A move to put in place and expand electric vehicle infrastructure in Durango, Colorado, has received a shot in the arm with the support of two new state grants. The separate grants, with a total value of $45,000, have been approved for the southwestern Colorado city to help begin the process of putting in place an electric vehicle readiness plan. The state’s Department of Local Affairs has approved $25,000 to help pay for the development of the plan’s administrative costs, while another grant of $20,000 from the Colorado Energy Office is designed to cover consultant costs, also for developing the plan. The plan will be jointly spearheaded by the Durango Sustainability Program and La Plata Electric Association. Speaking with the Durango Herald, Dominic May, energy resource program architect at La Plata Electric, said that putting a plan into place could eventually prove expensive, “If we do not get ahead of infrastructure, control, and setting up programs.” Durango officials have previously discussed the possibility of building at least two new electric vehicle charging stations to add to an existing such facility at the Durango Transit Center, located at 250 W. 8th Street. The new stations would be built at the Durango Community Recreation Center at 2700 Main Avenue, and the Durango Public Library at 1900 E. 3rd Avenue, with the possibility of additional stations being built later at other locations in the city. The city’s electric vehicle readiness plan is expected to be developed in conjunction with a goal approved last year by the Durango City Council pushing for a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade. The plan, according to city documents, is expected to be in draft form by late fall, and officially completed and adopted in December. By Garry Boulard
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For the third month in a row, consumer spending has increased, according to just-released Commerce Department statistics. The report showed that spending nationally was up by 1.2 percent in July, prompting some analysts to believe that the trend line is suggestive of a long-range and slowly-developing economic recovery. In actual dollars, the July numbers stood at $536 billion, compared with June’s $529 billion. The report also indicated that sales were up by an even higher 1.7 percent over where they stood in the weeks of February, just as the Covid-19 outbreak made its presence known and the country entered an economic lockdown. Notes the report: “Retail trade sales were up 0.8 percent from June 2020, and 5.8 percent above last year. Non-store retailers were up 24.7 percent from July 2019, while food and beverage stores were up 11.1 percent.” The stronger spending numbers come at the same time that the Federal Reserve has issued a new report showing that the country’s industrial production was up by 3 percent, although that increase was smaller than June’s numbers which showed a 5.7 percent gain. The Fed report additionally showed factory capacity output at 70.7 percent last month, up from 68.5 percent in June. The most notable gains were in motor vehicles and parts production, which posted a 28.3 percent increase; while oil and gas well drilling was off 8 percent. Gains in the construction market group for July showed a 1.4 percent gain over June; followed by a significantly larger 2.9 percent increase in May. The construction sector was hit with a 12 percent decline in April as the initial effects of the economic lockdown were being felt. Continued the Fed report: “The indexes for all of the major market groups advanced in July, though by less than in June,” adding that “consumer energy products, business supplies, and defense and space equipment also posted gains of more than 2 percent.” By Garry Boulard The future of a 118-acre golf course on the western side of Phoenix continues to challenge local leaders. The owner of the Villa de Paz Golf Course at 4220 N. Third Avenue has announced that it wants to transform the vast open space into a subdivision that would see the construction of nearly 150 new homes. The private equity firm Virtua Partners purchased the course, which in recent years had been losing money and players, in late 2017 for $1.3 million, and subsequently announced its home construction plans. Residents living in the vicinity of the course initially tried, but failed, to challenge those plans in court. Now Betty Guardado, a member of the Phoenix City Council, has announced plans to pursue a zoning change at the site that would prevent any residential development there. If that effort succeeds, the Villa de Paz Golf Course would either remain a golf course, or be left as open space. A representative for Virtua Partners said it was doubtful that the city could force the company to re-open the golf course, meaning that the space would remain vacant and in declining condition for the foreseeable future. It is not known when the city may make a zoning determination on the site. The 18-hole Villa de Paz Golf Course was opened