![]() The only form of asbestos still imported into the United States may soon be entirely prohibited. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it is soon to officially propose banning the importation and use of chrysotile asbestos, which it earlier determined presents an “unreasonable health risk” to those who come in contact with it. In a statement, the agency noted that its action represents the “first-ever risk management rule issued under the new process for evaluating and addressing the safety of existing chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act,” which was passed in 2016. If enacted, the prohibition will apply to the importation of chrysotile asbestos, as well as its domestic manufacture, distribution, and any commercial use. Chrysotile asbestos, more commonly known as white asbestos, has been widely used in the construction of floors, walls, ceilings, and roofs. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, chrysotile asbestos been proven to cause cancer of the lung, cancer of the larynx, and certain gastrointestinal cancers, among other dangers. While the proposed EPA ban has won applause in the health community, business leaders are currently less enthusiastic. In a statement, Marty Durbin, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute, said the ban could have “unintended consequences on safe drinking water and our already-precarious supply chain of consumer products.” Durbin added the asbestos is used in the “production of chlorine which is critical to treating drinking water and in the manufacturing of many pharmaceutical, bleach, and medical goods.” EPA Administrator Michael Regan, however, said the proposed ban will protect the American people from “a known carcinogen, and demonstrates significant progress in our work to implement the Toxic Substances Control Act law and take bold, long-overdue actions to protect those most vulnerable among us.” The EPA will be accepting public comments on its proposed chrysotile asbestos ban until early June. By Garry Boulard
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![]() Plans are soon to be executed for the renovation of one of Phoenix’s most popular and durable golf clubs. The company JDM Partners of Phoenix says it wants to substantially upgrade the Biltmore Golf Club and see the building of a new golf shop as well as underground cart storage space. Located at 2400 E. Missouri Avenue on the northeast side of Phoenix, the nearly 100-year old club and 36-hole course has long been favored by amateurs and pros across the country, not to mention presidents Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and the first Bush. Plans during the first phase of the renovation work will also see an upgrading of the course’s landscaping. Work on that first phase is expected to wrap by early next year, with a second phase beginning shortly thereafter that will include the building of a new club house and restaurant. The new club house will be designed to sit on a grassy site distinguished by water features. Project designer is the Phoenix-based Douglas Fredrikson Architects. The initial plans for work at the golf club included the building of a 6,000 square foot pavilion, an idea that was discarded in the face of opposition from area neighbors concerned that substantial changes to the facility and larger site might cause an increase in traffic. The course and golf club are part of the world-famous Arizona Biltmore resort and hotel. The design of the historic hotel was inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and included a 7,000 square foot ballroom topped by a gold leaf ceiling. At the time of its gala inaugural in early 1929, the hotel was lauded by the Arizona Republic newspaper for its “moulded, semi-opaque glass, the same size and shape as building bricks, set into the walls of the building,” as well as its 200-foot-long lobby. By Garry Boulard ![]() A site in northern Scottsdale just acquired for $125 million at auction could see the construction of new industrial and warehouse space. The property in question sits at the intersection of Loop 101 and Bell Road in a mostly undeveloped part of the city. The New York-based Mack Real Estate Group, which specializes in the investment and development of mixed-use properties, submitted the winning bid at the auction coordinated by the Arizona State Land Department. Richard Mack, chief executive officer of the Mack Group, said in a statement that his company remains “very bullish on industrial property and residential rents” in the metro Phoenix area. The company has previously spearheaded the development of the Mack Innovation Park in north Phoenix, which contains some 4 million square feet of industrial and manufacturing space on 224 acres purchased by the Mack Group last year. Two years ago, the Mack Group, which has been investing in and developing industrial properties in metro Phoenix since 1987, also purchased for $59 million The Hub at Goodyear, a site featuring nearly 800,000 square feet of industrial facility space. Specific building plans for the Loop 101/Bell Road property have not yet been announced. Scottsdale, with a population of more than 240,000 people, up from just over 202,000 two decades ago, remains one of the business growth hotspots of Arizona, rated as the top city in the state for new venture capital investment and seeing the opening of more than 800 new businesses last year. By Garry Boulard ![]() As if the