proposed west side albuquerque housing development sent back to commission for additional review8/8/2019 ![]() A project that would see the construction of 76 single-family homes not far from the banks of the Rio Grande is going to be looked at one more time by the city’s Environmental Planning Commission. The Overlook at Oxbow project, as proposed by the Albuquerque-based Gamma Development, would be built on 22.7 acres located on the east side of Namaste Road NW. The project has generated determined opposition from area residents, as well as the Taylor Ranch Neighborhood Association, who are worried about both its potential for increasing vehicular traffic in the vicinity, as well as possible damage to the ecology of the nearby Bosque that runs adjacent to the river. The homes proposed by the developer for the site would range in size from 2,100 to 2,700 square feet. Gamma Development has also earlier committed itself to the creation of a certain amount of open and recreation space at the site. Although the environmental planning commission this spring approved the plans for the project, members of the Albuquerque City Council have decided to hold off, at least for now, on also green-lighting the project. At issue is a question regarding whether or not the project, as proposed, is in violation of city density limits. In correspondence submitted to the environmental planning commission in February from the Albuquerque-based Consensus Planning landscape architecture firm, it was noted that the proposed Overlook at Oxbow project is actually a combination of two cluster development projects. One of the cluster developments takes in a 6.5-acre site that would allow for 26 lots and nearly 2 acres of open space. The other comprises 17 acres with 50 lots and 5.4 acres of open space. By Garry Boulard
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![]() Plans continue to advance for the redevelopment of the 165-acre Hughes Stadium site in west Fort Collins. That 34,000-seat facility, which for four decades served as the home to the Colorado State University Rams, was demolished in the spring of 2018 after the school built a larger stadium on its Fort Collins campus. Since the demolition of the structure, school officials, along with Fort Collins leaders and area residents, have been working - and sometimes arguing - over the site’s future. Earlier this year, CSU’s Board of Governors voted to see the site redeveloped as a subdivision that would allow for the construction of up to seven hundred new homes. In subsequent public meetings, area residents expressed concerns regarding the density of the redevelopment, as well as the amount of traffic it would generate, and its impact on area wildlife. Now the city staff of Fort Collins is considering a rezoning of a portion of the Hughes site that would allow for up to four different styles of houses, but would ultimately reduce the overall number of homes. The proposed rezoning would additionally allow for the construction of a neighborhood center. The reduction in the actual number of homes, according to city officials, is particularly in response to resident demands for more open and green space at the site. But that lower number may prompt developer Lennar Homes, which earlier this year signed a contract with Colorado State University to build a minimum of six hundred homes, to exit the project. The city’s Planning and Zoning board is expected to make a decision regarding the rezoning question when it meets in late September. More than 4,300 people have so far signed a petition calling for a “more sustainable, community-friendly alternative” to the proposed redevelopment plan. By Garry Boulard ![]() A national chain, known for its wide variety of flooring offerings, has announced plans to build up to twenty new stores by the end of this year, with more planned for 2020. Those plans, according to a statement from the Smyrna, Georgia-based Floor & Décor, which specializes in wood, tile, stone and ceramic flooring, are in keeping with the company’s average 20 percent unit growth rate of the last seven years. The company currently has 108 stores in 28 states nationally. Late last month, it opened its first store in El Paso, repurposing a 77,000 square-foot space inside the Eastgate Shopping Center at 9801 Gateway Boulevard. Founded in 2000, Floor & Décor has stores in both mall settings, as well as stand-alone structures, and enjoys annual revenues in excess of $1.3 billion. One of the keys to the company’s success is how its outlets look: “Its stores are beautiful, and shopping there feels more luxurious,” Forbes pointed out earlier this year, noting that the chain saw a 23 percent increase in sales revenue last year. The company’s expansion plans have been particularly bullish in the Western states, with the opening late last year of a 70,000 square foot outlet in Burlingame, CA, and another 74,000 square foot location launched in Albuquerque. The average size of a Floor & Décor store, described by the company as “warehouse-format” style, is about 72,000 square feet, although the company is currently building a 90,000 square foot location in Wichita. By Garry Boulard ![]() Federal funding has