![]() It may be another two more years until the Texas Department of Transportation presents its final proposal for a highway widening and upgrading project in El Paso. What is being called Reimagine 10 is a project aimed at soliciting the views of the public on the contours and design of Interstate 10 as it curves into El Paso. The segment planned for work stretches from the Executive Center Boulevard and Copia Street, in a dense part of the city made up of any number of warehouses, garages, businesses, and homes. Up to 30 commercial and residential structures could end up being demolished as a result of the project, which will also see the demolition of bridges failing to meet the state’s modern height requirements. Also included in the project: the construction of new trailing walls, ramps, cross streets, and replacement bridges. The Texas DOT has spent the past months reviewing an original nine proposals, evaluating them in terms of their impact on such matters as traffic congestion, impact on business and natural resources, and potential for improving bicycle and walking access. Those nine proposals have now been winnowed down to three, with the goal of presenting a final proposal to the public in 2023. Work on what may end up being a $700 million project could begin by 2029 with a three-year construction schedule. By Garry Boulard
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![]() The electric vehicle charging station market is poised for a takeoff, according to a new report, with the dollar worth in the next 6 years equally around $109 million nationally. The report by the Data Bridge Market Research, was is based in Prune, India, says the primary reason for the station is growth is simple: “the increasing demand for electric vehicles.” But also animating the market are the “incentives and subsidies by government for electric vehicles,” as well as environmental concerns prompting more drivers to purchase such vehicles. The report comes as the Biden Administration is proposing the construction of around 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations nationally in the next 5 years. While Washington is preparing to launch an electric vehicle station directive, private industry is stepping in, with the Shell Oil Company announcing plans to build around 440,000 new stations between now and 2025. But finding the funding to build such stations, according to industry analysts, may prove challenging. The fact that many believe an investment from Washington may be needed, notes the Wall Street Journal, “shows just how little faith many industry insiders have in the ability of private enterprise to solve this problem.” Currently, according to the site Statista, there are currently around 40,500 charging stations in the U.S., along with a significantly larger 97,000 charging outlets. But other analysts contend that the growth of the electric vehicle market will essentially determine how many and where the new charging stations go up. Another research group called The Brattle Group, which is based in Boston, is now predicting that the number of electric vehicles on the road by the year 2030 will exceed 40 million. That means at least 2 million or more stations will be needed to keep up with demand. According to the Department of Energy, the states with the greatest density of electric vehicle charging stations are located in New York, Florida, and California. The states with the least density are primarily in the West, and include Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. By Garry Boulard ![]() New buildings may be going up, and others demolished, at the site of one of the most well-known shopping centers in northern Colorado. The Foothills Mall, located at 215 Foothills Parkway, was opened in the fall of 1973 and for decades was well supplied with both customers and tenants. With less customers and tenants in the last 15 years or so, the ownership of the mall has changed hand several times, while the property itself has yearly brought in less revenue. Now, the Loveland-based McWhinney Real Estate & Development Company has signed a preliminary agreement to purchase the mall, which comprises some 620,000 square feet of retail space. According to reports, McWhinney is exploring the idea of building some multifamily housing at the site, as well as new retail and restaurant space. The new development may require the demolition of parts of the existing mall. The company is currently engaged in a due diligence process exploring the Foothill Mall’s financials and potential. If all goes well, a final purchase agreement may be announced later this year. McWhinney previously developed the just over 230,000 square foot Promenade Shops at Briargate in Colorado Springs, as well as a number of other housing and retail projects in Denver, Fort Collins, and Loveland. By Garry Boulard ![]() Part of a spending plan currently under review in the Colorado State Legislature would target up to $80 million for the creation of more affordable housing spaces. More specifically, as outlined in an officially published document called Colorado Recovery Plan, the proposal is designed to “transform downtown spaces and create more sustainable affordable housing in urban areas.” “Ensuring urban areas have