The City of Denver is in the process of acquiring a unique curved wooden ceiling structure that has for years served as a neighborhood gymnasium. The City wishes to repurpose it as migrant housing. Located at 375 S. Zuni Street, about 5 miles to the south of downtown Denver, the structure was built in 1966 and measures around 10,100 square feet. Earlier listed for sale and advertised as a "sports and entertainment building," the structure has undergone a recent change of ownership. In late 2022 it was purchased by the Denver Community Church. At the time of that $3.7 million purchase, the church said it planned to use the structure as a house of worship. The building in the Athman Park has had a storied past, earlier serving as a practice facility for the formerly named Denver Rockets basketball team. Subsequently put on the market some months later for $4.2 million, the building has recently attracted a new would-be owner in the form of the City of Denver, which has offered to buy it for $4 million. In purchasing the structure, Denver would also be buying an adjacent half-acre site. City documents have said that the facility is needed to "help shelter newcomer families," adding that the space "is a key piece of Denver's effort to keep families safely off the streets." It is thought that the building could easily accommodate up to 120 people at any given time for sheltering purposes. By Garry Boulard
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National Association of Home Builders Releases Extensive 10-Point Housing Affordability Plan5/9/2024 A push to eliminate what are being called “excessive regulations” is the first listed item in a 10-point plan just released by the National Association of Home Builders to reduce housing costs. “On average, regulations account for nearly 25% of the cost of a single-family home and more than 40% of the cost of a typical apartment development,” the group argues in what is almost a call to arms. Federal efforts to increase regulations of the housing industry must be “subject to greater congressional oversight,” asserts the plan, while claiming that at the local level “policies like rent control actually worsen the nation’s housing affordability crisis by discouraging new development.” In a statement accompanying release of the plan, Carl Harris, NAHB chairman, said “any policy that seeks to improve affordability without addressing the need to increase the supply of single-family and multifamily for-sale and for-rent housing is doomed to fail.” Noting that there is currently a shortage of around 400,000 construction workers, the plan also calls for greater federal support of building and construction trades education, while encouraging at the same time a greater production of sorely needed transformers and other materials. Expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit will help to finance the “production of affordable housing.” At the same time, both state and local government should redouble efforts to overturn inefficient zoning rules. Both the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act should be updated to provide more permitting clarity and predictability. The plan additionally calls for what it describes as “reasonable and cost-effective building codes.” The 10-point plan is rounded out with a call to reduce local impact fees and expanding such federal programs as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to serve as secondary markets for financing new home purchases. The final point in the plan states that a simplification of the nation’s employment policies is overdue. Looking at such factors as the status of independent contractors vs. employees, overtime pay calculations, and prevailing wages, the plan suggests that employment policies should be “simple and economical enough for all-sized businesses to comply.” By Garry Boulard With the Arizona build-to-rent market booming, a Scottsdale developer has announced plans to build such a project in the city of Casa Grande. The Modus Companies, which specializes in housing development projects, says it wants to build a 426-unit apartment community called Promenade Village. The project will go up on just under 40 acres at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Florence Boulevard and represents just one more step into the build-to-rent market for Modus, which also specializes in Net Zero construction. The Promenade Village is one of a handful of build-to-rent efforts Modus is currently undertaking. Other projects include the 272-unit Sundance Station Apartments as well as the 78-unit Buckeye Village Centre, both in the city of Buckeye. The company’s increased emphasis on the build-to-rent world comes as reports have pointed to the Grand Canyon State as the number one market for such projects in the country. According to data released in the spring of 2023 by the National Rental Home Council, more than 2,000 build-to-rent homes were either in the building or planning stage in the state. In just-released figures, the site RentCafe is reporting that metro Phoenix is in the number one position, over all other metro areas nationally, for completing build-to-rent projects. It is thought that Phoenix will see the completion of some 20,000 such units within the next several years. By comparison, remarks the site AZBigMedia, Dallas has seen the construction of just over 6,500 units, and has another 6,481 build-to-rent projects currently under construction. