![]() A significant increase in manufacturing projects has contributed to an overall increase in construction spending, notes a new analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. In a statement, Stephen Sandherr, the chief executive officer of AGC, noted: “The manufacturing construction boom is really helping construction weather the softening residential and other nonresidential markets.” That manufacturing project boom, in fact, contributed to an overall 0.3% increase in national construction spending for the month of March. Overall, construction spending had a dollar value of $1.8 trillion, with the various segments revealing a variegated market: spending on private nonresidential construction was up by 1.0%, with public construction dollars also enjoying an increase, albeit a smaller one, at 0.2%. Private office construction was also up, with an increase of 0.3%. But the fortunes of the private residential construction segment moved in a different direction, with spending off by 0.2%. That segment has been on the downside since last summer. Commercial construction, which takes in farm, retail and warehouse work, saw a 0.8% decline, with power construction off by 0.3%. Despite the many transportation projects being spearheaded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, highway and street construction posted an investment loss of 0.1%. Sandherr placed the blame for the slowed pace of such infrastructure work on the current pace of agency approval, remarking: “The Administration is beginning to realize that the permitting problems we have long warned about are real and holding up many of the projects they are eager to get started.” The AGC is among a number of industry groups calling for a streamlining of that process. By Garry Boulard
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![]() Public input is being taken regarding a multi-billion-dollar proposal in Flagstaff by the Northern Arizona Healthcare system to build a new campus. The NAH system is the largest of its kind in the region, serving upwards of 700,000 residents. Two years ago, the group proposed construction of what it is calling a Health and Wellness Village. The project will go up near the Fort Tuthill County Park nearly 6 miles to the southwest of downtown Flagstaff and will see the construction of a multi-story hospital and ambulatory care center. As envisioned, the village will also include housing, a grocery store, restaurants, hotel, and a natural retreat measuring around 22 acres that will include walking trails. In an interview late last year with Flagstaff Business News, Steve Eiss, vice president of real estate and development for the hospital group, said “NAH isn’t just proposing a development that will offer more clinical options, we are designing a new hospital that will provide their patients with an even higher degree of care.” Although NAH has hosted a series of public input meetings going over details of the project, there are still some stated concerns that the process has not been inclusionary enough. A group called the Friends of Flagstaff’s Future, during a recent Flagstaff City Council meeting, called for more information on the project, commenting: “An unbiased community needs assessment is warranted.” NAH officials have said that they would like to see construction begin on the village this year, with a tentative completion date for the ambulatory care center in 2025, and the new hospital opening in 2027. Members of the Flagstaff City Council are expected to vote on the plan itself as well as zoning map amendments pertaining to the Fort Tuthill site in their upcoming May 16 meeting. By Garry Boulard ![]() Plans are in the offing in Albuquerque for the combined renovation and building of a new $22 million fire rescue station in the 300 block of McKnight Avenue NW. The project will see the updating of the existing one-story Albuquerque Fire Station #4, which was originally constructed in the late 1960s, and building of a centralized special operations facility and training site. The new construction will go up within the confines of the nearby Coronado Park at Third Street and Interstate 40. That more than 70-year-old park was closed last summer due to several public safety issues centered on the large number of homeless people who had set up camp there. “That situation is absolutely unacceptable, so we’re going to stop it,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said last summer in announcing the closure of a public space that was seeing upwards of 120 people living in the park. The fire station upgrade and operations facility construction will take place in phases, with the planning and development expected to move forward over the next several months. Funding for the project is coming from a variety of sources, including some $5.2 million as a capital outlay recently approved by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, and an anticipated $8 million in 2023 General Obligation bonds. By Garry Boulard ![]() In the wake of news focused on bank closures and mergers, nearly 50% of Americans say they are concerned about the money they have in the banks they usually do business with, according to a new survey. That survey, conducted by the Gallup polling organization, divided the worried response between the 29% who said they were moderately worried, and 19% who indicated they were very worried. What might be described as a