A major real estate developer and investment firm based in Dallas has announced plans to build up to 1 million square feet of new mixed-use space some 17 miles northeast of downtown Denver. The site at Tower Road and E. 61st Avenue was formerly open farm land. But three years ago plans were announced by developer L.C. Fulenwider and the real estate division of the Denver International Airport for the creation of Pena Station Next, a 400-acre master-planned smart city with an emphasis on clean energy and walkable space. Now developer KDC of Dallas says it wants to put up a modern build-to-suit office designed by the Denver-based HKS Architects at Pena Station Next. In a statement, Chris Selbo, vice-president of development for KDC, remarked: “This project and location are perfectly situated to deliver what corporations are looking for—transit-oriented, mixed-use, and walkable.” The project will be going up at a site, advertised as the last stop on the Regional Transportation District’s A Line to the airport, that has also seen the construction of more than 200 multi-family housing units, and a Hyatt Place Hotel, in excess of 225 rooms. Developer KDC specializes in the building of mixed-use campuses and has done similar projects for such firms as JP Morgan Chase and the State Farm insurance company. By Garry Boulard
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One of the final houses designed by the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright is now in line for an upgrading. The home is located on a 5.9-acre wooded site at 5212 E. Exeter Boulevard in Phoenix’s upscale Arcadia neighborhood. Wright, who during the span of a more than 70-year career, designed more than 1,000 residential, commercial, and institutional structures, designed the Arcadia home in 1951 as a gift for his son and daughter-in-law. The 2,500 square-foot David and Gladys Wright House was put on the market some time after the death of Gladys Wright in 2008, whose husband David had predeceased her in 1997. Various bids for the concrete block house, known for its circular form and spiral wraparound walkway, were unsuccessful when it could not be ascertained whether the structure would be preserved. Now the Boston-based Benson Botsford financial services firm has purchased the structure for $7.2 million with plans to not only keep it intact, but upgrade aspects of the residence along the lines of Wright’s original plans. Spearheading that restoration will be Jim Benson, chief executive officer of Benson Botsford; and the architects Bing Hu and Wenchin Shi. Both Benson and Hu serve on the board of the School of Architecture at Taliesin in Scottsdale. The home, with a heavily reinforced concrete floor, has three bedrooms and four bathrooms, as well as a rooftop deck. Earlier reports that the house is actually the final residential structure designed by Wright are most likely inaccurate, contends author William Storrer in his 2017 book The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, as the famed architect remained professionally active nearly a decade after completing the Phoenix house. By Garry Boulard The e-commerce giant Amazon has announced plans to build new office space in both Denver and Tempe, as well as four other U.S. cities, as it continues to see its revenues boom in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak and national economic shutdown. Altogether, the Seattle-based company plans to add in excess of 900,000 new square office feet in the wake of second quarter sales showing an increase of $2.6 billion in the second quarter of this year over 2019, for a total of more than $5.2 billion. In Denver, the company will be upgrading and moving into some 20,000 square feet of new space at its current office hub located at 1414 Wynkoop Street in the city’s Lower Downtown neighborhood. Amazon initially moved into its 98,000 square foot Wynkoop Street location, officially called the Denver Tech Hub, last summer. In Tempe, the company will be moving into 90,000 square feet of new office space in a building that is already under construction at 100 South Mill Avenue. That structure is a part of a growing technology hub near the Tempe Town Lake. The company is also building out new office space in Dallas, Detroit, New York, and San Diego. In New York, Amazon will be repurposing some 630,000 square feet that was formerly a premiere Lord & Taylor location on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. In March, Amazon purchased that structure at 424 5th Avenue for $1.1 billion. In total, the company said it will be spending around $1.4 billion either building out or expanding new office space in the six cities. Noting that the company’s office space expansion will also see the hiring of around 3,500 people, Beth Galetti, senior vice-president for human resources at Amazon, said in a statement: “We look forward to helping these communities grow their emerging tech workforce.” By Garry Boulard The El Paso City Council has approved an advanced funding agreement to design and build a segment of a popular shared use recreational path. The Playa Drain Shared Use Path runs along the Playa Drain on the southeast side of the city and was originally laid out and built through the support of the Paseo Del Norte Health Foundation in 2018. That foundation contributed $2.5 million to making the 3.4-mile path - used by walkers, joggers, and bike riders - a reality, along with another $300,000 that came out of the city’s Quality of Life bonds. The construction of the path also saw the building of water foundations, exercise stations, bike pump stations, and seating. Now the city wants to add a less than one mile segment to the path between Whittier Drive and Elvin Way that will run to the south of the Alicia R. Chaco International School and the Ysleta High School, adjoining a residential neighborhood. The advance funding arrangement will be between El Paso and the Texas Department of Transportation, and will include the construction of ramps that are Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, mid-block crossings, landscaping, and new signage. The project may also require the relocation of some utility infrastructure, and the addition of shade trees, vegetation, and what is described in city documents as “other pedestrian amenities.” The $2 million advance funding agreement approved by the city council will require El Paso to kick in $403,000 for work completing the new path segment. By Garry Boulard Members of the Denver City Council may make a decision next week regarding the status of a property that has been selected by the Hines Real Estate Group for construction of a five-story boutique senior living facility. As earlier announced, the project will go on the less than an acre site of the Carmen Court Condominiums at 900 E. 1st Street, and will see the construction of a glass-walled U-shape building surrounding a tree-filled courtyard space. Owners of the six condos at the site earlier agreed to sell the property to the Houston, Texas-based Hines, which specializes in development and real estate investment and is under contract to purchase the property, as well as several small adjacent parcels. But the project has faced a roadblock due to the opposition of area residents and preservationists who contend that Carmen Court, which was built in 1925 and designed in the Pueblo Spanish Revival style, is a historic property that should be kept intact. The