now been secured for the construction of a high-tech microgrid on the base of the White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico. That microgrid will see the utilization of a combination of solar array, natural gas generation, and a lithium ion battery system, all designed to power water wells on the 3,200 square mile testing range. The $5.8 million in federal funding for the project is part of the much larger $733 billion 2020 National Defense Authorization Act approved by both the U.S. Senate and the House. According to sources, the wells as currently used at the range are susceptible to power outages that could, in turn, leave the WSMR without drinkable potable water for any length of time. A 2016 study looking at the WSMR’s water needs noted that there are nearly 7,000 people comprising the range’s workforce, with just under 1,700 people living at the range fulltime. The largest military installation in the country, and spread over five New Mexico counties, the WSMR is managed by the U.S. Army and provides regular testing for missiles and rockets, as well as F-16 fighter jet training. By Garry Boulard ![]() Speculation regarding the construction of a new combined racetrack and casino in New Mexico has come to an abrupt end with the decision by a state commission to hold off on any such venture for now. For the last year, proponents of building what would be a sixth racino in the state have been waiting for an answer from the New Mexico Racing Commission regarding its licensing. There are currently five New Mexico racinos operating in Albuquerque, Farmington, Hobbs, Ruidoso, and Sunland Park. Due to a compact between the state and casino-operating tribes in New Mexico, only one more casino could be legally built in the state. According to earlier estimates, that final racino was expected to cost anywhere between $70 million and $80 million to build. While several developers had submitted proposals to the commission for the project, that body ultimately decided that the proposals did not for the present make good economic sense. An earlier feasibility study, undertaken by the New Orleans-based Convergence Strategy Group for the commission, had indicated that a new racino in the state could generate up to $68 million in annual revenues. But that study also suggested that that racino would significantly eat into the business generated by the other five existing racinos. Last year, those racinos earned just over $230 million in gaming revenue, up from $226 million in 2017. Although the construction of a new racino is now not imminent, Beverly Bourguet, chairperson of the commission, is reported to have said that proposals for a similar project may be entertained in the distant future. By Garry Boulard ![]() In a just-released survey, construction finance officials throughout the country are expressing worries that the longest economic recovery in U.S. history may be coming to an end. According to a quarterly index released by the Princeton, New Jersey-based Construction Financial Management Association, those same officials are also unnerved by the rising cost of delivering construction services. The group’s latest index survey shows a general decline in industry confidence reported in June, but as pointed out by Anirban Basu, CFMA’s economic advisor, the real news is “what failed to happen as opposed to what did.” Basu notes that a decline in industry confidence was initially recorded during the second quarter of 2017. But while the June confidence index is down around 7 percent from what it was a year ago, the quarterly confidence index was marginally up by 1.8 percent. That slight increase indicates that while public accountants, bankers, brokers, and others serving the construction industry remain pessimistic regarding longterm trends, the presence of current economic activity has somewhat tempered that pessimism. Looking at the larger picture, finance officials believe that the industry’s current growth cycle will finally come to an end by at least 2021. “Oddly enough, it is in part the current strength of the industry that could itself contribute to the cycle’s end,” adds Basu. By Garry Boulard ![]() With its population seeing a double-digit increase in the last decade, the demand for residential space in Scottsdale continues unabated. In just the last seven years, more than 38,000 people have moved into the southwestern Arizona city, accounting for a current population of just over 255,000. Now, Shea Homes, headquartered in Walnut, California but with offices in Scottsdale, is responding to that growth with the development of a master-planned community on the north side of the city. The project, with an initial 51 homes, will go up near the intersection of Ranch Gate Road and 128th Street and will see houses ranging in size from 2,800 square feet to just under 4,000 square feet. Those homes will go up on around 35 currently vacant acres of land near the 30,000-acre McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The 51 homes are expected to be only a portion of what will ultimately be a larger community footprint of 443 homes spread out over a total of 462 acres. According to city documents, the planned community