![]() An apartment complex that will house up to 250 residential units may be built at the site of a vacated grocery store in Grand Junction. The Greeley-based Richmark Companies is currently engaged in discussions with City of Grand Junction officials regarding incentives to spur the project. Construction of what will be called The Junction, if it becomes reality, will solve a festering problem for a city challenged by the question of what to do with the site at 200 Rood Avenue. More than three years ago a City Market store, owned by the Kroger grocery chain, announced it was closing its outlet at the site, which occupied an entire block near the intersection of Rood and First Street. That store had been a Grand Junction mainstay since 1990. Richmark Companies, which specializes in upscale apartment housing in both Colorado and Arizona, says it could cost as much as $65 million to build the new Rood Avenue complex. The company is hoping to secure incentives to get the project underway, which could include $3.5 million in support through the city’s Downtown Development Authority. According to city documents, building plans for The Junction also include a roof top lounge, gym, swimming pool, and on-site dog park. By Garry Boulard
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![]() Speculation is growing that the national Costco Wholesale may be contemplating construction of a massive new store just to the north of the growing Arizona city of Buckeye. The membership-only chain based in Issaquah, Washington, has submitted preliminary papers for the building of a location at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Verrado Way. The currently vacant site is near an 8,800-acre master planned community that could in a few years be the home to thousands of new residents. Launched in 1976, Costco currently has more than 800 locations, and saw revenues in excess of $192 billion in 2021. Always massive affairs, Costco outlets measure anywhere from 80,000 to 230,000 square feet and are located on open sites mostly in largely suburban areas. Late last year Richard Galanti, the company’s chief financial officer, revealed that plans are in the works for the construction of up to two dozen new Costco stores both in the U.S. and internationally. New store projects in varying stages of development have recently been announced for Oregon, Utah, Florida, Texas, and California. Costco has traditionally maintained a strong retail presence in the West with more than 130 outlets currently up and running in California, 35 in Texas, and 14 in Colorado. By Garry Boulard ![]() A unique initiative is underway to preserve some of the country’s most historic restaurants. In a joint effort the National Trust for Historic Preservation, along with the American Express company, are offering individual grants of up to $40,000 for the preservation of and improvements to what are described as “historic, small restaurants.” The Backing Historic Small Restaurants program aims to provide support for a total of 25 restaurants. The last round of grants saw facade upgrade funding for the Mesilla, New Mexico-based La Posta de Mesilla, a popular Mexican food eatery opened in the fall of 1939. Of the 25 restaurants receiving grant support last year, nine were in the West, including Tex Miller’s Hamburgers in Cameron, Texas, founded in 1937, where the funding was used to replace rotting wood and broken windows, while also repainting the exterior of the restaurant. In a statement, American Express mentioned that the grant funding this year may prove particularly helpful, given the “challenges for restaurant owners as they navigate the impacts of the pandemic, including the ebb and flow of foot traffic as new coronavirus variants emerged.” This year’s grant recipients are expected to be announced in June. By Garry Boulard ![]() Work could begin later this year on the extension of a natural gas pipeline in northeast New Mexico’s San Juan County. The project is taking a big step forward with the announcement of a $1.8 million grant awarded by the New Mexico Department of Economic Development. As planned, the 11-mile extension will be built adjacent to New Mexico Highway State Road 170 as it heads into the 190-acre San Juan County Industrial Park in the small town of La Plata, population 503. In making the announcement, Alicia Keyes, Economic Development Secretary, said the extension represents an “innovative, strategic investment of state Local Economic Development Act dollars that will expend capacity in a rural community and create hundreds of jobs.” The park, nearly 20 miles to the north of Farmington, formerly served as the headquarters for the BHP Billiton coal mining company, operators of one of the largest underground mines in the country. The property was subsequently acquired by San Juan County. County officials have said that with the completion of the natural gas pipeline, the industrial park will be marketed for its warehouse and manufacturing potential. Plans are already in the works for a portion of the site to be used as a backlot for the Farmington-based production company Totah Studios. By Garry Boulard ![]() An 18-story mixed-use project may soon see construction in Denver at the site of one of the city’s oldest and most well-known bike shops. Developers Carmel Partners of Denver have submitted plans to substantially redevelop the property at 700 Lincoln Street in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The proposal will see the building of a combination of 458,000 square feet of residential space, along with retail and parking space from a company that specializes in real estate investment management and multi-unit residential project. The location in question has been the home to Turin Bicycles, which has been a local landmark since the early 1990s, operating in a one-story 15,100 square-foot brick building. That business closed in March of this year. The site, in an increasingly popular section of Denver, is surrounded by modern multi-story office and apartment structures. The block itself has also been the home to a pastry shop called the City Bakery Café, which, according to reports, will also be demolished to make way for the new mixed-use project. The bike shop building was built in 1926 by the automobile tire dealer Silver State Rubber Company and was later the home to a typographic services business. By Garry Boulard ![]() A popular and rapidly growing Asian restaurant chain is making plans to build new locations nationally, after having opened outlets recently in Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, P.F. Chang’s was founded in 1993 and currently has more than 300 restaurants both nationally and internationally. Outlets located in the U.S. have to date been primarily centered on the east and west coasts, with a growing presence Florida and Texas. The company is seeing particularly strong growth with its To Go brand, which features take-out and delivery, and is usually housed in smaller structures. As of last month, the company has opened a dozen To Go locations