Not since the spring of 2008, when the Great Recession was still in its infancy, has the national construction industry seen numbers like these.
According to a report just released by the Associated General Contractors of America, there are now more than 7.2 million people employed in construction work; the largest recorded workforce since May of 2008. The new record was notched with an increase of 13,000 new construction jobs in June, contributing to a jump of 282,000 jobs since the spring of last year. In a statement, Ken Simonson, the chief economist for the AGC, said the national construction industry is adding workers “faster than the economy as whole,” with the industry “paying premium wages to attract and retain those workers.” Simonson added that the employment gains were taking place in both residential and nonresidential construction. However, he noted that the industry is also “having to rely more and more on workers without construction experience, as the pool of unemployed construction workers has nearly evaporated.” Among the other findings of the AGC report: residential construction employment, made up of residential building and specialty trade contractors, grew by 4,400 jobs in June and nearly 134,000 jobs in the last 12 months. Nonresidential construction, comprising the specialty trades and both heavy and civil engineering construction, was up by 8,600 jobs in June and nearly 148,000 jobs over May of last year. During the depths of the Great Recession, between 2007 and 2009, the construction industry lost more than 1.5 million jobs, for an overall employment decline of nearly 20 percent. By Garry Boulard
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![]() Crunching the answers of more than 2,000 respondents, a Seattle-based technology news website has determined that Denver could very much still be in the running as the home to Amazon’s second headquarters. Questioning technology executives, developers, engineers, and marketing professionals, GeekWire.com listed the 20 cities that Amazon has announced for its finalists list, and asked which one of those cities the respondents would most want to move to. Because of the career orientation of the respondents, the survey’s results could provide a hint of what Amazon itself was and is looking for when it asked cities to emphasize their technology assets, transportation systems, resident education levels and livability factors in the company’s original Request for Proposals. The GeekWire survey placed Denver at number four, in a virtual tie with Austin. Coming in second was Atlanta, garnering 8 percent of the response vote, and Raleigh, placing first, with 11 percent. Because there are still so many cities thought to be under consideration by Amazon, none of the other finalists, including such giants as New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas scored more than 3 percent. GeekWire participants appear to have a thing for Denver: late last year it came in a solid second, just behind Pittsburgh, out of a lengthy list of cities the website’s writers and researchers voted to move to for a month to report on that city’s technology assets. Denver made Amazon’s finalists list in January after more than 240 cities responded to the company’s RFP. Before that list was announced, the New York Times selected Denver as the city most likely to get the Amazon nod. Based in Seattle, Amazon has said its second headquarters will cost at least $5 billion to build, with an initial construction of some 500,000 square feet, followed by 8 million more square feet to go up in phases. By Garry Boulard In the ongoing contest to win what will be the sixth and final license for a combined racetrack and casino in New Mexico, a new proposal is being aired that could cost up to $100 million to become reality.
The owners of the Clovis-based Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino say they want to build a racino facility, also in Clovis, that will measure anywhere from 150,000 square feet to 200,000 square feet, spread out over a 150-acre site. The proposal, still being worked out, will have to be submitted to the New Mexico Racing Commision before that body’s July 30 deadline. There are currently efforts underway by various parties to build the final racino in Tucumcari, as well as another pitch for Clovis. Applicants have to document, among other things, the size of the racino facility planned, the number of spectator seats and parking spaces, and size of staff. Members of the New Mexico State Legislature in 1997 approved a bill limiting the number of racino operating licenses in the state to six. At present there are combined racetrack and casino outlets in Albuquerque, Farmington, Hobbs, Ruidoso, and Sunland Park. The New Mexico Racing Commission is expected to announce a decision on where the final racino will be built by the end of this year. By Garry Boulard Noting the variety of high-tech products and components from China that will cost more due to the Trump Administration’s recently announced increased tariffs, a prominent technology organization is suggesting a different approach.