Hines company subsequently hired the Portland, Oregon-based Heritage Consulting Group, which later called into question the historical significance of the condominiums. Despite that opinion, opponents of the project presented their arguments to Denver’s Landmark Preservation Commission in the hope of having the property designated as a landmark. If the condominiums are so declared, it would almost certainly prevent their demolition. In a unanimous decision, the commission voted to forward the landmark application to the Denver City Council, which will now have the final say in the matter. Last summer Hines announced it was entering into a partnership with Sentio Investments of Orlando, Florida, in a move to increase its senior living real estate assets. By Garry Boulard While overall construction spending declined in June by $9.5 billion, nine out of 16 nonresidential construction sectors saw gains ranging from 0.1% to 3.6%. Those figures in the U.S. Census’ Monthly Construction Spending report represent treasured bright spots in an otherwise declining national picture that saw construction spending slip from $1.364.7 billion in May to $1.355.2 billion in June. The most significant sector declines saw educational construction off by 2.2%; highway and street construction down by 1.7%; and commercial construction with a decrease of 1.3%. The largest sector increase was recorded in sewage and waste disposal construction, which posted a healthy 3.6% gain; conservation and development work, up by 3.3%; and healthcare and manufacturing, both up by 1.7%. The Census report notes that total construction figures for June were actually up by 1.5% over June of last year, while the six-month early year average from 2019 was up by 1.9%. The report additionally showed private construction with a dollar value of $534.2 billion, “below the revised May estimate of $542.1 billion.” Public construction numbers, which have been lower throughout the year compared to private construction, stood at $353.3 billion in June. That’s a decline of $2.5 billion from May’s $355.8 billion. The next Census construction spending report is scheduled to be released on September 1. By Garry Boulard Plans have been announced for the construction of a new 330-unit apartment complex on the southwest side of Santa Fe that will go up near the Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center. The project, which has been the subject of at least one public input meeting, belongs to the Abacus Capital Group of New York and would, upon completion, be one of the largest apartment projects in the city. Abacus, a real estate investment firm, wants to build the complex on a currently vacant 6.2-acre site at 5201 Beckner Road. Abacus, which is also the developer of the new Turquesa Apartments, a 240-unit project south of the Santa Fe Place Mall on Wagon Road, is expected to shortly submit a final development plan for the Beckner Road project. Founded in 2004, Abacus develops, re-develops, and manages multi-family projects across the country, with a focus on Texas and the West coast. Expected to be reviewed later this fall by the Santa Fe Planning Commission, the project could see construction launching sometime next spring. By Garry Boulard The Estancia, New Mexico-based EMW Gas Association has issued a Request for Proposals for the building of a new compressed natural gas station. The project will go up off Route 66 in nearby Moriarty and will include the construction of stainless steel compressed natural gas piping, a fueling canopy, concrete pavement and equipment pads, and station equipment integration. Launched in 1964, the association is made up of the municipal boards of the town of Estancia, city of Moriarty, and village of Willard, with the initial construction of a nearly $1 million line providing natural gas to area residents, businesses, and farms. The association currently serves more than 5,000 customers. The RFP submission deadline for a project that will additionally include the construction of fence gates and ground-mounted signs is September 10. By Garry Boulard The latest annual report looking at the fiscal condition and challenges of metropolitan areas across the country underline the negative impact of the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent economic shutdown. According to the City Fiscal Conditions 2020 report published by the Washington-based National League of Cities, nearly 90 % of all cities will prove less able in fiscal year 2021 to meet the fiscal needs of their communities than they were in the previous fiscal year. On average, the nation’s cities are anticipating a 13% decline in 2021 fiscal year revenues over fiscal year 2020, with sales tax revenue seeing an 11% drop, and income tax receipts off by 3.4%. The picture, according to the report, looks even more challenging in the face of likely declines in both federal and state support: “In this environment, cities’ balanced-budget requirements and revenue-raising restrictions” are resulting in service cuts, hiring freezes, and rollbacks in capital projects. The report notes that the revenue decline caused by the pandemic is more severe than most U.S. cities experienced during the Great Recession. Based on the input of leaders and officials from cities ranging in size from 10,000 to more than 300,000 people, with cities in the West comprising the largest response, the report also notes than 87% of respondents said they will be less able to meet the fiscal needs of their cities in the 2021 fiscal year—up from 24% similarly responding in 2019. Because of a lag time of up to 18 months and more between changed economic conditions and the impact on revenue, the report suggests that further city service cuts and capital project cancellations may be in the offing. In a press release accompanying the report, it was noted that the revenue decline that took 6 years to fully play out in the Great Recession is “already happening in just the few short months of this pandemic downtown,” adding: “And it won’t go away easily.” By Garry Boulard Plans are underway for the construction of a new apartment complex in the Old Town North section of Fort Collins that will add more than 200 units to the city’s apartment stock. As proposed, the project will go up off of North College Avenue, roughly 1 mile to the north of downtown Fort Collins. Defined as an infill site, the property for the project is just to the south of Suniga Drive, near the popular Chipper’s Horsetooth Lanes, which features a bowling alley as well as an arcade and laser tag space. The project will entail the construction of three separate apartment buildings on a 7-acre site in a part of town that in recent years has seen significant residential growth, with upper scale homes designed in the New Urbanist style. There are currently two additional apartment projects in the development stage for Old Town North that will see the construction of more than 500 new units, as well as 139 town homes. As proposed, the complex will feature two four-story structures, and one with three stories. The ground level in all of the buildings will be devoted to parking. According to announced plans, the complex will also include around 3,000 square feet of commercial space, as well as up to 30,000 square feet of open space on a tree-lined site designed by Fort Collins-based landscape designer Ripley Design. By Garry Boulard |
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