in Florida, Illinois, Texas, and New York, but has also said that it intends to open eight more in various locations nationally before the end of this year. The company’s To Go locations measure around 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, substantially less than the average 7,000 square foot sit-down restaurants it operates. The idea behind the To Go locations, said chief executive officer Damola Adamolekun in a recent interview with Forbes, is to “meet the evolving needs of consumers, and many are on the go. They can grab a meal between appointments or on the way home.” Adamolekun added that the development of the smaller P.F. Chang’s is a response to customer input indicating a preference for “off-premise consumption.” As a sign of that preference, the company has reported that up to 25% of sales in its regular-sized outlets have come from take-out and delivery. With 2021 revenue of about $1.3 billion, up from $913 million two years ago, P. F. Chang’s has been described by the Nation’s Restaurant News as the “first national full-service chain with a menu of wok cooking.” By Garry Boulard ![]() Plans have been announced for the construction of an upper end apartment complex on the northwest side of El Paso that will house nearly 300 units. To be called the Avery Shadow Mountain apartment complex, the project will belong to the Myers Group, which is based in Miami, and will go up at 201 Shadow Mountain Drive near the intersection of Pebble Beach Drive. Envisioned as a complex with four multi-story buildings featuring balconies, the project includes a clubhouse, fitness room, and swimming pool, along with up to 7,000 square feet of restaurant space, and 2,500 square feet of retail. Plans also call for the building of a parking garage with space for 538 vehicles. The site for the project is currently vacant and a block or so away from the modernistic Coronado Tower office building at 6006 N Mesa Street, which was built in 1964. The Myers Group specializes in mixed-use and multi-family projects and has previously renovated the historic Hotel Paso Del Norte in downtown El Paso, which was built in 1912 and updated by the Miami company two years ago. Documents regarding the new Avery Shadow Mountain project are expected to soon be reviewed by the El Paso Plan Commission, preceding a vote by the El Paso City Council. By Garry Boulard ![]() Work could begin soon on the construction of a new golf course in Colorado, uniquely situated 14,000 feet up on the famous Pikes Peak. The project belongs to the City of Colorado Springs and will include the already-built Pikes Peak Summit Complex, a structure that will serve as the new 9-hole course’s club house. In a statement, Mayor John Suthers said the new course will provide only the most recent example of “how tourists and residents alike can experience our purple mountain majesty.” The project has been studied for months, with city officials working with altitude and oxygenation experts on an appropriate layout for the new course. Ultimately, it was decided that because of the challenges of playing at such heights, the course should not be a traditional 18 holes in order to curtail the amount of time at that level. A release issued by the city reveals that some 36 tons of Pikes Peak granite will be used in the building of the course’s sand traps. Pikes Peak is the highest mountain summit of the Rocky Mountains, located some 12 miles to the west of Colorado Springs. By Garry Boulard ![]() In the latest indication that the country continues to recover from the Covid-19 economic shutdown, more than 431,000 new jobs were created in March, according to just-released figures from the Department of Labor. The figures also show a decline in the nation’s unemployment rate to 3.3% from 3.8% the month previous, and just under 15% in the immediate months after the 2020 outbreak of the pandemic. The new survey additionally indicates a decrease in the number of those categorized as the “long-term unemployed,” or those without jobs for more than 27 weeks, from nearly 1.7 million to around 1.4 million. “Two years into the pandemic, the country has recovered almost all of the jobs lost early on,” remarked the Washington Post in looking at the new numbers, adding that more than 600,000 new jobs have been created since late 2021. The biggest sector gainers include the leisure and hospitality industry, with 112,000 new jobs; professional and business services, up by 102,000; and the real estate trade sector, with a 49,000 gain. The construction industry, meanwhile, saw an increase of 19,000 new jobs, with spending on various construction project now up for the 12th month in a row. Residential and specialty trade contractors added 7,600 new jobs; with nonresidential firms experiencing an increase of 11,300. In a statement, Ken Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General Contractors of America, said, “Construction is contributing significantly to the expansion of employment and the overall economy.” Simonson added, however, that despite the good numbers, the industry continues to face “growing challenges in terms of filling job openings, obtaining materials, and keeping up with soaring wages and prices.” By Garry Boulard ![]() Work is expected to accelerate on the construction of a long-planned water pipeline in eastern New Mexico. The project, scheduled to receive $160 million in federal funding, is centered on the extension of a water pipeline from the Ute Reservoir to various communities near the Texas state line. What is officially called the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Project encompasses up to 120 miles of pipeline, along with three pump stations. The project additionally includes the construction of a treatment plant. By design, the pipeline will carry potable water to the towns of Texico, Portales, and Elida. A segment of the project connecting the reservoir to the city of Clovis as well as the Cannon Air Force Base has already been completed. The project will allow for the water to be used for commercial, industrial, and municipal purposes from the Ute Reservoir’s renewable water supply. Federal funding is coming through the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and is now thought to be enough to speed up the schedule for the project, leading to its overall completion most likely in 2027 or 2028. Nearly $21 million in funding for the project has come from the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, which is spearheading the effort. Altogether, ENMWUA has announced a total of $228 million in funding for the project through a combination of federal, state, and local sources. Some of the money coming out of Washington is coming through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act legislation which was passed by Congress late last year. Water from the Ute Reservoir will replace the current groundwater supplies coming through the Ogallala Aquifer, which stretches from the Dakotas to New Mexico. By Garry Boulard |
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