price of gasoline and other consumer goods have not gone up enough in recent months, a survey of economists from across the country is predicting that prices will lurch upward yet some more by the end of this year. The survey, conducted by the site Bloomberg.com, asked some 72 economists for their views on economic growth for the rest of this year and heading into early 2023. The consensus: the Consumer Price Index will mostly likely average around 5.7% in the final quarter of 2022, significantly up from the 4.5% increase projected in March. The economists also increased to 27.5% the odds of the country entering a recession in the next 12 months. In March, those same experts pegged the chance of a recession at 20%. According to Bloomberg reporters Reade Pickert and Kyungjn Yoo, this most recent survey “captures economists’ forecasts after the first full month of Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has driven up prices of major commodities like food and oil and stressed fragile supply chains.” Overall, the nation’s Consumer Price Index, as measured from early 2021 to the first three months of this year, has been on a continual upward ride of anywhere from 4.6% to 7.0%. In February, the Consumer Price Index hit its highest peak since January of 1982, according to Bureau of Labor Statistic data. The Zurich, Switzerland-based UBS Group, a multinational investment bank and financial services company, is forecasting that the latest inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index and to be released later this week, will likely hit the 8.5% mark. If it goes that high, says the New York Times, it “could make the Federal Reserve raise interest rates at a larger scale than previously anticipated.” But UBS has a different take on where things are heading, predicting that inflation will more than likely decrease for the rest of the year. According to the publication Fortune, UBS is now anticipating that gas prices, hitting record numbers this winter, “will decline every month through November, helping to reduce inflation.” By Garry Boulard ![]() A nearly 100-year-old brick building in the Delmar Parkway neighborhood of Aurora that houses a popular and long-established Mexican restaurant is being listed for sale. Located at 9742 E. Colfax Avenue, the one-story building measures nearly 4,000 square feet and was built in 1925. For well over four decades the structure has been the home to La Cueva, a restaurant as famous for its original south of the border cuisine, as it is its variety of margaritas. Categorized as a Class B building, the structure is additionally located in a defined Opportunity Zone on a busy avenue populated with mostly one-story stores also built in the 1920s and 30s. Listed by the Aurora-based Sanborn and Company realtors, the Colfax Avenue building features a bar, dining room space, banquet room, and fully functioning kitchen with walk-in refrigeration space. The asking price for the property, located 2 miles to the west of the University of Colorado Hospital, is $1.2 million. By Garry Boulard ![]() In a continuing effort to reduce homelessness in Albuquerque, Mayor Tim Keller has proposed spending a combined $7 million in both recurring and one-time funding for housing programs. The mayor’s proposal is part of a significantly larger $1.4 billion new city budget that is mostly concerned with law enforcement and public safety priorities, including $615,000 for improvements to the city’s animal welfare facilities. Homelessness and a lack of affordable housing options have been an ongoing preoccupation for the Keller administration. Last year the city purchased for $15 million the former Gibson Medical Center, turning it into the Gateway Center, a facility designed to provide both emergency shelter as well as access to long-term services. That facility is slated to open at the end of this year. Despite such efforts, the number of people living on the streets of the city, according to a report issued in late 2021 by the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, has increased from nearly 200 in the last five years to more than 400. The mayor’s proposal additionally includes $4.7 million for the continued operation of the Gateway Center, as well as $750,000 for a Safe Outdoor Spaces sanctioned encampments program. Another $1.3 million will go for a medical respite facility at the Gibson Health Hub, on the same campus at 5400 Gibson Boulevard SE populated by the Gateway Center. In unveiling his budget, Keller, in part, said his goal was to build on the “historic investments that got us through tough times brought on by the pandemic.” By Garry Boulard ![]() In a sign that the post-pandemic economy is still not totally post-pandemic, office leasing activity decidedly slowed during the early part of this year, according to a new report issued by the Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis Group. The Dallas-based commercial real estate services and investment firm, looking at a dozen of the nation’s largest office markets, noted that companies were generally delaying decisions on making long-term office space commitments. In a statement, Julie Whelan, research analyst for CBRE, remarked that “uncertainty in the market from either the pandemic, inflation, or geopolitical events can have a cooling effort on office activity.” But Whelan added that such factors could portend future growth in that the “sustained level of activity by companies seeking