![]() The commercial real estate and property investment firm James Long LaSalle Incorporated is predicting a continued strong domestic construction market for the duration of 2020, with an uptick in public projects. In its new 2020 Construction Outlook report, the Chicago-based firm is also forecasting that a shortage of labor will continue to plague the industry, with material prices expected to increase between now and the end of the year. Those material costs could go up by anywhere from 2 to 3 percent. In an interview with the publication Construction Dive, Henry D’Esposito, construction research lead for the firm, additionally predicted an increasing industry embrace of new technology, forecasting that it will soon become the norm to see the regular use of “cutting-edge technology” most especially in large projects, adding that companies not doing so “would mean leaving efficiencies on the table.” While the report is projecting a less than 2 percent growth in nonresidential construction spending this year, it also expects to see a jump in public projects. Those projects will be ongoing in all government segments including education, healthcare, and transportation. The report predicts what has become an industry mantra in recent years: slow and steady growth, building upon previous increases recorded in both 2018 and 2019. The sporadic nature of the business, with companies taking on work where they can find it, was additionally seen in the 1.2 percent decline in private spending on projects last year, a drop that was more than compensated for by a 10.1 percent increase in public spending. By Garry Boulard
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![]() A hotel group based in Juarez has announced plans to renovate a nine-floor, 112-room Holiday Inn Express hotel in downtown El Paso. The group purchased the structure last month. Landstar Hotels owns other hotels in Ciudad Juarez and is also currently building a five-story, 100-room hotel some four blocks from the entrance of the El Paso International Airport. Plans call for not only renovating the rooms at the Holiday Inn Express, located at 409 E. Missouri Avenue, but also updating the pool area, as well as several public spaces within the structure. The group is expected to invest around $10 million on the project, which will include both the purchase of the hotel itself, as well as the costs of the planned renovations. The hotel was for more than thirty years a Travelodge Central and underwent a $1 million remodeling in 2004. The new upgrading and renovation is expected to begin later this spring. By Garry Boulard ![]() Up to 325 multi-family apartment units could see construction later this year in a growing master planned community in Broomfield. The project has now won the approval of the Broomfield City Council, after earlier securing the support of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. The project will go up on a currently vacant 11.3-acre site between Wadsworth Parkway and Destination Drive inside the Arista planned community. According to city records, at least 25 percent of that site will be set aside for green space. As planned, the complex will be spread out over four separate multi-story buildings, with apartments ranging in size from one to three bedrooms and measuring from 727 to 1,345 square feet. Also included: a clubhouse, swimming pool, some five hundred surface parking spaces, and garage parking for up to 83 vehicles. The project belongs to the Irvine, California-based Steadfast Asset Holdings, a real estate development and property management firm with more than 2,000 residential units throughout Colorado, as well as properties in Arizona, California, Idaho, and Oregon, among other states. Located about 4 miles to the southeast of downtown Broomfield, the 200-acre transit-oriented Arista district first saw construction in 2005, but was negatively impacted by the Great Recession. Construction in the district began to pick up again beginning in the summer of 2012 with the opening of the $4.2 million Children’s Hospital Colorado. Arista today features restaurants, entertainment venues, offices, and a two-block pedestrian mall. By Garry Boulard ![]() Members of Congress are working their way through legislation designed to replace the sweeping Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, otherwise known as the FAST Act. Peter DeFazio, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, recently told reporters that he hopes to see a new five-year, $329 billion bill completed sometime next month, with the committee sending the legislation to the floor in April. Meanwhile, the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee passed its own $287 billion reauthorization of the FAST Act last summer, although the larger Senate has yet to act on the matter. Yet one more version may be coming from the White House, which, according to reports, is looking at a larger $810 billion version with a life span of 10 years. That version, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao just announced in a public statement, is going through the “clearance process within the executive branch.” Part of that process includes a vetting of the proposal by the Office of Management and Budget. The FAST Act is scheduled to officially expire on September 30. It originally passed Congress in December of 2015, providing up to $305 billion for a variety of surface transportation projects between 2016 and 2020. By Garry Boulard ![]() After hoping for years, residents in a small rural enclave of Aztec, New Mexico may finally be on the verge of obtaining potable water via a pipeline. Members of the New Mexico State Legislature have voted to approve more than $18 million in capital outlay funding for a variety of projects in San Juan County. Of that amount, some $2 million will go to fund the construction of an 8-mile long pipeline that will connect the East Culpepper Flats with a water distribution system run by the North Star Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association. As it now stands, water to the subdivision is hauled in by a truck capable of transporting up to 2,000 gallons from a standing tank that holds around 32,000 gallons of water. The pipeline project, which would be built near Country Road 1350 and New Mexico State Road 574, has been regarded as a priority item in need of state dollars for several years by San Juan County officials. An earlier capital outlay approved by state lawmakers provided funding for the pipeline project’s design. The $2 million construction outlay must still be approved by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. By Garry Boulard ![]() In a move to attract new businesses and companies to locate to the sprawling site of the Roswell International Air Center, state lawmakers have approved up to $5 million in infrastructure improvements. The funding is part of a more than $532 million in capital outlay funding projects passed by members of the New Mexico State Legislature, with every item subject to the final approval of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. The $5 million for the Roswell airport would pay for road improvements on both the