![]() In two more weeks, members of the Scottsdale Planning Commission will consider a request for an amendment to the city’s zoning district map submitted by a Los Angeles-based developer who wants to build a big mixed-use project. That project, as envisioned by Stockdale Capital Partners, will go up on a 10.2-acre site and will see the construction of more than 500 residential units, as well as just over 580,000 square feet of commercial space. Officially called the Scottsdale Collection, the project will be located within the city’s Entertainment District, and will be built next door to another Stockdale project seeing the development of the 2.1-acre Marquee office complex. The Scottsdale Collection project has been long in the planning stage and subject of several public input meetings. Earlier this summer it won the approval of the city’s Development Review Board. As planned, the project will also include a significant amount of green space. In an earlier statement, Shawn Yari, co-founder of Stockdale, remarked, “We have a positive plan focused on the arts, shade, engaging architecture, and significant pedestrian improvements.” Due to the impact of the pandemic economy, the project has encountered some investment challenges. “Stockdale has proceeded with funding some of the development out of pocket,” reports the Phoenix Business Journal, “and will move forward with those elements when the lending market frees up.” A vertically-integrated real estate investment firm, Stockdale has been increasing its presence in southern Arizona. In September it secured zoning approval in Scottsdale for the building of a $25 million boutique apartment complex called Canalside. First phase work on the Scottsdale Collection could begin next summer. By Garry Boulard
0 Comments
![]() A group devoted to increasing economic opportunities and business incubation in a changing section of Albuquerque has announced plans to spearhead the construction of a new mixed-use project. As currently planned, the project in the city’s International District would see the construction of a dozen studio apartments, as well as an equal number of retail spaces for small businesses. The International District Economic Development Center, launched in late 2019, hopes to see the project go up at 1000 San Mateo Boulevard, just to the south of Zuni Road. With an estimated $3 to $4 million price tag, the project will be built at the site of a food truck park, officially called Food Hub ABQ. That park, organized by the development center, will become a permanent part of the new mixed-use site. Work on the project could begin next summer, with initial units ready for rent by late 2022. At the time of its late 2019 unveiling, the International District Economic Development Center, at a cost of $70,000, had purchased and renovated an existing commercial structure at 111 Wyoming Boulevard to serve as its offices. By Garry Boulard ![]() In an effort to build up to 450 miles of new border wall by the end of the year, the Department of Homeland Security has just announced the completion of 400 miles of the structure. The controversial wall, said Chad Wolf, acting Homeland Security Secretary, is replacing existing barriers in some sections of the southwest, and made up of an “18-foot to a 30-foot bollard-style wall, complemented with roads, enforcement cameras and other related technology.” Averaging around 10 miles of new wall per week, Homeland Security, in conjunction with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Protection, has said new wall construction is expected for San Diego, Yuma, Tucson, El Paso, and through large swaths of the Rio Grande Valley. The work has been particularly intense in the Guadalupe Canyon, on the Arizona and New Mexico border, where steep slopes have been dynamited to make way for just under 5 miles of wall structure. The project has been opposed by a number of different groups, many of which have raised concerns about its environmental impact. The Sierra Club has charged that the new barrier will “cause flooding and damage pristine wild lands, including wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, and national forests.” Two weeks ago the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would hear several cases taking the Trump Administration to task for spending around $2.5 billion in funds for the wall project. Those funds, earlier approved by Congress, were originally supposed to target hundreds of new construction and facility upgrade projects at military bases across the country. At the same time, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Trump Administration’s use of emergency powers to divert spending from military bases to the wall is unlawful. The Court made that decision in response to a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club. Progress on the wall has been slow but steady: some 100 miles of the 18 to 30-foot tall bollard structure were completed as of last January, a number increasing to 370 miles as of early October. To date, the project has been comprised of some 556,000 tons of steel and 797,000 tons of concrete. By Garry Boulard ![]() Preliminary design work may soon be completed for a proposed new public library in the town of Clifton, Colorado, 6 miles to the northeast of Grand Junction. The Mesa County Public Library system has purchased a 4.9-acre site near the intersection of 32 Road and F Road to build what is anticipated as a nearly 20,000 square-foot structure. That building will