![]() Two decades after the devastating terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, builders and architects are continuing to place an emphasis on safety in tall building designs. New technology has increasingly seen advanced security systems integrated into structures via the use of smart technologies, with a greater embrace of international building codes. That more universal standard has also made it easier for architects and structural engineers to share safety design information specific to high-rises. Skyscrapers are also today required to have in place enhanced radio coverage systems to allow for greater emergency crew communication. The United States has additionally approved nearly two dozen building and fire code modifications following investigations into what happened inside the World Trade Center on the day of the attack. Designers have since placed a new emphasis on stairwell space. The stairwells in the 110-story twin towers were on the narrow side, contributing to a slow evacuation after the attacks. According to the architectural magazine dezeen, “Scissor stairs are now discouraged and more logical pathways to multiple egress points are required. Wider stairways and backup lighting have also become mandatory.” Lessons from the tragic day have also changed how elevators should be used in such structures. The number of available elevators in the World Trade Center buildings varied depending upon the floor. “The system was not designed to be used in an emergency,” according to social research scientist Erica Kuligowski in the website The Conversation. Today, many such new buildings are required to be “fitted with dedicated emergency elevators or an additional staircase.” That elevators remain important in an emergency building situation, notes Kuligowski, was seen in the fact that at least 3,000 people in the WTC’s South Tower were able to safely evacuate the building via its elevators in the hour after the attack. Notes the publication Quartz: most high-rise designs today include “using thicker glass on the lower levels, using reinforced concrete for a building’s core, installing back-up power systems, and reserving a dedicated elevator for firefighters.” By Garry Boulard
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![]() A 23-acre site on the northwest side of Albuquerque that was once viewed as a future neighborhood comprised of more than 75 new homes may see the creation of a new park-like space. What is called the San Antonio Oxbow Extension is located off Coors Boulevard and runs along the Bosque cottonwood forest bordering the Rio Grande. According to a study conducted in 2012 by the Army Corps of Engineers, the space contains “the last vestiges of marsh habitat in the Middle Rio Grande.” Earlier this spring the City of Albuquerque purchased the property for around $6.7 million, with plans for turning into an open space that may include some minimally built park infrastructure. In recent weeks the city’s Open Space Division has been cleaning up the area, removing debris, exposed piping, and standing dead trees. The Open Space Division has coordinated at least one public input meeting that included a tour of the property, with plans for more in order to solicit views on how the property can best be utilized. Ideas for the space have included the building of walking and hiking trails. According to a city document, the Open Space Division’s goal is to protect habitat, while also supporting “low-impact recreation and education.” By Garry Boulard ![]() A nonprofit based in Golden, Colorado has decided to tackle the lack of affordable homes in the north central part of the state with a unique home-building campaign. The nonprofit Golden Home Fund says it would like to build as many as 100 such homes in the next 5 years. The group is responding to a currently hot real estate market seeing the average new home in Golden priced at around $772,000. Officials with the Golden Home Fund have already met with the city’s Downtown Development Authority in the hope of forming a partnership to build the new homes. The group is particularly interested in a 7.2-acre site to the east of Ford Street along the Clear Creek Corridor that the city recently purchased, a portion of which could be used for the construction of an initial eight housing units. Golden Home Fund officials say they want to establish a fund that would pay to build the new homes, provided that the city could make available the land needed for such construction. Those new homes would all be priced in the $200,000 to $250,000 range and would only be available to working people in Golden who are making anywhere from 70% to 80% of American Median Income, which is currently just over $78,500. Still a work in progress, the Golden Home Fund’s home construction initiative is expected to be presented to the Golden City Council sometime this fall. By Garry Boulard ![]() National economic growth saw a slight dip this summer, almost entirely related to the emergence of Covid 19’s Delta variant. So says the latest issue of the Beige Book, which is published eight times per year by the Federal Reserve Board. The publication is a composite of anecdotal information provided by bankers, economists, and business leaders in the twelve Federal Reserve districts. According to a summary of the most recent Beige Book findings, economic growth “downshifted slightly to a moderate pace in early July through August.” The most buoyant sectors of the economy remain manufacturing, residential real estate, and transportation. But a “deceleration” in