![]() In a move to see the construction of more modern and pleasant housing developments for farm laborers, the United States Department of Agriculture has announced a grant program providing funding for those efforts. The program, according to USDA officials, is designed to encourage sustainable projects that will be built by such entities as farmworkers associations, state and local governments, and what are officially called Federally Recognized Tribal Lands. Those entities, said Joel Baxley, assistant secretary of rural development for the USDA in announcing the grant program, will be encouraged to apply for funding from Washington to build the new housing. That funding will specifically be coming through the USDA’s Farm Labor Housing grants and loans programs, with the maximum award per project topping out at $3 million. The USDA is additionally encouraging applicants for grants to propose projects in rural Opportunity Zones. Those zones are defined as economically distressed areas that may ALSO qualify for any number of tax credits and incentives. The funding will target communities with populations of no more than 20,000 people. The agency’s rural development department is tasked with providing support for housing, health care, and utility infrastructure in rural areas of the country. The department possesses a loan portfolio worth more than $224 billion to fund such efforts. By Garry Boulard
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![]() Pebble Labs is planning to expand its facility presence in Los Alamos with the construction of five new buildings. The company, which conducts research on food and crop safety, has now received nearly $20 million in funding from both the State of New Mexico and Los Alamos County to increase both its footprint as well as its workforce. Founded three years ago as an offshoot of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Pebble currently operates inside the Entrada Business Park on the east side of Los Alamos. Work is slated to begin initially on the $60 million construction of two new buildings, with plans for five more structures to be completed sometime in the next ten years. Pebble will also purchase the 26,000 square foot building containing the New Mexico Consortium Biological Laboratory at 100 Entrada Drive before beginning construction on the two new buildings on land adjacent to the consortium structure. The State of New Mexico is providing $4 million in local economic development funding for the expansion, which will also see Pebble’s staff grow from its current 83 to more than 230. In a press conference announcing the expansion, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said she thought the state is on the verge of “not just a single announcement, but a series of announcements that clearly talk about STEM bioscience.” The Governor added that “there is no reason why the state can’t be the epicenter for this work.” Late last month, members of the Los Alamos County Council voted in favor of approving the sale of up to $60 million in industrial revenue bonds for Pebble. Developing ways to enhance the safety of seafood without chemicals and antibiotics, and mass-production agriculture absent pesticides and other chemicals, Pebble’s goal is to provide a foundation for both more sustainable food supplies as well as better disease control. By Garry Boulard ![]() The way has been cleared for the construction of a new data center that will go up on some 225 currently vacant acres in Goodyear, Arizona. Members of the Goodyear City Council have voted to approve an official agreement with Compass Datacenters, allowing the company to build the facility at the northwest corner of Bullard Avenue and Yuma Road. Construction on what will be a multi-phase project is set to launch later this summer with an end-of-the-year anticipated completion date. But Compass’ plans for Goodyear won’t end there. Altogether, the company wants to build a total of eight separate data centers, comprising some 1.8 million square feet. Announcement of the project comes after months of talks between Compass and both state and local leaders. In a statement, Chris Crosby, the chief executive officer of Compass, said the company decided to go with Goodyear because of its “geographic location, availability of fiber connectivity, affordable cost of data center operations, and the rarity of natural disasters.” Based in Dallas, Compass Datacenters announced last month that it was building a new 500,000 square foot data facility in Northern Virginia. To date, the company has opened and operated data centers comprising a combined 10 million square feet in facility space. The company was launched in Dallas in 2012 with the goal of providing dedicated modular data space for the data processing and telecommunications needs of other companies. By Garry Boulard ![]() An annual report issued by the network CNBC, looking at the overall climate for business in the nation’s states, has placed Colorado in the top ten. More specifically, the Centennial State came in at number 9 in its overall scoring, but scored an eight in the subcategory of the quality of its workforce, and seven for its overall quality of life. Only two other states in the West made the network’s top ten: Texas with an overall score of 2, and Utah, coming in with an overall score of 4. Lower on the list was Arizona at 20, although the Grand Canyon State received a high number 2 in the subcategory of its workforce. New Mexico received an overall 41 ranking, with its highest subcategory score listed at 24 for the condition of its infrastructure. Number one on the overall list was Virginia, which