![]() Chipotle Mexican Grill Incorporated has announced plans to build some 200 new locations before the end of this year. But in a twist, the company, which has for years relied primarily upon walk-in traffic, says that a large segment of those new stores will feature drive-throughs. The Chipotle announcement comes as an increasingly larger number of national fast food brands are building and incorporating drive-through offerings as part of their footprint. Industry sources say the demand for drive-throughs is a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, keeping interactions between customers and restaurant employees to a minimum. The demand for drive-throughs has become pronounced enough, says the Wall Street Journal, to command a 10% to 20% higher rent for buildings that already have them. “Drive-through sites are in demand partly because of their scarcity value,” notes the newspaper, adding that in recent years the construction of such restaurant features has been curtailed by local zoning restrictions. Last fall Burger King unveiled a new design feature for restaurants it plans to build in 2021 which include triple drive-throughs, with one lane dedicated for delivery drivers. The company noted that, because of Covid-19, drive-through sales in 2020 had increased to 85% of total sales, up from 67% in 2019. The drive-through trend is also intersecting with modern technology, notes the New York Times. “More restaurants are trying to encourage customers to use ordering apps, which improve the accuracy of orders,” says the publication. “They are also trying to figure out how to best speed customers through the drive-through or pickup process.” McDonald’s Corporation and Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants Incorporated are both reporting increased drive-through sales, with plans to build more stores with drive-in features. Even the Starbucks Corporation has announced a new commitment to locations with drive-throughs. Late last year the company said it was planning to open about 800 new stores nationally, a large segment of which will offer drive-throughs. Roz Brewer, outgoing chief operations officer at Starbucks, said in a conference call with investors that some of the new stores will differ from the chain’s traditional in-house offerings because they will offer no indoor seating whatsoever, but will have instead “side-by-side drive-through lanes.” By Garry Boulard
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![]() A courthouse renovation project in southeastern New Mexico may be in line for up to $1 million in state funding. Local officials in Lea County have long wanted to update the historic Lea County Courthouse, which is located at 100 North Main Avenue in the city of Lovington. The Art Deco building, a New Deal-era Works Progress Administration project designed by famed southwestern architect Orville Walker in 1936, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. If members of the New Mexico State Legislature approve, the courthouse renovation project would receive exactly $1 million in capital outlay funding. That money would go for not only the renovation work itself, but any planning, design, or construction activity that the project may entail. The Lea County Courthouse renovation is one of more than five hundred projects submitted by the state’s Local Government Division for capital outlay funding this year. The requests range in size from the $7,000 to improve a performance stage at the Jemez Springs Public Library in Jemez Springs, to $65 million for planning, design, and building upgrades to the Kiva Auditorium at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Other large requests include $10 million for the planning, design, and building of an Asian American community center in Albuquerque; and $5 million for facility construction and improvements at the Roswell International Air Center. A request of $2.6 million is for a storage and distribution center that will be a part of the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope in Las Cruces; while $1 million will go for the planning, design, and building of a new animal control facility in Clovis. By Garry Boulard ![]() Work may begin sometime next summer on the construction of a new senior housing cooperative development in Westminster. The project is set to go up on some 10 acres at the intersection of West 108th Avenue and Wadsworth Parkway, and will see the construction 85 housing units. The developer is the Minneapolis-based United Properties, which is listing the Westminster project as one of its Applewood Pointe communities. Those projects are designed to create the feel of a real neighborhood, complete with walking and open community spaces. Designer for the Westminster project is the Denver-based Rosemann & Associates. United Properties say the new Colorado project will be geared for the growing 62 years and older residential market. The project will include two-bedroom units, as well as a laundry room and patio or private deck. Shared community space will see the construction of a woodworking shop, fitness room, library, game room, and craft room, among other amenities. Construction could be completed on the Westminster project by the end of 2023. By Garry Boulard ![]() The West continues to dominate the most recent rankings released by