in the early 1970s and upgraded in 2002. By Garry Boulard center for the arts building at the university of new mexico slated for fire protection upgrades8/14/2020 One of the most well-used structures on the main Albuquerque campus of the University of New Mexico will soon be seeing fire protection and safety renovation upgrades. The Center for the Arts, officially located at 203 Cornell Drive NE, houses three popular facilities: Popejoy Hall, Keller Hall, and the school’s Fine Arts Museum. Popejoy Hall is the home to a multi-purpose theater hosting Broadway shows and dance companies; while Keller Hall serves as the recital home to the school’s Department of Music and features an orchestra pit and recording facilities. The Center for the Arts was originally built in 1963 and was subsequently expanded in 1966, 1970, and 1973. Now UNM has issued a Request for Proposals for general contractors to take on construction services for the safety and fire protection upgrade of the 375,000 square-foot building. The work will include expanding and reconfiguring all of the structure’s existing fire protection systems, with the goal of building a system according to International Building Code, International Fire Code, and National Fire Protection Association standards. This means that all of the sprinkler system components must be guaranteed against defective design and materials. The RFP has a deadline of August 28. Work on what is expected to be a 10-day project is scheduled to begin next January. By Garry Boulard Mall spaces left abandoned by major retailers in recent years may be repurposed and occupied by the Amazon company, most likely as distribution hubs. The online retail giant is said to be in negotiations with the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, the country’s largest retail real estate investment trust. Some of the massive mall spaces owned by Simon Property previously served as stores for J.C. Penny and Sears, among other retailers. Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is interested in reconverting some of those spaces as warehouses to store “everything from books and sweaters to kitchenware and electronics until delivery to loyal customers.” To date, Simon shopping mall properties have housed more than 60 Penny stores and nearly a dozen Sears stores. Those store spaces typically range in size between 110,000 and 160,000 square feet. While Amazon’s fulfillment centers may measure as much as 800,000 square feet and more, many of its original warehouses are no larger than 100,000 square feet. Amazon’s move for Simon vacant spaces couldn’t come at a better time, reports the business news service Marketplace: “The number of retailers that are looking to expand are few and far between, so Simon has to look elsewhere to fill its vacant mall space.” Simon recorded a second quarter income of $254 million, down from $495 million in the spring of 2019. At the same time, Amazon reported revenue of nearly $89 billion, compared with $63 billion in the second quarter of 2019. Neither Simon nor Amazon officials have yet commented publicly on a possible agreement. By Garry Boulard The City of Denver has issued a Request for Proposals for the building of a canal project between the Wellshire Golf Course and Interstate 25 on the southeast side of the city. The project would be aligned with the existing High Line Canal and would see the installation of three concrete and bolder drainage structures. That canal, as a waterway, is used for both irrigation and recreational purposes, with an accompanying linear park extending for around 70 miles from Douglas County in the south to the northeast side of Denver. The canal was built during the 1880s and is called the “High Line” because it follows the line of the highest possible elevation, allowing for a gravitational flow of water. Also included in the project: the installation of two water quality trash vaults and four drive-through forebays. The more than $1 million project will also include the hauling of removed material and surface restoration. The RFP has a submission deadline of August 27. By Garry Boulard Construction may begin in late fall on what will be the largest apartment complex to date in Santa Fe. The Madera Apartments will go up in northwest Santa Fe on a 21-acre site off South Meadows Road near New Mexico State Road 599 and will include 355 residential units. The project belongs to Santa Fe developer Carlos Garcia, and will be built in two phases, with the first phase seeing the construction of an initial 240 units set for completion in the third quarter of next year. Those apartments will range in size from studios, to one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, and will be housed in nearly two dozen, two-story structures designed in the Santa Fe Pueblo architectural style. Described as a “Class A multifamily” project, the Madera will also include a club house, swimming pool, garden space, and landscaped open areas. The second phase of the project will see the building