A portion of a former Macy’s store on the east side of Colorado Springs will soon repurposed by a popular and expanding local church.

The Zeal Church, which is currently operating out of a large space at the nearby Creekside Event Center at 5515 Palmer Park Boulevard, has purchased the lower level of the Macy’s site for $3.5 million.

The 97,000 square-foot site at the Citadel Mall, located at 750 Citadel Drive, has been vacant since 2019 when the Macy’s company announced it was closing nearly a dozen underperforming stores nationally.

Macy’s overall footprint at the Citadel Mall exceeded 195,000 square feet on two levels. The second floor of the former store has since been taken over by an elementary charter school. That adaptive reuse, creating a dozen classrooms, came with a $5.6 million price tag.
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The Zeal Church, with a congregation in excess of 2,000 people, was launched in the fall of 2020. According to reports, the church is planning what will be a three-phase renovation of the old store space, a project expected to cost around $3 million, with work on the first phase beginning by mid-summer.

​By Garry Boulard

Nearly two-thirds of responding contractors in a new survey say their highway work projects have been to some degree subject to car crashes and accidents.

The survey, conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America and the construction software company HCSS, based in Sugar Land, Texas, additionally reveals that some 32% of the contractors questioned said five or more motor vehicle crashes had occurred in their work zones within the last year.

While most respondents indicated that no construction workers were injured during these crashes, a combination of 18% reported that anywhere from 1 to 5 workers had been injured, with 5% reporting worker fatalities.

Just under 40% of respondents said that their projects were delayed by anywhere from 1 to 5 days because of such accidents.

Meanwhile, the idea that everyone on the nation’s highways is driving faster, and that the incidence of vehicular crashes are on the increase, seemed to find support among respondents, with 58% agreeing with the statement that the risks of highway work zone crashes are greater now than they were a year ago.

While speeding and increased traffic were pointed to as two reasons for a generally more dangerous highway work zone environment, overwhelmingly, at 81%, respondents pointed to drivers talking on cell phones as the number one reason for accidents.

When asked what measures would help reduce the number of highway work zone crashes, respondents listed a “greater police presence” at such sites; followed by a stricter enforcement of both laws regarding work zone moving violations and cell phone usage.

In a statement accompanying the release of the survey, Steve McGough, chief executive officer of HCSS, called for greater surveillance of such work zones as a means to lessening the incidence of work zone accidents.
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“Utilizing speed cameras with a zero-tolerance policy would go a long way to protect the traveling public and our workforce,” said McGough.

​By Garry Boulard

Plans are now underway to redevelop one of the most unusual and visible structures in downtown Phoenix.

Located at 3443 North Central Avenue, the Phoenix Financial Center site is made up of several structures, but the centerpiece has always been the 19-story high-rise known as the Punch Card Building because it looks like a mammoth vertical 1960s computer punch card.

Designed by modernist architect Wenceslao Sarmiento and originally opened in 1964, the building, with two adjacent 9,000 square-foot rotundas, has for years served as the home for both private companies and government agencies.

Measuring around 285,000 square feet, the structure is regarded as a treasure by architectural historians, and an intact example of 1960s southwest design styles.

Now a developer has announced plans to incorporate the famous building and adjoining structures into a larger mixed-use campus. As designed by Davis Partnership Architects of Denver, the project will see the building of a $100 million multifamily complex that will comprise some 400,000 square feet.

As envisioned by the developer, Ironline Partners, new construction adjacent to the Punch Card Building will see the building of a fitness area, swimming pool, and resident co-working space, all built over two sublevel parking garages.
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A general construction schedule is expected to see the new part of the site completed by 2024 or 2025.

​By Garry Boulard

An effort is continuing in southwestern Colorado to build a grocery store in a town where none currently exists.
According to plans, officials with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe want to build the store in Towaoc, a town of around 1,100 people. The store would go up on vacant land just to the north of the Ute Mountain Casino, which is located at 3 Weeminuche Drive, just off U.S. Route 491.
It is thought that it will cost at least $12 million to build the store, with a first step taken with the awarding of a $30,000 grant from the Rocky Mountain Health Foundation. Tribe leaders have said they intend to soon launch a capital campaign for the project.
That capital campaign is expected to be completed by 2024.
Because of its lack of a grocery store, with the nearest available market located in the town of Cortex, roughly 15 miles to the northeast, Towaoc is characterized as a food desert.
As described by the federal Department of Agriculture, food deserts are locations, often in lower-income communities, where there are either no stores, or convenience stores lacking in fresh fruits and vegetables.

By Garry Boulard

Negotiations between port owners on the West coast and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union are expected to intensify against a backdrop of still-lingering import supply chain issues.

The current contract between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association is set to expire on June 30. That contract covers some 29 ports handling around 60% of all imports on the West Coast.

Those imports include everything from scrap metal to automobile parts and electronics from manufacturers in such countries as China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Talks between the union and port owners are expected to center on pay, work hours, and benefits issues, along with the future of the 24-hour a day operation implemented at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles late last year.

Because of supply chain issues and ships being bottlenecked at many of the Western ports in 2021, the ILWU, notes John Drake, “comes to the negotiating table with significant leverage.”

In an essay published on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s website, Drake, vice-president of transportation and infrastructure with the chamber, adds: “The ports are under immense pressure to improve service levels and not have a repeat of last year.”

Drake also notes that the ILWU spearheaded work slowdowns in 2002, 2008, and 2014, as a bargaining tool.