general economic activity across the districts was largely due to a “pullback in dining out, travel, and tourism” in response to Delta’s increase. Other sectors of the economy that have seen a decline or slowdown this summer were those “constrained by supply disruptions and labor shortages, as opposed to softening demand.” The report noted, in particular, a decline in auto sales that appears to be entirely attributable to low inventories caused by the ongoing microchip shortage. Residential construction, meanwhile, “was slightly up, on balance, and nonresidential construction picked up modestly.” Reports from the 10th District, which takes in all of Colorado and northern New Mexico, noted at the same time increased concerns about the Delta variant and its economic impact that “economic conditions have continued to improve at a moderate pace.” Contacts in the 11th District, including all of Texas and southern New Mexico, reported a “solid rate” of economic growth across all sectors. Although contacts in the district have remained generally optimistic, “surging Covid-19 cases have added uncertainty to outlooks.” The 12th District, which includes all of Arizona, has seen an increase in both employment as well as wage and price growth this summer. Manufacturing and agriculture sectors in this district saw a slight summer increase, while “residential construction edged down somewhat.” The report also noted that companies, primarily in the Midwest and West, have not only remained largely optimistic regarding economic trends, but have been offering increased bonuses and flexible work arrangements to attract more workers. By Garry Boulard Las Cruces to Use Federal Funding for New Transit Maintenance Structure and Other Projects9/10/2021 Plans are now underway in Las Cruces for the construction of a new transit maintenance building that will serve the city’s bus fleet.
Members of the Las Cruces City Council have voted unanimously in favor of adopting a resolution officially authorizing the City to accept funding out of Washington of nearly $12.4 million for the transit project and several other endeavors. Those funds are coming through the American Recovery Plan Act, which was passed earlier this year by Congress and is designed to bolster economic recovery efforts at the state, local and Tribal government level. Of that $12.4 million figure, $2.3 million will target construction of the transit maintenance building, making it one of the higher-end city ARPA-funded projects. According to city documents, the total construction costs for the transit building is just under $18.5 million Just over $429,000 of the ARPA funds will target the building of a new competitive community pool, while $425,000 will go for a sewer connection program. Las Cruces is ultimately expected to receive $24.7 million in ARPA funding, with the second portion to be awarded next spring. By Garry Boulard ![]() Work could begin late next year on the upgrading of two state highways in southern New Mexico that are heavily used by trucks servicing the region’s large oil and gas industries. It is expected that it will cost up to $80 million for the phase one work improving New Mexico State Road 128, which runs from east to west; and New Mexico State Road 31, which primarily runs north to south. The work in Eddy County will see pavement improvements, the building of additional shoulders and lanes, sight distance/vertical alignment improvements, and drainage improvements. Both roads cut through a certain amount of State Land Office and Bureau of Land Management property, with engineering and environmental impact studies for the projects expected to be completed by early next spring. A separate project that will see an upgrading and installation of a new signal system at the intersection of State Road 31 and U.S. Route 285 is also expected to see work begin sometime next year. Contributing to the heavy use of both state roads 128 and 31 has been an increase in Eddy County’s population from around 51,000 two decades ago to more than 58,000 today, with much of that increase coming from oil and gas exploration employment. By Garry Boulard ![]() As a means of trying to minimize later construction project problems, the Defense Department is increasingly putting an emphasis on how and why sites for certain projects are selected, well before the first pile is driven. In a seminar sponsored by the Design-Build Institute of America, Michael McAndrew, assistant Secretary of Defense for construction, noted that in previous years an emphasis was placed on getting Congressional funding for a project, even if that that project wasn’t entirely ready to go. “What we found was the site conditions weren’t properly looked at, and we were guessing things,” remarked McAndrew. Because a lack of foresight in the site selection process ended up causing future project problems, McAndrew said DOD officials are more and more today asking such questions as, “How can we do this better?” and “What are things that we are not doing right?” The enhanced construction project review process at the DOD has been an ongoing one, McAndrew continued, noting that now the agency is increasingly likely to bring in outside partners who can help at the vetting stage. As an example of how the DOD is changing its construction process, the seminar also revealed that design-build projects for the agency are expected to increase by just under 8% in the next four years. Forecasts additionally suggest that nearly half of all the Defense Department’s construction projects will be design-build