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay A state-wide nonprofit that focuses on community and economic development is expanding its efforts to include a nationally recognized historic neighborhood in Albuquerque. Launched exactly four decades ago, the New Mexico MainStreet organization spurs building and business projects on an almost street level, obtaining funding and grants for construction and renovation projects. To date, the group has coordinated its efforts with 32 separate MainStreet Districts and another dozen defined Arts and Cultural Districts. Now the group has announced a new initiative that will take in the Historic Old Town Albuquerque neighborhood, a part of the city that dates to the 1700s and includes the more than 230-year-old San Felipe de Neri Church. In a statement, J.J. Mancini, president of the Historic Old Town Association, noting that Albuquerque itself is 318 years old, said the partnership with New Mexico MainStreet will give the neighborhood the tools to "build a culturally significant, historically preserved, and vibrant Old Town Albuquerque that New Mexico will be proud of for the next 318 years." Daniel Gutierrez, director of New Mexico MainStreet, said the statewide organization is "excited to work with the Historic Old Town Albuquerque on promotion, economic vitality, and preservation elements to enhance their community." The new partnership between New Mexico MainStreet and Historic Old Town Albuquerque will more specifically focus on use of NMMS's Urban Neighborhood Commercial Corridor Initiative which focuses on projects centered on job and business creation, as well as property investment. Among the many initiatives that the New Mexico MainStreet program has taken on through the decades, one of its most prominent has been securing funding for the upgrading and preservation of historic movie houses and theaters across the state. This year the group successfully obtained a $500,000 capital outlay award for work on the Lyceum Theater in Clovis, and another $400,000 for the Lea Theater in Lovington. By Garry Boulard Americans are feeling less certain about the economic direction of the country, registering the most pessimistic responses to conditions seen since the fall of 2023, according to a new Gallup firm survey. In its Economic Confidence Index, the survey reveals that a strong 44% of respondents currently judge economic conditions as “poor,” with the next largest group at 32% saying things are only fair. The smallest response category, at 24%, categorized conditions as either “excellent” or “good.” The overall confidence level is now at minus 29, lower than the minus 20 reading reported in March. “This is the first time in five months that confidence has not seen a marginal improvement,” notes a narrative accompanying the survey, “and the first decline in economic confidence in the past seven months.” The survey, which has been generally on the downside for more than a year now, also revealed that some 67% of respondents said they thought the country’s economic condition was getting worse, compared to only 29% who said they thought things were better. Buoyant attitudes regarding economic conditions seem like so much ancient history, according to Gallup, which last saw more than 50% saying things were good or excellent in 2019 and early 2020. At the same time, the number of people categorizing economic conditions as poor have averaged out at around 45% for most of the last two years. Although unemployment at 3.9% remains at a near-historic low, only 49% of respondents said they thought it was currently a good time to get a job, down from 57% in November and 59% exactly a year ago. The latest Gallup numbers, according to the survey narrative, comes during a time when gas prices and inflation are on the rise. “Also, during this period, the stock market gave back some of its recent record gains, and high interest rates remained a financial stumbling block.” The highest overall Economic Confidence Index reading at plus 56 was recorded in January of 2000. The lowest: the minus 72 seen in October of 2008 during the early months of the Great Recession. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Unsplash A development review process is underway for a project that will see the building of 15 townhouses in downtown Fort Collins. The one-half acre site for the proposed project is 220 E. Oak Street, longtime home of the Community of Christ Church. The scale of the project has changed from an earlier proposal to build forty condominiums within a four-story complex that would also include a courtyard and some retail space. As designed by the Fort Collins-based Davis Davis Architects, the latest proposal is calling instead for units that will measure anywhere from 1,000 square feet to 3,000 square feet. According to city documents, what is being called the East Oak Townhomes requires a permitted use designation which can only be obtained via a Fort Collins Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing and review. As envisioned, the East Oak Townhomes will very much duplicate the L’Avenir Townhome, directly across the street from the project site, a unique three-story net zero structure built in 2019 and also designed by Davis Davis Architects. The property is located on a tree-lined block populated with houses and apartment buildings. The 40-condominium proposal was originally aired in 2022, with plans for construction to begin in the summer of 2023. That proposal was abandoned owing to concerns that Colorado’s condo defects laws might make the project unduly challenging. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay An effort is underway to preserve and repurpose a once-popular 1950s-era motel in the Miracle Mile Historic District of Tucson. Located at 127 W. Drachman Street, the Tucson Inn was built in 1953 and is valued by historians as a strong example of the Googie and Modernist architectural style that was so prevalent in the post-World War II southwest. With its front sun ray-bursting-skyward neon sign, the building has for decades been one of the most iconic and visible structures of its kind in Tucson, serving as a motel that slowly fell on hard times before being purchased in early 2018 by Pima Community College. The school has said that it would like to turn the structure into offices for its education tech services program, as well as providing space for an innovation center and diversity program, among other uses. Now members of the school's governing board have voted in favor of putting out a request for a developer to come up with a plan for saving and repurposing the structure. Because PCC may not have enough funds to take on the repurposing project itself, it is thought that a private developer could do that, obtaining the building on a lease basis. The Tucson Inn was built at a cost of around $500,000 and underwent a $100,000 renovation a decade later. At the time of the motel's 1953 opening, the Tucson