U.S. News & World Report for states with the best economies. In the publication’s most recent listing, seven out of the top ten states for economic stability and growth are based in the West, with Utah winning the top slot at number one for its overall business environment and high employment levels, among other factors. The listing additionally noted that Utah with an overall Gross Domestic Product of $193 billion, also enjoys a median income level of just under $32,000. Colorado placed a close second in the rankings, and was also hailed for its high employment levels, as well as overall business environment and general growth. As of 2021, Colorado has a Gross Domestic Product of $393 billion, and median income level of just over $38,200. Arizona is listed in seventh place for its economy, given high marks for its growth potential and business environment, with somewhat middling marks for its current employment levels. With a Gross Domestic Product of $370 billion, Arizona has also seen median income levels of just below $31.500. The U.S. News & World Report ranking put New Mexico in the back of the pack, with a rating at 44 for its economy. The state was also listed near the bottom in terms of its business environment and employment levels, although somewhat higher for its growth potential. New Mexico’s most recent Gross Domestic Product figures are just over $105 billion, while its median income is slightly above the $26,500 mark. In a separate listing of where people are moving, the U-Haul company has just released findings putting both Arizona and Colorado in their top ten of states that people are moving to. The company placed Arizona as the number 5 most popular state for migration in 2020, up from its 20th place in 2019; while Colorado came in at 6th, up from 42 the year before. By Garry Boulard ![]() A project centering on the construction of a 2 million square foot satellite manufacturing facility in Albuquerque may also include fitness space, a food hall, and hotel. The Washington, D.C.-based Theia Group Incorporated several months ago said it wants to build a manufacturing plant as well as a 1.3 million square foot research and testing facility on a site known as the Aviation Center of Excellence Business Park. That roughly 120-acre location at Gibson Boulevard and Girard Boulevard, which has been vacant for the better part of a decade, is not far from the Albuquerque International Sunport. Working with a subsidiary called Group Orion, the Theia Group project will also include office space, space for employee daycare, and a 7-story parking structure. The site plan for the project was approved by members of the Albuquerque Development Commission four months ago. In a new hearing before the Albuquerque Development Review Board, it was learned that the Theia Group is in the process of trying to work out a lease agreement with the City Aviation department for the land required for the project. Theia is a startup company with a business model based on planet surveillance via the use of satellites. Last year, the company signed a letter of intent with the City of Albuquerque to lease the land near the airport. Although an exact date for the start of construction has not yet been announced, it is thought that the Theia/Orion project could prove to be one of the largest in regional history, with an estimated price tag of anywhere between $8 billion and $10 billion. Theia is working on a project called the Theia Satellite Network, which will digitize the entire earth through the deployment and use of more than 100 satellites capturing imagery and data. By Garry Boulard ![]() Work could begin sometime this fall on bringing back to life one of the largest shopping malls in northeastern Phoenix. Members of the Phoenix City Council have given their approval to a zoning change that will allow for the construction of taller buildings at the site of the Paradise Valley Mall at 4568 E. Cactus Road. The 1.2 million square foot mall, which was originally opened in the spring of 1979 and expanded in the next decade, has seen a decline in business in recent years due to the exit of several large tenants. Late last year Dillard’s said it was closing its 200,000 square foot outlet, leaving the mall with only a handful of smaller tenants. But in the wake of those exits, Macerich, a real estate investment company based in Santa Monica, has announced plans to re-purpose the mall, building multi-level residential housing at the 91-acre site, as well as 45,000 square feet of grocery store space. Altogether, the new site configuration will include 3.2 million square feet of nonresidential space; and 3.2 million square feet of residential space. The redevelopment will also see the building of office space, and both restaurants and retail stores. Initial work will include the demolition of the existing mall that once housed a Sears department store outlet, work that could begin by early summer. By Garry Boulard ![]() Look for more built-in high-tech features in the nation’s new senior living facilities, partly in response to the Covid-19 impact, says several industry sources. Writing in Forbes, Ashutosh Saxena, chief executive officer of the artificial intelligence company Caspar AI, is forecasting a greater presence of “voice-command technology and automated notifications, including