In an open letter, Willie Adams, ILWU president, has expressed concerns about specter of automation along the docks, particularly “using robots instead of Americans workers to operate heavy equipment that moves cargo.”

Adams has further contended that such automation “not only kills good jobs but does not move more cargo.”
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In an interview with the Los Angeles Business Journal, Jim McKenna, chief executive of the PMA, said he is hopeful that labor talks will soon prove fruitful. “Like all other contracts, it will have a start, it will have a finish, and whatever happened in the middle will be between the two sides.”

By Garry Boulard

One of the most visually well-known structures on the northeast side of Tucson is now on the market for around $1.9 million.

Located at 1100 N. Wilmot Road, the Vantage West Credit Union structure goes by the name of the “upside-down building,” due to its unique design, which resembles an inverted pyramid.

Measuring just under 11,400 square feet, the two-story structure, with the credit union occupying space on the ground level, was designed by the Tucson-based Swaim and Associates in the late 1970s.

The structure was originally home to the Western Savings Bank and has been described by the site Waymarking.com as architecturally representing a “transition building into corporate modernism.”

Listed with Cushman & Wakefield/Picor Commercial Real Estate of Tucson, the structure is classified as a Class B office building.
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Besides its unusual shape, the building is also known for a sleek design emphasizing wrap-around exterior glass panels. It additionally features a two-bay drive-up also topped with glass panels.

​By Garry Boulard

Work could begin later this summer on the construction of a building that will house a pharmacy on the southwest side of Rio Rancho.

The Olive Tree Compounding Pharmacy is already a presence in Rio Rancho, with a facility at 1910 Westside Boulevard in the Unser Gateway area, also in southwest Rio Rancho.

The new Olive Tree project at 1713 Wellspring Avenue SE will see the construction of pharmacy space, as well as a separate 3,000-square-foot building that will house offices for business tenants.

The project, designed by the Albuquerque-based Mullen Heller Architecture, is expected to be built in two phases.

The site plan for the Olive Tree project was initially approved by the Rio Rancho Planning and Zoning Board late last year, with an updated site zoning variance request approved earlier this month.
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The Olive Tree pharmacy is one of the few specialty pharmacies of its kind in New Mexico, creating customized medications. It launched its operations in Rio Rancho in early 2017.

​By Garry Boulard

In a just-released report, both architects and builders strongly expressed their support for a collaborative approach to projects, providing only the latest evidence that both professions don’t necessarily have to be in conflict.

Published by the American Institute of Architects, the report, The Architects Journey to Specification, notes that 90% of contractors surveyed indicated a preference for working more closely with architects than they currently do. The figure, at 80%, was slightly smaller for architects supporting closer collaboration.

Despite the good intentions, however, the report also notes that, to date, “contractors and architects often disagree on responsibilities and the degree of detailing and specificity required in the documentation.”

The biggest complaint on the building side: drawings and specs submitted incomplete or with errors, and often lacking in clearly stated design intent. Architects’ biggest gripe: getting incomplete information from contractors who may often also lack the willingness to closely follow a design intent.

The report, done in conjunction with the Associated General Contractors of America, additionally notes that while architects and contractors are generally in agreement when it comes to which party is responsible for certain project functions, they disagree on who should be responsible for advocating for the client.

“While contractors view the task as equal,” says the report, “nearly half of architect respondents believe the responsibility rests mostly on themselves.”

Perhaps no surprise:  Architects and contractors say they have often communicated less with each other once a project nears completion.

Respondents in both disciplines indicated the least enthusiasm about working together during the programming and planning stage of a given project, with support for collaboration among both groups reaching a peak during the design development phase.

The report additionally notes that architects tend to focus more on the environmental impact of a given project, while “contractors focus more on on-time delivery and profitability.”
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Lakisha Ann Woods, chief executive officer of the American Institute of Architects, noted in the report’s introduction that the AIA and AGC are currently in the process of developing tools and programs designed to “support a more collaborative approach to the architecture/contractor relationship.”

​By Garry Boulard

A one-story structure on the far northeast side of El Paso is being listed for sale for $1.5 million.
Located at 9206 McCombs Street, on a busy throughway populated with small, one-story office and retail structures, the building has for decades served as home to the Texas Health & Human Services Offices.
With offices in eight regions across Texas, the Health & Human Services department is tasked with overseeing hospital, health center, and health agencies throughout the state.
Built in 1978 at a cost of $176,000, the McCombs Street structure measures just under 17,000 square feet and is categorized as a Class C office building.
Listed by JMT Properties Incorporated of El Paso, the building sits on a just over 1-acre site and underwent some exterior upgrading around five years ago.

​By Garry Boulard

Work could begin later this year expanding facility space at the Colorado Mental Health Institute on the south side of Denver.

The institute operates on the grounds of Fort Logan, which was established in the 1880s and eventually served as the home to a Veterans Administration Hospital.

After the U.S. Army officially ended its operations at the site in 1961, the sprawling campus and on-site buildings were taken over by the Colorado Fort Logan Mental Health Center, which served as the precursor to today’s Colorado Mental Health Institute.

Now Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed legislation funding the building of new space to accommodate nearly 20 new beds at the institute. The $17 million in funding for the initiative is coming through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

By design, the new beds will be used for criminal defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial until they have received mental health care.
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The Colorado Mental Health Institute, whose address is 3520 W. Oxford Avenue, is one of two state hospitals providing mental health services in the state. The other hospital also belongs to the Colorado Mental Health Institute and is in Pueblo.

​By Garry Boulard