east and south sides of the airfield, as well as utility infrastructure. The airfield infrastructure upgrade has long been touted by local officials and is listed as a priority item in Chaves County’s Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan. The funding comes as the airport has just received a $750,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to jump start a new United Airlines service connecting Roswell with Denver. Late last year, the airport also secured some $1.2 million in funding from the FAA for taxiway rehabilitation work. That project is expected to see work sometime this summer. If the Governor approves the $5 million infrastructure capital outlay for the airport, work could begin sometime next year. By Garry Boulard ![]() Less worried at this very early stage about the impact of the Coronavirus on workers, construction industry leaders say the spread of what is officially called COVID-19 could lead to a price increase in materials coming from China. Because nearly a third of all building product imports, including machines and parts, come from China, a slow-down in material production in that country may hit the bottom line of many construction projects in the U.S. According to sources, cargo volumes, due to the outbreak of the virus, may now be down by as much as 20 percent at U.S. ports. Richard Branch, a chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics, has told the publication Construction Dive that the situation could be particularly precarious for commercial builders that “rely on Chinese-made materials,” noting that the slow-down could mean “higher material costs and potentially slower project completions.” In a statement, Ken Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General Contractors of America, noted that while “overall economic conditions remain favorable, future construction spending levels may be affected by the growing uncertainties related to the Coronavirus and its impact on the supply chain for construction components, especially those manufactured in hard-hit countries.” Simonson added that despite such concerns, no U.S. contractors have as of yet reported supply problems that could impact their projects. Meanwhile, the National Law Review is advising contractors to consider seeking compensation for the increased costs of some materials in their project contracts. “Whether you are negotiating a contract for a new project or in the middle of construction, it would be wise to consider who will bear the risks and costs associated with the still evolving Coronavirus,” the publication says. By Garry Boulard ![]() Construction could begin later this year on a 12,400 square foot facility that will house a combined dog day care and boarding facility on the east side of Lafayette. What is being called Jasper’s Splash Zone will be a one-story house-like structure with a front covered porch to be built on a 3.4-acre site at 1720 Majestic Drive. An existing Jasper’s Splash Zone dog facility is located in Colorado Springs. The project, which will also feature nearly 3,700 square feet of office space, has now won the approval of Lafayette’s Planning Commission, but still has to be reviewed and signed off on by the Lafayette City Council. According to city documents, the facility will also include multiple kennels, an outdoor sports pool, agility field, and training areas adjacent to the main structure, with a small barn hunt to be built on the northeast corner of the site. That barn hunt entails dogs sniffing through a large pile of hay for rats, which are contained inside circular plastic tubes. The canines never come into actual contact with the rats, but by searching for the tubes hidden in various places in the hay, they are able to exercise their natural desires to hunt. The barn hunt is regarded as good training for dogs about to live on farms who will soon enough hunting and catching the real thing. By Garry Boulard ![]() A bill in the Arizona State Legislation is earmarking some $5 million to build an emergency shelter geared especially for people who are 55 years of age or older. The money will come from the state’s general fund and is designed to address the issue of the increasing number of homeless seniors living in metropolitan Phoenix. The new shelter would be built in the West Valley, a suburb that has seen explosive growth in recent years with more than 1.5 million people currently calling the area home. Of that figure, a smaller number is made up of seniors, a demographic that has seen a nearly 40 percent increase just since 2017. The wave of new seniors coming into Arizona, some of whom are also disabled, has been referred to as a “silver tsunami.” The legislation, Senate Bill 1283, would pay for the property and construction of a shelter housing around 200 beds. Earlier reports indicated that the shelter would also provide attention to the medical needs of the seniors. Senator David Livingston, the main sponsor behind the legislation, told radio station KJZZ in Phoenix that the project will comprise what he called “a new model,” adding that “it’s a big difference if somebody who’s 55 or 65 and they’re homeless, versus somebody who’s 25. There are different needs.” By Garry Boulard ![]() While the winter months in many parts of the country usually means a decrease in construction work, spending on new public construction projects has helped to increase the industry’s overall numbers, according to a new report. The Associated General Contractors of America has just released an analysis based on the latest Department of Commerce numbers showing that public construction spending in January was up by 2.6 percent over the previous month, and a very strong 12.6 percent from January of 2019. Those numbers come as the industry is experiencing relatively flat growth in multifamily construction, with private nonresidential up by only 0.8 percent in January over December. From year to year, private nonresidential was marginally up by 0.5 percent. The largest construction gains in January were seen in water supply projects, up by 35.5 percent over December; conservation and development projects, with a 23.8 percent gain; and sewerage and waste disposal projects, which saw a 13.9 percent increase. Categorizing the public infrastructure projects as “exceptionally robust in January,” Ken Simonson, chief economist with the AGC, said, “Demand for construction is benefitting from the strength of the overall economy and robust public-sector investments in many types of construction projects.” The Commerce Department numbers also showed that spending on state and local government projects had jumped by 2 percent in January. Federal spending at the same time was up by 9.9 percent—the highest level recorded since the spring of 2012. The largest public segment construction project numbers in January were seen in highway and street construction, with an 11.7 percent increase; and airport, transit, rail, and port projects up by 11.5 percent. A smaller, but still strong gain, was posted in education construction projects, up by 4.1 percent from January of 2019 to January of this year. By Garry Boulard |
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