also scored high in the subcategories of its workforce, condition of infrastructure, and education. Although three Deep South states, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, were listed in the survey’s overall bottom ten, Rhode Island was ranked dead last, scoring particularly low in the subcategories of its overall economy, infrastructure, and cost of doing business. The CNBC survey scores are based on some 64 metrics in ten competitiveness categories. A statement by the network said that the states are graded “based on the qualities they deem most important in attracting business.” Of Colorado, the survey says: “For truly outstanding quality of life, head for the Rockies. Coloradans are healthy, there is plenty to do, and the state is tolerant and inclusive. These are great selling points to companies looking to attract skilled workers.” By Garry Boulard ![]() The future of the sprawling Rail Yards property in downtown Albuquerque may finally be coming into focus now that a team of consultants has been tasked to provide a redevelopment roadmap. The home to a one-time thriving Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad complex, the 27-acre site has for years been the subject of discussions and studies regarding its housing, retail, and office space potential. Last year Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller canceled the city’s contract with Samitaur Constructs, a Culver City, California-based urban development firm, which for six years had been in charge of the redevelopment project. In a public event at the Rail Yards, Keller ripped up the Samitaur contract after the Albuquerque Development Commission said the California firm had for the second year in a row failed to exercise reasonable diligence regarding the project. Now a new consultant team, made up of three separate firms, has been brought in to put together a new vision for the Rail Yards. A member of that team, the Leland Consulting Group of Portland, Oregon, has just released a draft report recommending the development of up to 20,000 square feet of retail space at the site over the course of the next ten years. Leland has additionally suggested keeping in place and renovating two existing structures at the site, the old machine and boiler shops, to be used for special events, concerts, and festivals. Seen as a possible linchpin to the redevelopment is a proposal to build a film production center that would be operated by Central New Mexico Community College. That part of the redevelopment plan could see the creation of a full-scale 35,000 square-foot film production facility and student training center with classrooms and studio space. Earlier this year, the City of Albuquerque and CNM entered into a Memorandum of Understanding allowing for the further study of how much it would cost to establish the center. A final report looking at structural renovation and site remediation issues, among other items, is expected to be submitted by Leland to the city later this month. By Garry Boulard ![]() A bond proposal may go before El Paso voters this fall that will fund the construction of new police command centers in the downtown, eastside, and northwest sections of the city. According to a new study conducted by the City of El Paso, there is a need for such facilities in the growing but congested city to improve emergency response times. The bond, with an estimated price tag of some $900 million, would also pay for the construction of a new El Paso Fire Department headquarters, as well as additional new fire stations on both the east and west sides of the city. The results of the study are now being reviewed by members of the El Paso City Council. Those members may vote within the next month or so to put the bond question on the ballot for the coming November election. If ultimately approved by voters, the bond, which would have a lifespan of a decade, could also be used to pay for the construction of a new police and fire academy. The city study, 25 By 2025—Vision Next, notes that the current fire training academy was built in the 1960s, has limited space and is in generally poor condition. By Garry Boulard ![]() New proposed rules have been announced by the federal Department of Labor that will set standards in a variety of industries for apprenticeship programs. But without explaining why, the federal agency says those rules will not initially apply to the nation’s construction industry. As proposed, the rules could significantly expand apprenticeship programs by categorizing different industry and civic groups, as well as educational institutions and state and local government entities, as “standards recognition entities” tasked with establishing apprenticeship program standards. In its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Labor Department said a process established within the confines of the National Apprenticeship Act would also require that mentorship programs as well as industry-recognized credentialing be governed by federal equal employment opportunity regulations. In response, the Associated General Contractors is attacking the Labor Department’s decision to exclude the construction industry from its apprenticeship proposal. “The fact is that it remains too difficult for many firms and their partners to establish apprenticeship programs for construction workers,” said Stephen Sandherr, chief executive officer of the group. “Barriers for apprenticeship programs often include the excessive costs incurred during the rigid and inflexible registration process,” Sandherr added. But construction industry labor officials who have long argued that such programs