by 2025. The House Military Construction Subcommittee recently approved $11 billion in funding for new military construction projects. That funding must still be approved by the U.S. Senate. Intended projects for funding under the legislation include military base family housing, child development centers, and the construction and upgrading of Veterans Affairs facilities. By Garry Boulard ![]() Plans for the construction of a mixed-use development that will include space for offices, retail, and hospitality are advancing in Mesa. The project is set to be built on the northwest corner of East Elliott and South Ellsworth Roads and will belong to the Scottsdale-based Diversified Partners. That company purchased the currently vacant 17-acre site last month for around $9.4 million. What is being called the East Gate Plaza will be built across the street from a new $800 million, 960,000 square foot Facebook data center. Although much of the land adjacent to the planned East Gate Plaza is vacant, the shopping center will also be close to the upscale 3,200-acre Eastmark master-planned community. hat community is expected to see the completion of some 15,000 homes at full build-out. According to reports, the East Gate Plaza, as envisioned by Edifice, an architectural firm in Tempe, will have a modern design with an emphasis on exposed steel elements, angular lines, and an abundance of glass walls. The larger plaza site is also expected to feature green and courtyard space. Work on the $125 million East Gate Plaza is slated to begin early next year. By Garry Boulard After a slight delay and much speculation, the Arizona Coyotes have let known their intention to build a new arena that would become their permanent home in Tempe.
The hockey team has officially submitted a response to a Request for Proposals sent out earlier this year by the City of Tempe for two parcels of land measuring around 46 acres that could end up seeing the construction of both a new hockey arena as well as a surrounding entertainment district. Until now, the Coyotes have played in the Gila River Arena. But late last month, the City of Glendale announced that it would not renew a lease with the team after the current season comes to an end next year. The exact plans for the Tempe site have not been released. In a statement, a Coyotes spokesperson said the team was “pleased to have submitted a proposal to the City of Tempe.” The statement added: “As regulations surrounding the RFP process dictate, we cannot comment any further at this point, but we remain incredibly excited about this extraordinary opportunity.” The site in question is located at the intersection of Priest Drive and Rio Salado Parkway. Earlier reports have indicated that besides the construction of a new arena, some 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space could comprise the entertainment district, along with the building of up to 1,000 residential units. It is not known exactly how much it would cost to build both the arena and entertainment district, although a preliminary report looking at the project suggested as much as $70 million. The City of Tempe is expected to launch an extensive evaluation process regarding the Coyotes’ bid that could take several months will include public input. By Garry Boulard Construction companies across the country are continuing to confront unprecedented challenges in finding new workers, according to a just-released survey.
The 2021 Autodesk-Associated General Contractors Workforce Survey reveals that out of more than 2,100 company responses, more than 90% said they currently had open hourly craft positions. An equally large 89% said they were having a difficult time filling some or all of those craft positions. The challenge in salaried positions, according to the survey, has proven equally great, with 86% of respondents saying they were having a hard time filling them. The most cited reason for the lack of workers, mentioned by 72% of the respondents, was that the candidates who were available for work were not qualified. But a nearly as large 58% said that unemployment insurance supplements have been “keeping workers away.” Many of those benefits, a part of an unprecedented expansion of the nation’s unemployment benefits system in response to the Covid-10 outbreak, expired on September 5. The dearth of new workers is hitting union and open-shop companies alike: some 70% of those always hiring union craft workers reported a lack of qualified candidates, with 74% of open-shop firms that saying the same. For all of that, 40% of responding firms reported that they had added at least one new worker to their rolls since the summer of 2020. In trying to both keep and recruit workers, some 73% of the firms said they had raised base pay rates, a significant increase over an August 2020 survey indicating that only 38% of companies had done the same. In addition, just over 33% of the firms said they have established incentives and hiring bonuses since 2020 in a move to attract new workers. Respondents also indicated that they were increasingly implementing training programs for those new workers who do end up getting hired. In a statement, Allison Scott, customer marketing director at Autodesk, said the “continued investments in hiring, training and technology highlighted in this year’s study shows that even while dealing with ongoing challenges nearly two years into the pandemic, the industry remains committed to building better with a resilient workforce.” By Garry Boulard |
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