“The decision to impose tariffs on Chinese goods will hurt consumers and businesses without addressing discriminatory and systemic Chinese trade practices and policies," said Josh Kallmer, vice president for policy with the Information Technology Industry Council. In a statement, Kallmer added that, “It is troubling that the Administration continues to assume that the imposition of tariffs will convince China to resolve complex trade issues, and irresponsible to downplay the impact on American workers and businesses.” The Washington-based ITIC has said that the Administration’s policies will see an increase in the cost of finished products and components, with the greatest impact on the two-lead semiconductor light sources known as light-emitting diodes, printer and scanner components, and sensors. For the construction industry, the upped tariff on Chinese imports could see increases on equipment parts, thermostats, fuel pumps, and computers. Altogether, the Trump Administration has indicated that it wants to impose duties on up to $450 billion in Chinese imports, with the first set of duties falling on imports with a dollar value of around $34 billion. Kallmer is calling instead for a delay on such tariffs “while U.S. officials make a concerted effort to negotiate in coordination with our allies with the Chinese on a concrete list of issues including the implementation timelines and accountability mechanisms.” In his statement, Kallmer adds: “Too many jobs and livelihoods are at stake to continue escalating this trade war.” The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced that a second round of duties will be announced at the end of August. By Garry Boulard ![]() A long-anticipated project that will see the construction of a 70-mile water pipeline is on the verge of getting its first official public approval. Officials with the City of Thornton and nearby Larimer County began working together some four years ago, planning for the construction of a buried pipeline to run along the side of the east-to-west Douglas Road. The proposed Thornton Water Project will move water from the Cache la Poudre River, through pipelines measuring 48 inches in diameter, to growing Thornton, which has seen its population explode from around 82,000 in 2000 to nearly 140,000 today. The project, which would require a corridor some 500 feet in width and the construction of two pump stations, is expected to cost at least $430 million to build, and besides Larimer County, needs the approval of several small towns along its route. Opposition to the project has come from area residents who have said they are worried about the possible negative impact of the pipeline corridor on property values, as well as anticipated traffic congestion during the project’s construction. The proposed route for the pipeline, besides Douglas Road, would see it heading south along the Larimer County/Weld County line, straight into Thornton. Following a May vote by the Larimer County Planning Commission opposing the project, members of the Larimer County Board of Commissioners are next expected to take up the question. If all goes as planned, work could begin on the big project some time next year. By Garry Boulard purchase offer in el paso bankruptcy proceedings may lead to property upgrades and renovations7/6/2018 A decision regarding both the ownership and possible future renovation of nearly two dozen historic downtown El Paso buildings could be announced in the next three weeks as part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.
Two El Paso investors, Paul Foster and Miguel Fernandez, have joined forces in presenting an offer to purchase properties that are currently owned by William Abraham, longtime El Paso real estate developer. Altogether, Foster and Fernandez are offering to buy up 20 buildings for $10.4 million. An earlier bid, offered by Foster and several others, called for purchasing twelve buildings for $6.2 million. Many of the structures in question are regarded as historic treasures with preservationists and various city officials contending that they could be upgraded, renovated, and turned into modern mixed-use properties. The Foster/Fernandez offer, to become reality, would have to be first approved by court-appointed trustee Ron Ingalls, and then Western District of Texas Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Mott. If the offer is accepted, Abraham would still own half a dozen properties in the city, and would also walk away with $200,000. According to earlier published reports, the properties owned Abraham and his real estate investment company, Franklin Acquisitions, are thought to be worth an estimated $37 million. The next hearing in the Abraham bankruptcy proceedings is scheduled for July 24. By Garry Boulard A report compiling migration patterns inside the United States between 2010 and 2017 has pegged four cities in Colorado as among the top 50 metro areas enjoying the largest growth.