should be handled solely by organized labor groups, like the proposed rules. “These programs have no place in the construction industry,” said Sean McGarvey, president of the North America’s Building Trades Union, in a statement. “We firmly believe this exemption should be a permanent part of the final rule.” In announcing the new proposed rules, the Department of Labor also unveiled some $183 million in grants that will go to private-public apprenticeship programs in the healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and healthcare industries. A sixty-day public comment period ending on August 26 has been announced for the proposed apprenticeship rules. By Garry Boulard ![]() Just over 14 acres of land located in north Tucson at the intersection of West Grant Road and Interstate 10 may see the construction of a new casino owned by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Ultimately, tribal leaders want to see the site, specifically located at 1055 W. Grant Road, put into a trust by the federal government, which would then allow for both building the casino and operating it. Meanwhile, members of the Tucson City Council are considering the possibility of the city entering into an intergovernmental agreement with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, also paving the way for the casino’s construction, with a certain percentage of the gaming establishment’s revenue going back to the city. As proposed, both new residential and retail space, as well as a hotel, could also go up at the site. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe says that some 1.7 acres of the site will be used for ceremonial and cultural purposes, with the remaining 12.6 acres set aside for a possible casino. City documents additionally indicate that the tribe will absorb the cost of planning and building all streets, roads, and infrastructure at the site. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe purchased the land some eight years ago for more than $4.6 million. That site was once the home to the Tucson 5 Drive-In, which was opened in 1974 and demolished more than a decade later, before making way for a Century Park 16 theater. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe currently operates the Casino del Sol Resort, Spa and Conference Center, along with the Casino of the Sun, both in Tucson. By Garry Boulard ![]() A nearly 100 year-old courthouse in the city of Montrose, Colorado could soon be in line for a significant structural renovation. Located at 320 1st Street, the Montrose County Courthouse was designed in the Classical Revival style by architect William Norman Bowman and completed in 1922. It has for decades served as the home to a number of county administrative offices, but, according to officials, has long been in need of upgrading and repairs. Now, members of the Montrose County Commission have given their approval to begin the design phase of the structure’s planned renovation, entering into a contract with the Boulder-based F&D International LLC for architectural and engineering services. A larger general structural upgrading of the building is still in the offing, although plans and funding for that work have not yet been disclosed. County officials estimate that when that work begins, which will require all of the departments using the building to relocate elsewhere, it could take up to two years to see completion. The structure, made of stone blocks hauled by wagon from a quarry five miles outside of the city, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places list in 1994. By Garry Boulard ![]() Despite a nationwide construction boom, the available housing supply continues to fall short of what is needed, says a new report just released by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. While the number of people actually comprising households has returned to pre-Great Recession levels, says the State of the Nation’s Housing 2019 report, new home construction remains stubbornly sluggish. That slow pace, in turn, is inflating the price of the new homes that are available, negatively impacting housing affordability for millions of working Americans. At issue, according to the report, is both the rising cost of available land upon which to build and continued regulatory constraints. “These constraints, largely imposed at the local level, raise costs and limit the number of homes that can be built in places where demand is highest,” says Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, in a statement. The Harvard study found that new home construction is most vibrant in the higher-end markets, with middle market housing construction, partly due to increased land costs, remaining too expensive for many home builders to tackle. But the report also forecasts that both the growing number of Millennials entering the home-buying market, combined with the Baby Boomers who already own homes, will lead to a vibrant home remodeling market. The rental market, too, is expected to expand with an anticipated 400,000 new units slated for construction each year for the next decade. Harvard researchers also show that the share of homes available to median-income individuals varies widely in the West. In metro Albuquerque, median household income stands at $50,900, with the share of affordable homes at 68.4 percent; El Paso has a median household income of $44,400; with a nearly 77 percent share of affordable homes. But in the booming Denver-Aurora-Lakewood market, the median income stands at $76,600, with the share of affordable homes at only 49 percent. By Garry Boulard |
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