nervous response is the highest recorded by the Gallup organization since the fall of 2008 at the beginning of the Great Recession when the global financial services giant Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. The Gallup survey also found that just under 50% of those with incomes below the $100,000 mark were classified as being worried about their savings, compared with only 40% of those in the $100,000 and above category. Those without a college degree also expressed more anxiety about bank safety, with a combined 54% saying they were either very worried or moderately worried, while among those with college degrees, 36% indicated the same level of worry. A Gallup narrative accompanying the survey suggests that even though the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which was created in 1933, insures deposits of up to $250,000 against a bank failure, worries among those with lower incomes “may be higher because they do not know about FDIC insurance, or it may be linked to their displeasure with the current presidential administration and the U.S. economic situation.” That there may also be a partisan response to bank stability concerns is seen in a separate Gallup question showing that 55% of those calling themselves Republicans said they were moderately to very worried about the safety of their money, while only 36% of self-identified Democrats said the same thing. The Gallup survey was conducted just days after the collapse of the Signature Bank and Silicon Valley bank in April. By Garry Boulard ![]() A long-ago closed school building on the south side of Pueblo, Colorado may be repurposed as an apartment complex. The Strack School, located in a residential part of the city at the intersection of West Fairview Avenue and Elm Street, has been closed but maintained by the Pueblo School District 60 for longer than many residents can remember: at least 50 years. Now the Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority is contemplating a plan that would see the large three-story brick building given a new life as housing. As proposed, that housing would be specifically for teachers, an idea with some traction in a city that has seen the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment increase from $800 some five years ago to nearly $1,300 today. “I think what we would like to do is gear it towards an incentive program for first-time schoolteachers,” Jerry Pacheco, the executive director of the Renewal Authority, recently remarked to the Pueblo Chieftain. The school was built in 1941 and originally primarily served Italian-American residents, many of whom had moved to Pueblo to work in the mills of the Colorado Coal and Iron Company. The Strack School was officially closed in 1959, but in the following decade housed a children-with-special-needs program, and in recent years has been largely used for storage by the district. A study is currently being conducted under the auspices of the Renewal Authority to determine the cost and scope of repurposing the building. By Garry Boulard ![]() A move is underway in an Arizona border county to build a new jail, which will replace a facility built in 1985. Cochise County voters on May 16 will be tasked with deciding on a new one-half cent sales tax, the revenue of which will be dedicated to building what could prove to be a $100 million new jail. By design, the sales tax will have a life of 25 years. The current Cochise County Jail is located at 203 N. Judd Drive in the city of Bisbee. According to county officials, that facility is no longer large enough to accommodate an increased inmate population. Designed for a population of just under 170 inmates, the jail has in recent years often housed twice that number. In a meeting in April, Jail Commander Kenneth Bradshaw noted that because of the overcrowding a person who is being detailed for drunk driving may well end up in a cell with a person accused of murder. Such crowding, continued Bradshaw, is “not safe for the inmates and it’s not safe for the staff.” The facility is also plagued with several electrical system, safety, and structural issues. The sales tax proposal has been the subject of several public input meetings, with participants often wanting to know exactly where the new jail will be built. The possibility of the facility being built in Bisbee is not without support. In an interview with the Arizona Republic, Bisbee Mayor Ken Budge remarked: “It’s wise to put it where it already is. It’s already here.” The current 47,000 square foot jail was built at a cost of $5.1 million, replacing jail facilities in the county courthouse that dated to the early 1930s. By Garry Boulard ![]() Attaining the highest level seen since the spring of 2007, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates to around 5.2% in one more effort to stave off runaway inflation. The action marks the 10th time in the last year that interest rates have been increased, leading to a double digit jump in mortgage rates, while also upping business loan and credit card borrowing costs. Despite the recent interest rate acceleration, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell remarked that “rates are going to come down” over an undefined extended period, most likely later this year. Powell made the announcement at the conclusion of a two-day meeting with the Federal Open Market Committee. “The Committee will closely monitor incoming