![]() A downtown Tucson building that once housed Post 549 of the Tucson Veterans of Foreign Wars is now in line for a substantial redevelopment. The two-story structure, located at 124 E. Broadway Boulevard, was built at a cost of $500,000 in 1948 and for decades included not only offices and lounge space for the VFW post, but also a large dance hall featuring big band shows. The City of Tucson purchased the property in 1991 after the VFW moved to another location, eventually renting the space out to a community television channel called Access Tucson. The building has been vacant since Access Tucson went out of operations three years ago. Now Tucson developer Russ Rulney has purchased the property. Although specific plans for the structure have not been revealed, it was earlier reported that the building might be redeveloped for a combination of office, residential, and retail purposes. Rulney, who has spearheaded a series of prominent building and upgrading projects in Tucson, including the redevelopment of the historic downtown Benedictine Monastery site, has agreed to keep intact the iconic modern tile façade of the former VFW building. By Garry Boulard
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![]() A new report issued by the Washington-based American Institute of Architects notes that new office design and construction trends this year are expected to see a greater emphasis on what is called “dynamic flexibility.” Defined as being able to convert space within an office setting depending upon the needs of the moment, dynamic flexibility includes “indoor-outdoor access through garage doors, mobile green dividers, and available seating in any corner.” Multi-purpose spaces have proven particularly effective since the advent of smart and multifunctioning lighting systems and ergonomic elements that are “adapted now to the limitations and capabilities of a worker for any space and purpose,” notes the report, Office Building Trends You Should Know About. The study also reveals a growing preference for wood in new office design and construction, noting: “Wood has always impacted employees both psychologically and physiologically through its naturalness, warmth, and cozy appeal.” But the desire for more wood elements in office design is expected to also see an increase due to the simple fact that members of the Millennial Generation, now the largest workforce in the nation, are the most interested in “green thinking and sustainability ideologies.” This will mean more wood floors, wood walls, and wooden furniture in office settings, all designed to add a “necessary warmth and calmness designed to boost motivation or creativity and protect against noise pollution.” The report also predicts a greater coming emphasis on sustainable design that uses “recycled materials, smart lighting systems, and energy-saving resources that are well-developed to establish a decent relationship between nature and office buildings.” By Garry Boulard ![]() The Holloman Air Force Base, located six miles to the southeast of downtown Alamogordo, has now secured funding for the construction of a new aerial training facility. That funding is coming through the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes more than $738 million in military spending, including $635 billion in discretionary funds for base construction projects across the country. Of that amount, exactly $20 million is going to Holloman to build a modern facility for the 6th Attack Squadron MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft Formal Training Unit. The new facility will replace an existing building that New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich last year said was “falling apart, with some equipment being held together with duct tape.” To say that the facility, which has also been challenged with plumbing and electrical issues, needs to be replaced, continued Heinrich. “would be an understatement.” The building has nearly 70 rooms that have served as the home to hundreds of instructors, and active duty, reservists, and civil services students. The new high-tech facility will be designed to allow pilots to train on the kind of modern equipment that they would typically use on an actual mission. A construction schedule for the new facility has not yet been announced. By Garry Boulard ![]() A new hotel is slated for construction at the site of the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The project will go up on the west side of the Sky Harbor complex at the intersection of 24th Street and Buckeye Road and, upon completion, will be the only hotel on airport property. Airport officials have long wanted to build such a facility, noting that travelers have frequently asked if Sky Harbor has any hotel accommodations and on-site meeting rooms. To be located roughly 2 miles from the airport’s big Terminal 3, the new hotel will be paid for out of passenger facility charges and airport revenue bonds, among several other sources of revenue. The City of Phoenix is expected to soon issue a Request for Proposals for the project. A timeline for when actual work on the hotel will begin is expected to be announced in the next several months. Located three miles to the east of downtown Phoenix, the Sky Harbor Airport sees around 45 million passengers a year. By Garry Boulard ![]() Final rules governing Opportunity Zone development and construction projects have now been released by the Department of the Treasury. Those rules state that if a developer or investor purchased a structure for a reduced amount because it exists inside a defined Opportunity Zone, that doesn’t mean they have to spend all of the amount saved on renovating that structure. According to Treasury Department officials, the new rule will make it substantially easier for developers to use the money saved from a reduced-price purchase for the purchase of another structure, also within an Opportunity Zone. The new rules also state that even though capital gains by U.S. companies and individuals are eligible to be invested in an Opportunity Zone by, non-resident foreign companies and individuals can still make investments in those zones. The updated Treasury Department rules, notes the Miami Herald, clarifies “what types of developments can receive investments from a fund, namely, new construction. Previously it was not clear if that category strictly applied.” The Opportunity Zone program was incorporated into the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and has been designed to encourage investment in areas across the country that have been identified as low-income communities. That investment is encouraged through a series of federal tax breaks for real estate investors and developers who invest in the defined zones. That investment has particularly targeted existing older structures in need of renovation and upgrading. There are currently 8,700 defined Opportunity Zones nationally. According to a survey conducted by the accounting services firm Novogradac, Opportunity Zone investment currently stands at $4.5 billion, up from less than $3 billion in early 2019. Of that amount, more than half of the investment has gone for mixed-use projects, while 36 percent has targeted residential development and construction, with a smaller 15 percent used for commercial projects. By Garry Boulard ![]() A Request for Proposals has been issued by the State of New Mexico’s General Services Department for upgrade work to a prison at the southern end of the state. The Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility is located at 1983 Joe R. Siler Boulevard, roughly 13 miles to the west of Las Cruces. The facility, which was built nearly 40 years ago, houses just under 800 medium and minimum security inmates. According to a report issued last year by the New Mexico Department of Corrections, the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility is one of nearly a dozen prisons in the state with a combined nearly $300 million in deferred maintenance needs. New proposed work at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility calls for an upgrading of the heating, ventilation, and cooling system in the facility’s Level Two, which was built in 1996 and houses minimum-restriction inmates. The work will include the removal and cleaning of existing ballast stone, the demolition of the current roof system, and the building of overflow scuppers, roof curbs, condensing units, and exhaust fans. Additional project details: the replacement and subsequent re-installation of all roof-mounted items, the patching of the board ceiling, and new ceiling tiles where needed. Submission deadline for the RFP is January 10. By Garry Boulard |
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