The second largest public school district in Arizona with an enrollment of more than 45,000 students is thinking about building two new schools. Officials with the Chandler Unified School District in south central Arizona have conducted a series of public meetings designed to get input on the possibility of adding both a new high school and elementary school to the district. The Chandler district encompasses the cities of Chandler and Gilbert, as well as the town of Queen Creek. Both of the schools would go up on the south side of the city of Gilbert, where population and enrollment growth in recent years has been the most dramatic. If the district decides to go ahead with building the new facilities, funding would likely come from two sources: the State of Arizona, and through a bond election. Voters in the district have previously proved receptive to such ballot measures, approving in late 2015 a $192 million bond designed to fund a variety of capital projects. As currently proposed, the new high school would be built to accommodate a smaller enrollment than the district’s other existing five high schools, three of which have more than 3,000 students. If the Governing Board of the district votes in favor of approving the construction of either or both of the new schools, the bond election will most likely be held this fall. Altogether, the Chandler district is made up of 25 elementary schools and four high schools. By Garry Boulard
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The City of Denver has officially given its approval to a plan designed to accommodate the growth of Colorado’s largest city over the course of the next two decades. What is being called Denveright has now been approved by the Denver City Council and anticipates a city that is expected to add another 200,000 people, for a population of more than 900,000 by the year 2040. According to U.S. Census figures, Denver’s current population stands at over 716,000, up from 600,000 only eight years ago. Among the most talked-about aspects of the plan is the goal of spurring more middle-income housing in the city, particularly with the construction of new town homes and duplexes. The plan also calls for building out a more extensive bike, pedestrian, and vehicle transportation network, while encouraging a greater adaptive reuse of historic structures. Roughly three years in the making, with input from thousands of city residents, the Denveright vision additionally includes a stepped-up demand for more parks and transit. Promoted as a blueprint for a healthier Denver, the Denveright plan emphasizes the need for “equity in the distribution of parks and park resources” throughout the city, as well as making the overall parks system more environmentally sustainable and resilient. The city’s Community Planning and Development Department has already taken on the task of making some of the plan’s recommendations a reality by creating an incentive for the construction of more affordable housing near transit locations, and using zoning to protect historic neighborhoods. After the council approved the Denveright outline, Mayor Michael Hancock said the plans “reflect the type of city our residents want Denver to be today and in the future. This is the community’s vision, and we look forward to continuing to partner with the community to implement their vision.” By Garry Boulard The Washington-based Construction Labor Research Council has just released a new survey looking at wage costs in the industry across the country. The annual Union Labor Costs in Construction surveys trends for eighteen separate crafts in nine geographical regions of the country. According to the report, the average wage increase for union jobs in the industry saw a 2.8 percent rise last year, up from around 1.7 percent in 2010. That 2.8 percent figure, according to the study, is slated to increase to around 3 percent between now and 2020. Overall, average union wage increases have been on a steady upward trajectory since late 2011, after suffering a significant decline during the Great Recession. Individual union-negotiated worker benefit packages, which include health benefits and retirement plans, were at their highest in the Southwest Pacific and their lowest in the Southeast. Earlier this year, the council released its regularly published Settlements Report, which pegged the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, comprising the Northwest Region, as having the greatest labor construction wage increases at 4.6 percent. That number was more than double the increase recorded in the states of the Mountain Northern Plains Region made up of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. By Garry Boulard A practice facility that could cost as much as $50 million to build is set to go up near the intersection of 44th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix. The building will belong to the Phoenix Suns basketball team and is part of a larger plan approved by members of the Phoenix City Council earlier this year that will also include a $235 million renovation of the Talking Stick Resort Arena. The team’s current practice facility is inside that arena. In a statement, James Jones, general manager of the team, said, “The development of this stand-alone, secure, and private facility will enhance our player health, development, and wellness capabilities, and will allow us to retain and attract the best basketball talent to the Valley for years to come.” As planned, the practice facility will house two basketball courts, training space, and offices. Team officials say that the state-of-the-art facility will also allow for a greater use of player development and sport science techniques. The facility will also be used by the Phoenix Mercury team, which plays in the Western Conference of the Women’s National Basketball Association. According to sources, work on the privately-financed practice facility could begin later this summer, with a rough completion date of mid-2021. By Garry Boulard An overwhelming 88 percent of voters in El Paso have given their approval to a proposition protecting some 1,100 acres from any future development. Proposition A was put on the local ballot due to a citizens’ petition objecting to a vote by the El Paso City Council creating a new tax increment reinvestment zone. That zone would have allowed for tax revenues to be used to pay for a variety of storm water, sewer, and street infrastructure in an area just east of the Franklin Mountains State Park. That area included the Lost Dog Trailhead, a popular space valued by locals for its biking and walking trails. City council members voting in favor of the zone said that up to 9,400 housing units could eventually be built in the area, in addition to 829,000 square feet of commercial space. In response to controversy regarding the creation of the reinvestment zone, and a possible ballot referendum, the council in September approved a two-year moratorium on any new building in the area. How the city will respond to the ballot results, and whether a new reinvestment zone will be created for another part of El Paso, has not yet been determined. By Garry Boulard Nearly a third of those who were born between the years of 1946 and 1964 have revised their retirement plans and now intend to work at least four years beyond the traditional retirement age of 65. That, according to a report issued by the Natixis Investment Managers group, which has offices in Boston, may be due to a lack of savings on the part of a big generation that is made up of more than 76 million people. The report, Retirement Reality Report, notes that while Baby Boomers have been a “dominant part of the workforce for 40 years,” they have only in recent years been concerned with significantly building their savings reserves. As a