house shelves and shelves of books, computer space, and several community meeting rooms. Earlier discussions regarding the project suggested that the new library may even have room for a child care center. As planned, parking space will be built to the south of the building. With more than half a dozen branches, the Mesa County library system wants the new Clifton library to replace an existing space it rents out at the Mesa Pointe Shopping Center, roughly 1 mile to the southeast of the new planned library. A capital campaign for what is expected to minimally be a $7 million project is expected to formally launch next year, with hopes that actual construction will begin in the early part of 2022. The new library will in part be designed to accommodate Clifton’s growing population, which has more than doubled in the last two decades and now stands at over 20,000 residents. By Garry Boulard ![]() In a bid to update its aging water system, the City of Longmont is asking voters on November 3 to approve up to $80 million in new water bonds which will be used for a variety of infrastructure improvement projects. The infrastructure renewal work is seen by Longmont officials as a bid to maintain both water quality and reliability in a 100,000-population city that has seen its population grow by double digits in the last two decades. Projects to be funded if Ballot Question 3C passes include the replacement of new backup and peaking functions for the Wade Gaddis Water Treatment plant on the west side of the city, which was first opened in 1983. Longmont also wants to expand the capacity of the 15 year-old Nelson Flanders Water Treatment plant, some 10 miles to the west of downtown Longmont, while updating potable water tanks and repairing or replacing a city-wide distribution and transmission network. Prospects for the passage of the bond appear favorable, with no organized opposition. Last month the Longmont Economic Development Partnership announced its support for the proposal. In a statement, Jessica Erickson, president of that group, said the city’s reliable water infrastructure has been a “key selling point for Longmont in attracting new businesses to the community and supporting our existing industry base.” By Garry Boulard ![]() Although by far not one of the largest campaign contributors, the national construction industry nevertheless has given more than $44 million in support to various political candidates this year. According to the latest numbers released by the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, funding support has largely come from the building materials and equipment sector, construction services, and general contractors sectors, which together comprised more than 70% of the giving. As of early October, the country’s builders had ponied up nearly $14 million for President Trump in his re-election effort, compared to $8.6 million for Democrat presidential nominee and former vice-president Joe Biden. During the winter and spring primary season, contractors gave just over $1 million to former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg. None of the other more than a dozen Democrat presidential candidates received in excess of $1 million. In her third party Libertarian bid, presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen has received just over $17,000 from builders. According to the Center’s figures, the national construction industry has contributed more than $793 million to various presidential candidates since 1990, with Republicans “snaring two-third of the money that was given to parties and candidates.” While construction industry giving in the presidential race has so far been significant, it pales next to the more than $60 million contributed by the securities and investment sector; the $40 million plus given by the communications and electronics industry; and the roughly $35 million contributed by lawyers and law firms. While those three sectors have overwhelmingly given to the Biden campaign, the energy and natural resources sector, along with the transportation sector, for a combined roughly $30 million, have largely supported Trump. By Garry Boulard ![]() The almost 130 year-old New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell could see significant upgrades to three noted campus structures if voters on November 3 pass the statewide Bond Question C. That bond will provide up to $3 million in funding for work at the 27,000 square foot Wilson Hall, which was completed in 1927. That brick structure, housing the school’s business, math, and sciences classes, is in line for a new roof to replace the current leaking one. The 40 year-old, 51,000 square foot Godfrey Athletic Center on the northwest side of the campus is slated for a general upgrade; as is the 23,000 square foot Toles Learning Center, which houses the school’s Horgan Library and a series of classrooms and technology labs. Additional Bond C funding at NMMI will be used to update just under 50 bathrooms and showers in the school’s barracks buildings, while converting an existing weight training area to locker rooms and shower space for the women’s softball complex. The only state-supported military college in the West, NMMI has an enrollment of just under 1,000 students. Altogether, Bond C will provide $156.3 million in funding for higher education institutions, special public schools, and tribal school infrastructure construction and upgrade projects. By Garry Boulard |
Get stories like these right to your inbox.
|