information and assess the implications for monetary policy,” said Powell. “In determining the extent to which additional policy firming may be appropriate to return inflation to 2 percent over time, the Committee will take into effect the cumulative tightening of monetary policy,” continued Powell. While the current rates may seem impressive to some, they pale in comparison with where things were in the early 1980s when the rates stood at just a little over 18%. In a news conference, Powell also refused to be drawn into the ongoing skirmish currently being played out in Washington between President Biden and Congress regarding the possible rising of the government’s debt limit. “We don’t give advice to either side,” said Power. “We would just point out that it’s very important that this be done.” Added that Chairman: “We shouldn’t even be talking about a world in which the U.S. doesn’t pay its bills. It just shouldn’t be a thing.” By Garry Boulard ![]() Plans are underway for the construction of a new three-story office building in Denver’s vibrant Five Points neighborhood. The project belongs to the Bachus & Schanker law firm, which earlier this year purchased for nearly $2 million the site in question at 3495 N. Downing Street. Plans submitted to the City of Denver indicate that the new building will measure around 20,500 square feet, and include floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as a ground level parking garage. Bachus & Schanker is one of the most successful personal injury firms in Colorado, specializing in such areas as injuries, worker’s compensation, and car accidents. The firm has offices in Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Englewood, and Fort Collins. The site on N. Downing was formerly the home of the Power Tires & Wheels repair shop, and before that, Meir’s Automotive, a popular repair service which moved to a new location in 2020. The one-story building housing those two repair businesses will be demolished to make way for the new Bachus & Schanker office. By Garry Boulard ![]() Plans are now underway to repurpose a nearly 30-year-old building within the 50-acre Santa Fe Railyard Arts District for use as an upscale boutique hotel. Located at 400 Market Street, the two-story adobe-style structure, which also features a basement level, has for decades been the home to the monthly Outside magazine, whose focus is on outdoor recreational activities, particularly in the West. Before setting up its offices in Santa Fe in 1995, the magazine had been in Chicago. The magazine’s editorial operations were relocated last year to Outside Incorporated’s corporate headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. The Los Alamos-based State Properties of New Mexico LLC purchased the property earlier this year, seeing it as a prime location for a hotel. Measuring around 25,000 square feet, the structure sits on a less than one-acre site and includes a courtyard. Renovation of the structure is expected to result in the building of around 30 rooms. The 400 Market Street site is located near the Santa Fe Farmers Market, as well as the tracks of the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter rail system. The mixed-use Santa Fe Railyard and adjoining 10-acre park was officially opened in 2008 and is home to any number of restaurants, art galleries, and performance art spaces. By Garry Boulard ![]() The number of new job openings in March decreased to the lowest level since early 2021, according to the latest numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those statistics show that after months of stepped-up demand for jobs in a variety of industries, the market may be returning to a more normal pre-pandemic flow, say analysts. Altogether, new job openings in March stood at just under 9.6 million, a significant drop from the 9.9 million reported by the BLS for February. The decline represents the third month in a row showing a drop in available jobs. Diving deeper, the BLS noted that “job openings decreased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities,” by some 144,000, while showing an increase of 28,000 in the educational services segment. Construction industry job openings were off by 63,000. Compared with where things stood in March of 2022, the number of construction job openings is down by around 72,000. The number of unemployed persons per job opening has been nothing less than a wild roller coaster ride, according to historic BLS figures. In 2008, just before the explosive onslaught of the Great Recession, the number stood at 1.9 million. It then exploded to 5.9 million during the summer of 2009—the worst months of that recession. Between 2009 and 2020, the number of unemployed persons per job opening flowed downward almost gracefully, from 5.9 million in 2009 to 4.4 million in the spring of 2011, and 1.5 million in the spring of 2015. The lowest point was reached in February of 2020, just before Covid 19 changed everything, at around 800,000. That figure then dramatically exploded to just under 5 million in the spring of 2020 and has been gradually decreasing since then. In looking at the most recent numbers, the Financial Times observed that job openings were “lower than economists’ expectations for 9.7 million openings.” Said the New York Times: the “slowdown in the labor market is becoming more entrenched.” By Garry Boulard |
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