Based on numbers compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program, the group called 24/7 Wall Street placed the city of Fort Collins as number 50 on the fastest-growing list, noting that the city’s in-migration numbers jumped by nearly 34,000, accounting for a population increase of 14.8 percent. Overall, Fort Collins’ population jumped from 299,628 in 2010 to nearly 344,000 in 2017. Greeley, in northern Colorado, also saw an in-migration of nearly 34,000 people, contributing to a large 20.5 percent increase in the overall population from 252,839 to nearly 305,000. Colorado Springs filled out number 43 on the list with in-migration numbers of just under 40,000 and an overall 12 percent population jump from 645,615 to 723,878. Number thirteen on the list is comprised of the Denver/Aurora/Lakewood metropolitan area with an in-migration of more than 210,000 contributing to a 15.5 percent overall population boom. In total numbers, the metro area significantly grew from 2.1 million people in 2010 to 2.4 million last year. Population experts note that the latest inside-U.S. migration shifts reflect a move first noticed in the 1960s of people moving from the industrial states of the Midwest to states in the West and South. The Sierra Vista/Douglas area in Arizona; Farmington, New Mexico; and El Paso made 24/7 Wall Street’s out-migration top 50 list, with both Sierra Vista/Douglas and Farmington losing around 9,400 people each between 2010 and 2017. Perhaps surprisingly, El Paso placed 8 on the list of cities losing the most due to out-migration, seeing an exit of nearly 22,000 people between 2010 and 2017. But during that same 7 years, El Paso also saw an overall population increase, mostly due to births that were largely responsible for the city’s total population jumping from 804,123 to 844,818. 24/7 Wall Street is a financial news and analysis service based in New York. By Garry Boulard ![]() A neighborhood in a fast-growing section of Las Cruces now has its own long-range plan designed to provide guidance for future residential and commercial development. The document, officially called the Apodaca Blueprint, specifically addresses the growth priorities of a 730-acre combination of houses, commercial sites, and public property some two miles north of downtown Las Cruces. Reflecting the input received during of a series of community meetings, the blueprint is the product of a joint effort between the City of Law Cruces’ Community Development Department and the Austin-based urban consulting firm Halff and Associates. From the start, the focus of the plan has centered on future growth in the Apodaca area and what sort of development is the most appropriate for a section of the city that is currently seeing the extensive private redevelopment of the former Las Cruces Country Club golf course. Reflecting resident desires expressed during those input meetings, the Apodaca Blueprint emphasizes the need for more green space and both walking and bike lanes. One aspect of the plan, suggesting the possible development of the publicly-owned Villa Mora levee property, allows for mixed-use office-oriented construction, while leaving roughly half of that land open for green space and trails. The Apodaca Blueprint has now been approved on a 7 to 0 vote by the Las Cruces City Council. By Garry Boulard Plans for the construction of a $39 million indoor golf complex in Albuquerque have taken a hit with the potential loss of a $2.6 million economic development package.
In a statement, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller announced he was vetoing the package approved in June by members of the City Council, saying the project “failed to meet our criteria for growing the local economy and creating good paying jobs.” The Dallas-based TopGolf had announced plans earlier this year to build at the southwest corner of Montano Road NE and Interstate 25. That site is the former home of the Beach Waterpark, but has been vacant for more than 10 years. As planned, the TopGolf Albuquerque complex would feature 72 hitting bays in a three-level structure, with restaurant, bar, and meeting room space. To spur construction of the project, Top Golf officials have pursued economic development support emphasizing tax incentive features, just recently securing a $1.7 million package through the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners. In his veto statement, Keller also said that the City Council’s $2.6 million package “sends the wrong signal that we are prioritizing out-of-state companies over similar local efforts.” As approved by the City Council, the TopGolf package required the City of Albuquerque to reimburse up to $1.8 million in incremental gross receipts tax revenue. By so doing, TopGolf would be able to significantly lessen the cost of buying the land for the project, putting in its infrastructure, and building the complex itself. Because the City Council approved the TopGolf incentives package on an 8 to 1 vote, there is a strong possibility that Keller’s veto will be overridden, an action requiring only 6 votes. By Garry Boulard Although private nonresidential construction projects nationally have been flat this spring, the numbers for public construction have rarely been stronger, with particular growth seen in transportation projects.
“Public construction spending has increased strongly for the past nine months and is now at the highest levels since 2010,” Ken Simonson, chief economist with the Association of General Contractors, said in a statement as part of a report looking at the new public job numbers. The boom is in part being led, added Simosnson, “by a rebound in infrastructure investment.” Leading the public construction job sector is airport, transit, public rail, and port project work, which recorded a 9.1 percent jump between May of 2017 to May of 2018. Conservation and development projects were up by 8.5 percent, with highway and street construction seeing a 5.8 percent jump over last year. Overall public construction spending from May of last year to May of this year posted a 4.7 percent increase, while the numbers for spending on all construction projects, private and public, increased during that same period by 0.4 percent. One of the lowest increases in public sector work was seen in educational construction projects, which improved by just 0.4 percent over last year for the same month. By Garry Boulard |
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