will be built with an emphasis on open space: “Significant hillside, washes, and boulder areas in the development will be preserved in Natural Area Open Space tracts.” Those tracts are so designed by the City of Scottsdale as land that must be preserved in its natural state, remaining free of any obstruction. As envisioned, the project will see homes built in semi-circular neighborhood patterns, with an emphasis on both open and walking space. Work on the first homes in what is being called Storyrock is expected to begin late next summer. By Garry Boulard ![]() Work could begin sometime next year on a project that will see the construction of new apartment, condominium, and office space just north of downtown Phoenix. The project, officially called The Central Park, is slated to go up on a 15-acre site at the intersection of Central Avenue and Indian School Road, and will include around 170,000 square feet of new retail space. Additional features of the large project include the construction of a 200-room hotel, movie theater, and grocery store, as well as up to two hundred senior housing units. Long in the talking stage, the project, to be developed by the Phoenix-based Pivotal Group, Inc., will go up adjacent to the Steele Indian School Park. That park is the site of the former Phoenix Indian School, which was closed in 1990. Several structures still in existence at that site have since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As planned, the new Central Park development would also feature walking trails intersecting with the Steele Indian School Park. The Pivotal Group is a private equity and real estate investment firm specializing in office, hotel, and residential projects. A zoning change, allowing for the construction of the Central Park project, was approved by the Phoenix City Council last month. By Garry Boulard ![]() The big infrastructure bill approved by members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has won the support of the nation’s largest professional planning group. That $287 billion bill will find a wide array of highway, road, and bridge construction and upgrading projects across the country. If approved, what is officially called America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act, will authorize and pay for surface transportation programs for a period of five years beginning on October 1, 2020. The Washington-based American Planning Association is lauding the legislation, praising in particular its funding for $700 million in emission reduction grants, and nearly $1 billion for infrastructure resiliency grants. In a website posting written by Jason Jordon, director of policy for the APA, the legislation’s $3.3 billion competitive grant program for bridge rehabilitation and replacement is singled out, as is the bill’s continued funding of the federal Surface Transportation Block Grant program. As it is about to be reviewed by the full Senate, Jordon warns that the major hurdle facing the legislation will be the financing and tax provisions. “That will test the political will to deal with a gas tax increase or some other mechanism for securing revenues that pay for the bill,” writes Jordon. “That will be no small feat, especially as a new election gets closer.” The bill has now been placed on the Senate legislative calendar. By Garry Boulard ![]() Voters in El Paso this coming November will decide on a bond proposal that, if passed, will fund the construction of a new police department headquarters building, as well as four new command centers. The $413 million bond is big, but greatly reduced from a $943 million bond aired earlier this summer by city officials. That initial bond would have also paid for the construction of the new police facilities, as well as animal services facility work and street upgrade projects. Anticipating that the $943 million bond, which would have been the largest such bond of its kind of El Paso history, might be too much of a hard sale, members of the El Paso City Council have now decided to go ahead with the significantly smaller $413 million bond. Despite that reduced figure, the $413 million bond, if passed, would still pay for the construction of several new fire department buildings and station renovations. The largest police project will see the construction of a $38.6 million Eastside Command Center, providing a facility presence for the El Paso Police Department where one does not currently exist on the city’s growing east side. Of all the projects to be funded by the bond, perhaps the most visible will be the construction of a new police department headquarters. The current station at 911 N. Raynor Street is a two-story structure built just after World War II that was formerly a Sears department store. That building was purchased by the City of El Paso in 1988 and has served as police headquarters ever since. Altogether, the bond will fund just under $222 million in police department facility needs, and $191 million in fire department facility needs. City council members are expected to vote next week on an ordinance officially calling for the November bond election. By Garry Boulard |
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