new office space will translate to more leasing activity in the months ahead.” The CRBE’s Pulse of U.S. Office Demand report presents an index with any reading of 100 being equal to the office rental market as it was in the booming pre-pandemic months of 2018 and 2019. According to that index, the average from the 12 cities surveyed for the first two months of this year came in at 89, with the Texas cities of Houston and Dallas representing a buoyant 126 and 116 respectively. Denver, on the other hand came in below the 100 cut off, at 96, followed by Seattle at 92. Much lower on the list was Atlanta at 84, Los Angeles at 67, and Philadelphia at 52. While the overall leasing numbers could be stronger, a press release from CRBE contends that “office demand is expected to stabilize in the near term as more companies encourage employees to return to the office due to a sharp decline in Covid infections.” The firm is further predicting a generally healthy office leasing market for the second half of this year. By Garry Boulard Bonds for Large Packet of Construction and Upgrade Projects Given OK by Denver City Council4/8/2022 ![]() A wide variety of new housing, transportation, and parks projects may soon see work in Denver owing to a vote by the city council green lighting the bonds for those projects. The approved general obligation bonds represent the funding mechanism for the Elevate Denver program, a $937 million general improvement proposal passed by Denver voters in the fall of 2017. The Elevate Denver bond package was a series of individual bond questions pertaining to specific transportation, cultural facility, library, and parks projects, all of which were passed by well over 65% of the voters. The bond issuance now approved by the city council will see $161 million going for transportation and mobility projects, and just over $39 million for parks construction and upgrade projects. A smaller $29.4 million is slated for facility work within the city’s vast library system. Altogether, some 50 individual projects are slated to be funded through the bond issuance. As approved by the council, the bonds are backed by Denver’s credit worthiness and are paid back over a period stretching into the decades via property tax revenue. By Garry Boulard ![]() Work is scheduled to begin on the building of a new modern elementary school in Las Cruces that will be built to house just over 750 students. The new Columbia Elementary School will go up in the 2400 block of Elks Drive, at the site of a former school by the same name. Earlier this year, members of the Las Cruces Public Schools board voted in favor of demolishing the current structure. The board vote came nearly four years after mold infestation was discovered in up to half a dozen classrooms of the school. In response, nearly 475 students were transferred to another school facility in the district, while officials tried to decide what to do with the facility. After months of studies and public input, the board decided that it would be more cost effective to demolish the infected structure rather than remediate it, while also approving a proposal to build a $30 million new school. It is expected that the demolition process will be completed by the end of this year, with construction of the new facility launching by the summer of 2023. The soon-to-be demolished, one-story school building was built in 2003. By Garry Boulard ![]() Two years ago, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study noted that with 53.2 suicides per 100,000 workers, the construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. Now a prominent industry group has joined with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to address mental health issues among construction workers, with a particular focus on stopping suicides. “Safety includes total human health—emotional, social, mental, intellectual, financial, occupation and spiritual wellness,” remarked Greg Sizemore, vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development for the Associated Builders and Contractors, in announcing the partnership with AFSP. Sizemore added that the people who do the actual building in the construction industry are its “greatest asset,” remarking that the joint effort between the two groups will “take our total human health and safety practices to the next level. Going forward, this is the greatest opportunity to leverage and advance world-class safety for our people, both physically and mentally.” A report published in Michigan’s Daily Telegram last year suggested that construction workers are prone to depression because they operate on strict deadlines: “Such a schedule can put pressure on the workers. When workers do not meet the deadline, they can be subject to fines.” In a press release issued by the Associated Builders and Contractors said that as a part of its partnership with AFSP it was committed to developing and disseminating “resources on mental health and suicide prevention in workplaces” in order to engage workers. The joint effort will also see a promulgation of suicide prevention education in all ABC chapters. A survey released late last year by the American Psychiatric Association indicated that among construction workers reluctant to report mental issues or thoughts of suicide, the vast majority said they were governed by concerns that they would be stigmatized by their peers. By Garry Boulard |
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