adequate affordable housing options as well as safe community spaces, is critical to maintaining the vibrant diversity and longevity of our city centers,” the report asserts. An additional $30 million is being proposed for what is called a “Revitalizing Main Street” effort that would see funding committed to infrastructure projects providing open spaces for mobility and community activities. The two proposals in the Colorado Recovery Plan document are part of a larger $700 million that Governor Jared Polis and various state lawmakers have said is available for spending due to a surprise jump in tax revenue the state experienced in the last fiscal year. Although the $700 million represents a spending milestone of sorts, it is still smaller than the $1.3 billion in project funding that the Governor had originally aired late last year. By Garry Boulard ![]() A quick-moving proposal is making its way through Congress that would extend the application deadline for Paycheck Protection Program loans. As it now stands, the Small Business Administration has set March 31 as the final day in which small businesses can apply for assistance, a date that some owners have found daunting due to the amount of paperwork required to submit an application. In testimony before the House Small Business Committee, Hilda Kennedy remarked: “These businesses need a little more help and they’re willing to do the work.” Kennedy is the president of the Grand Terrace, California-based Am Pack Business Capital, which has been processing such applications. “We need more time to serve them,” she added. “No applicant should be left stranded because of bureaucratic red tape,” Alice Frazier, chief executive officer of the Bank of Charles Town in Charles Town, West Virginia, told the same committee. A group of lawmakers are now pushing for a bill that will extend the PPP application deadline to May 31. The legislation will additionally give to the SBA the authority to continue processing applications that are pending for another month after that date. While the measure is expected to win easy approval in the House, reports indicate that it will only get through the Senate in a timely fashion if members approve a unanimous consent agreement to hasten its passage. Despite what some critics have called a cumbersome application process, the SBA, as of early March, had approved more than 2.4 million individual loans to small businesses nationally, comprising some $165 billion. By Garry Boulard ![]() Exactly when the City of Albuquerque is going to decide what to do with a parking lot located at 4th Street and Marquette Avenue remains anyone’s guess. In the fall of 2017 then-Mayor Richard Berry targeted that site as where he would like to see a new skyscraper built, noting that the last such structure, at 22 floors, was put up in 1990. That structure is the Albuquerque Plaza Office Tower at 201 Third Street NW, which was originally known as the Bank of America Tower. “I believe it’s about time to add to our skyline another building that will further spur economic opportunity in the heart of our city,” Berry commented. Although the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency shortly thereafter hosted a competition for ides for the site, the project was temporarily abandoned when new Mayor Tim Keller, in early 2018, halted the process, remarking, “I don’t think it’s important to have a tallest building.” Keller, instead, said his vision for the site was “something that actually helps rejuvenate and re-energize downtown in all sorts of ways.” In response to Keller asking for developers to come up with different ideas, three bids were submitted, with projects that would include everything from the construction of condominiums and hotels to a theater, restaurants, and retail space. The least costly proposal calls for the construction of 34 stories of condos and hotel rooms. What is being called The Duke carries with it a $116 million price tag. The proposed New Mexico Performing Arts Center project would see the construction of a multi-use space complete with a theater and combination of both restaurants and retail at an estimated cost of $201 million. The third entry is called the Reunion Center, and will also feature a hotel and theater as well as residential and restaurant space, at $300 million. When exactly a decision will be made on which one of these projects will be the city’s final choice has not yet been announced. By Garry Boulard ![]() The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has issued a Request for Proposals for the demolition and removal of an existing hatchery facility and the subsequent construction replacement of a new production building. The Glenwood Gila Trout Facility is located in the town of Glenwood, about 45 miles to the north of Silver City. Work on the project will also entail the building of an aeration head tank and recirculation station. Also included: a new infiltration gallery as well as infiltration gallery pump station and overall electrical improvements. The Glenwood facility is one of half a dozen such hatcheries around the state operated by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Built in 1938, but remodeled in the mid-1970s, the Glenwood facility has historically produced