of office space.
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Established in 1974, the Tubac Fire District currently has four strategically located stations

​By Garry Boulard

Voters in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona will have a chance this spring to decide whether to approve a proposal calling for construction of a new jail.

The facility would replace the current jail at 203 N. Judd Street in the City of Bisbee. Jail officials have said that that facility, opened in the summer of 1985, is too antiquated for today’s needs and is burdened with several repair issues.

In an interview last year with the Herald/Review of Bisbee, retired Supreme Court Judge James Conlogue said of the Judd Street facility: “The problems cannot be overcome with money. It’s at its end of life.”

It cost just over $5.1 million to build the current facility. It is thought that it will probably cost around $92 million to complete a new jail.

Cochise County has now issued a Request for Arguments, noting the move to create a county jail district as the first step in getting the new jail built. In order to support that district, voters in May will vote up or down on a proposed increase in the county’s sales tax of one-half cent.

The Request for Arguments, gauging public opinion on the project, are required to be confined to 300 words or less and must be received by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors no later than February 15.
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According to sources, up to 10,000 people each year are booked into the Bisbee jail. The county maintains two smaller holding facilities in the nearby cities of Sierra Vista and Willcox, to the west and north of Bisbee.

​By Garry Boulard

A move to do away with the federal income tax and replace it with a national 30% sales tax has been introduced in Congress.

Georgia Representative Buddy Carter says what is known as the Fair Tax Act would make it possible for Americans to “keep 100% of their hand-earned paychecks,” by not having to pay for Social Security taxes.

The legislation would also eliminate all corporate income taxes, while additionally repealing the current federal tax code in favor of a single national consumption tax.

On his website, Carter says that the proposed Fair Tax Act is “not riddled with shelters and loopholes, meaning wealthy taxpayers cannot minimize what they pay in taxes, regardless of how many lawyers and accountants they hire to advise them.”

In introducing his bill, Carter remarked: “Instead of adding 87,000 new agents to weaponize the Internal Revenue Service against small business owners and middle America, this bill will eliminate the need for the department entirely.”

The proposal has met with decidedly polar responses. Florida Representative Kat Cammack, who is a co-sponsor of the legislation, has characterized the Fair Tax Act as a “simplified and fair code that works for all, not just some.”

But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, in a news conference, charged that the legislation will “impose a tax hike that is dramatic on 90% of the American people, working families, middle class folks, seniors and those who aspire to be a part of the middle class.”

While prospects for the legislation may be promising in the House, the odds of passage in the Senate are doubtful. Appearing with Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said he would do everything possible to defeat the legislation.

Although versions of the Fair Tax Act have been aired before, notes The Hill, “frustration over the $80 billion funding boost for the IRS passed by Democrats last year has Republicans wanting to make bold statements about changing the tax code—including scrapping it altogether.”
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An analysis of the legislation produced by the Brookings Institute remarked that there is “no historical precedent for a country to enact a high-rate, enforceable, national sales tax. That does not mean it is impossible, but extreme caution would be appropriate.”

​By Garry Boulard

Legislation has been introduced in the New Mexico State Legislature that will create funding for climate change programs across the state.

House Bill 42, sponsored by Representative Elizabeth Thomson, calls for the creation of a Public Health and Climate Resiliency Fund to support climate change efforts.

As envisioned, the fund would operate under the auspices of the New Mexico State Treasurer’s Office and would pull some $5 million out of the state’s General Fund in the next fiscal year. That $5 million would then be disbursed between fiscal years 2024 and 2028 to local and tribal governments.
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According to an analysis of the legislation put together by the Legislative Finance Committee it is noted that although the bill “does not specify future appropriations, establishing a new grant program could create an expectation the program will continue in future fiscal years, therefore this cost could become recurring.”

​By Garry Boulard

Nine months after one of the largest and most destructive wildfires in New Mexico history, legislation has been introduced creating a fund for communities who may endure similar calamities in the future.

By any measure, the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire, igniting during the first week of April 2022, was a record-breaker: burning across an estimated nearly 341,500 acres before it was finally contained in late August.

In between those two months, the Hermits Peak fire within the Santa Fe National Forest connected with a second fire in the region near the Calf Canyon Road.

Before firefighters were finally able to contain the combined wildfires, more than 900 structures were destroyed, including several hundred residences.

In her recent State of the State address, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham tasked state lawmakers with approving up to $100 million in funding to help rebuilding efforts.

Now Senator Elizabeth Stefanics has introduced legislation that will put in place a $1.1 million fund for the state’s Department of Health to tap into when other communities are impacted by natural disasters.

Senate Bill 5 will also appropriate an additional $5 million for the creation of a public health and climate resiliency fund to be disbursed to local and tribal governments during fiscal years 2024 and 2028 for climate change adaptability efforts.

According to an analysis compiled by the Legislative Education Study Committee, grants of up to $250,000 would be available for all state political subdivisions, including public school districts, to “prepare for and respond to public health emergencies related to extreme weather and other climate impacts.”
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Stefanics’ legislation is now under review before the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee.

​By Garry Boulard