result, some 47 percent of Baby Boomers interviewed for the report expressed regret over not having saved for retirement earlier, with another 35 percent wishing they had contributed more to their retirement accounts. The report adds that the “Average 64 year-old Baby Boomer has accumulated just 30 percent of the $1 million savings they say they’ll need to fund a comfortable life in retirement.” Those who, at 64 years of age, have fallen short of that figure, have “already extended their projected retirement age to 69, but would still need to save more than $142,000 a year to reach their stated goal.” Interestingly, those who belong to the Millennial Generation, born between 1981 and 1996, have launched savings plans earlier in life than did the Baby Boomers. They also expect to retire earlier, at age 61, and have an overall lower savings goal of $822,000 for their retirement years. The study additionally indicated that Baby Boomers regard, beyond daily living expenses, credit card debt and housing costs as their greatest financial burdens. Millennials mentioned ongoing student loan debt and childcare costs as also contributing to their burdens. Perhaps not surprisingly, both demographic groups expressed little confidence that Social Security benefits would be plentiful enough for their retirement years. In a statement summing up the report’s findings, Ed Farrington, vice-president of retirement strategies at Natixis, said that there needs to be a greater coordinated effort among “individuals, employers, policymakers and asset managers” to build retirement plans. By Garry Boulard A project that will see the see the construction of a roughly 165 mile-long renewable power line and a wind center could see work finally beginning next year. As proposed, the Western Spirit Transmission Line, which has been in development for the better part of a decade, is an overhead 435 kilovolt electric transmission system that will extend from Sandoval County to Torrance County. That line, in its simplest form, will collect renewable power from a wind-rich section of the state to an existing power grid in another part of the state. The wind center will be located in central New Mexico’s Estancia Valley. Now the Albuquerque-based Public Service Company of New Mexico has announced that it wants to acquire, for $285 million, that line. The project is currently being developed by the San Francisco-based Pattern Energy Group and the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority. The transmission authority is the result of a 2007 bill passed by the New Mexico State Legislature and designed to provide funding for the construction of renewable energy transmission lines in the state. Uniquely, the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority is also one of only eight such state-level authorities in the country. The others are all located in the big developing wind energy states of Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. PNM’s acquisition plans for the project must first be reviewed by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. If all goes as planned, construction of the project will launch next year, with a 2021 completion date. By Garry Boulard The Bureau of Land Management has announced that it is giving its approval for the construction of a two-lane parkway in Arizona that will be built primarily on public land. The Sonoran Valley Parkway has been talked about and under review for years. It will stretch from the Rainbow Valley Road in southern Goodyear to Arizona State Route 238, which runs east to west through the community of Mobile. In a statement, Leon Thomas, Phoenix District Manager for the BLM, said the parkway upon completion will “increase access to public services for the surrounding communities, significantly decreasing emergency service travel distances from approximately 60 miles to 18 miles.” As projected, the two-lane parkway, which will slice through the upper border of the Sonoran Desert National Monument land, will serve up to 24,000 vehicles a day. The City of Goodyear is now involved in the process of finalizing the design for the project. It is thought that it will take around 32 months for the building of the new parkway to be completed. By Garry Boulard A new bill introduced in Congress is calling for more than $90 billion in funding for affordable housing construction across the country. The Housing and Infrastructure Act, proposed by California Representative Maxine Waters, would see $70 million allotted for the federal Public Housing Capital Fund, and $10 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program. Half of the remaining $10 billion would go for the Housing Trust Fund, with the final $5 billion set for a pre-disaster hazard mitigation program. In testimony on the legislation before the House Financial Services Committee, Diane Yentel asserted that Congress should “address one of the most critical issues facing extremely low-income families today: the severe shortage of decent, accessible, and affordable homes.” Yentel, who is the chief executive officer of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, added that there are currently only 7 million rental homes available nationally for the 11 million lowest-renter households. “Without government intervention, decent and affordable homes cannot be reliably built, operated, and maintained at a price that the very lowest income workers, seniors, or people with disabilities can afford,” Yentel added. In a statement lauding the Housing is Infrastructure Act, Greg Ugalde contended that “providing increased funding for important affordable housing programs and working to lower impact fees and streamline the development process are positive steps to address the nation’s unmet demand for low-income rental housing.” Ugalde is the chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. The legislation is currently being reviewed by the House Financial Services Committee. By Garry Boulard Responses to a Request for Proposals announcement issued last year by the City of Albuquerque could well lead to the construction of a unique mixed-use project in the Civic Plaza area. In late 2017 then-Mayor Richard Berry, noting that the last tallest building in the city, the Albuquerque Plaza Office Tower, was built in 1990, suggested the time had come for a new skyscraper. Subsequent proposals for what was being called the Symphony Tower revealed structures ranging in height from 34 to 36 stories, well above the Plaza Office Tower’s 22 floors. But shortly after taking office, new Mayor Tim Keller revealed that he was less than enthusiastic about the project, remarking, “I don’t think it’s important to have a tallest building. I think we need to use a metric that matters.” Keller subsequently suggested a different kind of project for the 2-acre site located at 400 4th Street NW: a mixed-use development more modest in scale, but one in keeping with the community space feel of the Civic Plaza. The resulting Request for Proposals officially called for a structure that would be “programmed to increase interactions with existing public spaces such as the Civic Plaza and the Convention Center.” That RFP also said that the proposed development “should not just occupy the location, but stimulate the vitality of the greater area.” Now three developers have submitted ideas on what the proposed Civic Plaza North project might look like. An Ad Hoc Selection Committee is tasked with first reviewing those proposals before making recommendations to the Albuquerque Development Commission. It is expected that that commission will select the winning proposal in July. Earlier reports have indicated that work on the Civic Plaza North project could launch sometime in 2020. By Garry Boulard |
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