trout for the lakes and streams of the southwestern part of the state. An RFP submission deadline for the project is March 19. By Garry Boulard ![]() The continuing rise in the prices of basic materials is hitting contractors across the country, says a new analysis just released by the Associated General Contractors of America. According to that study, everything from steel to lumber to precast concrete products has seen a price increase since the beginning of the year. Based on a survey of nearly 1,500 contractors, the AGC analysis notes that the price increases are not only making life difficult for builders, but also “their customers, including hospitals, schools, and other facilities needed to get the economy back on track.” In a statement, Ken Simonson, chief economist with the AGC, warned that “project owners and budget officials should anticipate that projects will cost more and have longer, perhaps uncertain, completion times, owing to these circumstances that contractors cannot control.” Overall, prices for materials used in nonresidential construction have jumped by nearly 2% since the beginning of the year. That’s on top of a significantly larger increase of 12.8% since last April. The analysis additionally shows a 3.0% increase in the price of concrete blocks and bricks; a 3.9% jump in flat glass prices; and massive 36.1% increase in lumber and plywood over last year. Simonson noted that some 85% of the survey’s respondents said their materials costs had increased since early 2020, with now 58% saying that projects are taking longer to complete than before the pandemic first hit. “This situation will intensify the cost squeeze apparent in the producer price index data,” Simonson said. To end or greatly reduce the materials price hikes a large number of industry and labor groups have been calling on the Biden Administration to eliminate a range of trade tariffs that were originally imposed during the Trump presidency. According to an AGC statement, such eliminations will not only positively impact the price of materials, they will also “help uncork supply-chain bottlenecks.” By Garry Boulard ![]() A company specializing in the production of extruded aluminum automotive components has announced plans to set up a new manufacturing facility on the east side of Flagstaff. Based in Ludington, Michigan, UACJ Automotive Whitehall Industries says it wants to open a new location in Arizona in order to be closer to its electric vehicle customer base. The company, launched in 1974 as Whitehall Industries and originally centering on making components for the copying and printing industry, was purchased 5 years ago by the Tokyo-based UACJ Corporation. At the time of the purchase, Whitehall Industries was listed as both a Tier 1 and Tier 2 aluminum components supplier for the automotive industry. Plans in Flagstaff call for the company to repurpose a former Walgreens distribution center, just off East Industrial Drive. Walgreens ceased its operations at the roughly 400,000 square foot building in 2014. UAJC Automotive Whitehall Industries, which describes itself as a fabrication company, is expected to spend upwards of $60 million converting the former Walgreens site, with work expected to begin later this spring. The company currently operates manufacturing plants in Paducah, Kentucky and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; as well as at its home base in Michigan. In a statement, David Cooper, chief operating officer and president of UAJC Automotive Whitehall Industries, said the company additionally decided to set up operations in Flagstaff because of the existence of an “ease of transportation, and an already well-established manufacturing sector within the community.” By Garry Boulard ![]() Long-planned improvements and upgrades to Colorado’s famous Eisenhower Tunnel may be in the offing if members of the state legislature approve up to $170 million in transportation infrastructure funding. Officially known as the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel, the throughway is named in honor of President Dwight Eisenhower, who advanced the country’s Interstate Highway System in the late 1950s, and Colorado Senator Edwin C. Johnson, who pushed to get the Intestate 70 built in Colorado. Widely regarded as a feat of modern engineering, the two lanes of the of the 60 mile-long tunnel under the Continental Divide heading west was opened in 1973, to be followed six years later by two lanes going in the other direction. In the years since, the tunnel has become one of the most used passages of its kind in the West. Annual traffic has increased from around 10 million vehicles two decades ago to 13.1 million in 2019. With the traffic has come a wearing down of the structure, with Colorado Department of Transportation officials noting that the two tunnels are in need of plumbing and electrical system overhauls, ventilation system improvements, and ground water leak repairs, among other things. It is thought that the tunnel work could easily exceed $150 million of the $170 million in transportation work project funding the Colorado legislature is currently weighing. The legislature will be in session until May 12. By Garry Boulard |
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