of an additional 115 units, with an anticipated completion date of sometime in the fall of 2022. By Garry Boulard More than $462 million in grant funding from the Department of Agriculture has been announced for a wide variety of new water and wastewater infrastructure projects in 44 states. In making the funding announcement, Bette Brand, Rural Development Under Secretary for the Agriculture Department, said the newly-funded upgraded water and wastewater management facilities “will improve public health and drive economic development in our small towns and cities.” The funding for just over 160 projects is more specifically coming through the Department’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program, with nearly $2 million out of that program going to the Walden Meadows Community Co-Op in Kirkland, Arizona to upgrade an aging water system and equipment. Arizona is also seeing a total of $3.8 million in loans and grants for the Oak Creek Water Company Number 1 in Sedona, designed to replace and extend water lines, including new valves and hydrants. In Grants, New Mexico, a combined nearly $4 million grant and loan will go for replacing wastewater lines throughout the city; with $461,000 in funding slated for the Alto De Las Flores Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association to renovate a well, upgrade water lines, and build water line extensions in the town of San Miguel. Two more New Mexico projects will see the Cottonwood Rural Water Association in Artesia securing a combined more than $4 million grant and loan for the upgrading of distribution lines and service meters, as well as the installation of new fire hydrants. A final New Mexico project is getting a $1.2 million loan: the Village of Williamsburg, for expanding an existing wastewater delivery system. The Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program is specifically designed to fund sewer, solid waste, and storm water collection projects, as well as drinking water sourcing, treatment, and distribution efforts, all in rural areas. The funding targets areas and towns with populations of less than 10,000 people, including tribal land projects, also in rural areas. Under Secretary Brand, in a statement, said that the funding of such projects is important “because we know that when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.” By Garry Boulard Work could begin this fall on the construction of a new shopping center in the town of Falcon, Colorado, 15 miles to the northeast of Colorado Springs. The Falcon Marketplace, to go up on the northeast corner of Woodmen and Meridian roads, will be anchored by a 123,000 square foot King Soopers grocery store. The Phoenix-based developer Evergreen Devco recently purchased the 36-acre site in question, while also providing a $1.5 million loan to developer Leon Capital to complete infrastructure work that had been stalled by the Covid-19 outbreak. The new center will be designed to accommodate a bedroom community town that in recent years has seen an explosion of new residential and commercial construction, with its population more than doubling in the last decade to its current 13,000. Evergreen Devco takes on large residential and commercial projects primarily in Arizona, California, and Colorado. Earlier this summer, the company purchased the upscale Turnberry at Heather Ridge apartments in Aurora. In announcing that $46 million deal, Evergreen Devco said it planned to upgrade all of the complex’s 268 residential units, as well as its clubhouse. Although an exact construction schedule for the larger new Falcon shopping center has not been announced, construction of the new King Soopers at the site is expected to begin in the fall, with a general 2022 completion date. By Garry Boulard Phoenix needs to build at least 163,000 new housing units in the next decade or so to keep up with population growth, say city officials. But for now, they’ll settle for 50,000 units. That’s the goal announced by Mayor Kate Gallego, who is urging the city to develop “innovative, solution-oriented policies to create a better Phoenix for all.” In announcing what is called the Housing Phoenix Plan, the Mayor is also asking members of the city council to update cumbersome zoning ordinances that often hamper affordable housing projects. Other facets of the plan include the promotion of public-private home building partnerships, and redeveloping city-owned land for home construction. The Housing Phoenix Plan specifically challenges the city to build the 50,000 new homes by the year 2030. Always fast-growing, Phoenix in the last two decades has seen its population increase from 1.3 million in the year 2000, to just under 1.7 million today. Last year Phoenix, for the fourth year in a row, saw more in-migration than any other city in the country. At the same time, new home construction has consistently lagged, with only 220,000 new housing units built since the 1990s. By Garry Boulard |
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