remote detections of falls” allowing for family members and staff to stay on top of a resident’s health even from a distance. Other facility changes, according to Senior Housing News, will see the adaptation of “touchless technology, more intensive air purification systems, and dedicated health spaces, and on-site clinics.” The Louisville, Kentucky-based company Atira Senior Living last fall rolled out a new model called the “Community of the Future,” emphasizing larger living units and more common areas allowing for social distancing. Industry analysts additionally predict that in response to a general exiting of America’s largest cities on the part of seniors during the worst months of the pandemic, smaller cities and even rural areas will be seeing more senior living construction. Such parts of the country, notes Senior Housing News, are increasingly being seen as “hotbeds of new development.” While analysts believe it may take a while for the senior housing market to return to where it was in late 2019 and early 2020, well-funded projects in quality markets will remain steady. One factor fueling new senior living construction: simple numbers. The country’s Baby Boom population is expected to reach 74 million within the decade, nearly twice the estimated number in 2012. By Garry Boulard ![]() A move is on for the construction of a new high school in Boulder that may end up costing around $40 million to build. A study group comprised of community members, students and teachers, has voted unanimously in favor of putting up a new facility rather than upgrading the existing New Vista High School located at 700 20th Street. After several months of study, the group determined that the existing structure, built in 1954, has too many structural issues, including sagging floors, poor lighting, aging mechanical systems, and accessibility problems, to make for a cost-effective upgrade of the building. It was estimated that it could easily cost as much as $36 million to upgrade the existing structure. As proposed, the new school would be built at the site of the existing New Vista High School, directly across the street from Boulder campus of the University of Colorado. Keeping the school at its current location is seen as particularly important given the relationship New Vista has with the nearby university and number of students who take classes there. The Boulder Valley School Board is now looking at ways to fund the new project, the vast majority of which would be paid for by the Boulder Valley District. If all the needed funding can be secured, it is thought that the project would take at least 3 to 4 years to complete. By Garry Boulard ![]() The beginning of a proposed 2,000-home development could soon see construction in the San Tan Valley as part of a large master-planned community. The Wales Ranch project will see an initial 640 acres developed in what is expected to be a three-phase project. Set to go up at the northeast corner of Schnepf and Combs roads, the project is a joint venture belonging to the Roswell, Georgia-based Ashton Woods Homes and TerraWest Communities of Phoenix. Located some 50 miles to the southeast of downtown Phoenix, San Tan Valley in the last decade has experienced a population boom, jumping from just over 81,000 in 2010 to more than 100,000 today. The San Tan Valley is in Pinal County, which itself is now regarded as the fastest growing county in Arizona, with a growth rate of 30%. That growth has been fed by former Phoenix residents looking for larger living spaces, as well as people moving in from other states. The first phase of the Wales Ranch project will comprise just over 700 homes, with a second phase expected to see construction of just over 550 homes. By Garry Boulard ![]() All indications are that President Biden will just days from now sign into law a coronavirus relief package that contains direct payments of $1,400 for most Americans. The Senate has passed the historic $1.9 trillion legislation, allowing for individuals with incomes of between $75,000 and $80,000 and couples with incomes of between $150,000 and $160,000, to receive payments. Individuals with incomes above $80,000 and married couples with incomes above $160,000, will not be eligible for funds under the legislation. The Treasury Department has announced that payments will be sent out as soon as the President signs the new bill into law. “The Treasury Department is working on what this looks like and what the processing looks like,” Jen Psaki, White House press secretary said in the wake of the Senate’s passage of the bill. “We expect a large number of Americans to receive relief by the end of the month, but in terms of the mechanics of it, Treasury just has to work through that.” The $1,400 checks mark the third round of stimulus payments sent from Washington since the onset of the Covid-19 virus, following on the heels of $1,200 and $600 checks approved by Congress and signed into law last year by President Trump. Upon Senate passage of the legislation Biden told reporters: “This plan will get checks out the door, starting this month, to the American people who so desperately need the help.” The legislation still needs the final approval of the House, which is expected by no later than mid-week. By Garry Boulard |
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