Citizen made note of its 24-hour coffee shop, flagstone lounging terrace, and rooms featuring "record music controlled in the central office." By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay Around 7,800 nonresidential specialty trade jobs were created last month, a category seeing the greatest employment growth in the overall construction industry, according to just-released federal figures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that, overall, the national construction industry hired 9,000 new workers in April, part of a year-to-year increase of 258,000 jobs. In a statement, Anirban Basu, chief economist with the Associated Builders and Contractors, remarked: "It is really quite remarkable that the nation's nonresidential construction sector continues to add jobs so consistently in an environment characterized by elevated project financing costs." Year over year gains were also posted in the heavy and civil engineering category, with 42,000 new jobs as of April; and the residential specialty trade sector, with nearly 49,000 new jobs since April of 2023. "At the heart of growing demand for construction workers in America is the prevalence of mega projects in many parts of the country," added Basu, "including major manufacturing plants, data centers, and public works." Employment in April in all categories was up by 175,000 new jobs, according to the BLS, a number below the 240,000 that many analysts were forecasting for the month. The 175,000 figure, in fact, represented the smallest job growth pace since last October. The country's current job market, notes the New York Times, "may be shifting into a lower gear this spring, a turn that economists have predicted for months after a vigorous rebound from the pandemic shock." Looking at all industries, the health care sector was up by 56,000 new jobs in April, which the BLS report characterized as "in line with the average monthly gain of 63,000 over the prior twelve months." Social assistance employment, meanwhile, was up by 31,000; with transportation and warehousing work seeing an increase of 22,000. Other gainers: retail trade, up by 20,000 new jobs since April of 2023; and general merchandise retailers, with 10,000 more jobs. Noting that April also showed an unemployment rate of 3.9%, Julie Su, Acting Secretary of Labor, remarked in a statement: "This continues the longest stretch of such low unemployment in more than half a century." By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay A number of public schools in El Paso may be placed on the market or repurposed, depending upon the outcome of a consolidation plan. The El Paso Independent School District, responding to long-running trends seeing a significant enrollment decline, is planning to reveal sometime this fall the names of schools it plans to close. Those enrollment trends have seen the district hit with a 20% student decline in the last decade, falling to less than 50,000 today. Current indications suggest a further drop to around 40,000 or so within the next decade. In response, district officials have said they want to take a look at which facilities, out of a total of just over 75 schools, should be closed for good. A series of public input meetings are expected to be held this summer as part of a process leading to a list of what facilities will be shuttered. The purpose of those meetings, said EPISD Superintendent Diana Sayavedra in an interview with the publication El Paso Matters, is to "partner with the community so that our decisions are informed." Recommendations regarding the school closures are expected to be made to the district's Board of Trustees this coming fall. Depending upon the actions of the Trustees, the actual closures could be underway by the fall of 2025. The largest school district in metro El Paso, EPISD was created in 1883. The district enjoyed steady growth for most of the 20th century, and explosive growth after World War II. In just a two-year period alone, between 1965 and 1967, EPISD's total student count went from 56,500 to just over 63.000. The district has incrementally moved in recent years to shed some of its facility holdings. Earlier this year EPISD's former Bonham Elementary School building site, located at 7024 Cielo Vista Drive, was sold to make way for the construction of a new El Paso Police Department regional command center. By Garry Boulard New Mexico is on the way to receiving more than $28.6 million in federal funding for a comprehensive water system replacement project. In an announcement, Democrat Senator Martin Heinrich noted the importance of building systems that will provide a "reliable supply of safe drinking water," before adding: "This funding will keep working families in our state safe and healthy, while creating a solid foundation for our communities to grow." The funding is coming through the Environmental Protection Agency and is designed to focus on the replacement of service lines composed of lead pipes. The dollar value of the funding being sent to New Mexico is equal to that heading to Arizona. Colorado, however, is getting a slightly higher amount at $32.8 million. Support in the last three years for drinking water infrastructure projects has come from two EPA sources: the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Altogether, the EPA has announced the awarding of up to $3 billion in funding to upgrade state drinking water infrastructure across the country. In a statement, EPA Administrator Michael Regan remarked of the funding: "The science is clear, there is no safe level of lead exposure, and the primary source of harm in drinking water is through lead pipes." The effort has been particularly emphasized by the Biden Administration, continued Regan, noting that the latest round of funding for all of the states and territories will "accelerate the permanent removal of dangerous lead pipes once and for all." Ultimately, the EPA wants to replace some 1.7 million existing lead pipes nationally. It is thought that up to 9 million residences, schools, and places of business are continuing to get water via a lead pipe. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay |
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