![]() Focusing on the growing senior population of southern Arizona, the Humana company has announced it is building nine health care centers designed to offer services to that demographic. One of the largest health insurance companies in the country, and ranking 41 on the Fortune 500 list, Humana will open the new facilities under its CenterWell Senior Primary Care brand, with the first center already opened in the Phoenix suburb of Maryville. Other centers are slated for Groves, Sun City, Glendale, South Mountain, and Peoria, all slated to open between now and early 2023. In a press release the company said that three other locations are planned for Alhambra, Riverview, and Wildflower, with scheduled opening dates to be announced later. In a statement, Daryl Young, president of CenterWell, said, “Phoenix is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, and a good portion of that growth is in the senior population.” Young added that with the company focusing on what he called “underserved communities,” CenterWell will bring a “new level of access to quality, coordinated care to seniors in this important market.” CenterWell has facilities up and running throughout the Sunbelt, from North Carolina to Nevada. Earlier this month, Humana announced that is rebranding its Kindred at Home health division as CenterWell facilities, adding 350 locations to the company’s footprint. By Garry Boulard
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![]() A plan on the part of Vail Resorts company to build new affordable residential units in the expensive housing market of Vail is meeting with resistance from city leaders. The ski resorts company has decided to wage a legal challenge to the Town of Vail in response to a Vail Town Council vote blocking construction of the project. The Vail Resorts suit has been filed in the Eagle County District Court and seeks to invalidate the council vote. Some four months ago, Vail Resorts officially announced plans to build housing on the east side of the city, off the Interstate 70 Frontage Road, providing enough living space for up to 165 employees of the company. The move came in the wake of a series of studies showing the average rent in the city for a one-bedroom apartment as above the $1,800 mark. Although the project, in its talking stage, won the support of city leaders, opposition made itself known this summer with some residents saying they were worried about the impact the new housing might have on the area bighorn sheep population. In a statement, Bill Rock, executive vice president of Vail Resorts, asserted that the Town of Vail has not previously attempted to “block any of the new home construction, or condemn any of the more than 100 luxury homes, in the same sheep habitat.” Based in Bloomfield, Colorado, Vail Resorts operates some 40 mountain resorts in four countries. In 2021, the company recorded revenues in excess of $1.9 billion. It is not known when the Eagle County District will make a ruling in the matter. By Garry Boulard ![]() The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area ranks on a list of 15 metro areas nationally for housing construction growth, says a new report. At the same time, according to the report, Arizona and Colorado have seen housing growth in the 6% to 8% range over the last decade, putting them behind Texas with a massive housing increase of more than 16%, but far ahead of most of the states of the Midwest. Such figures, released by the San Francisco-based financial technology company Stessa, also show New Mexico with a housing growth rate of 4% to 6%, on the low side for most of the states of the West. But no states can complete with the 18% to 20% housing unit increase seen in both Utah and North Dakota. On the low side of the scale, Michigan and West Virginia had a less than 2% growth rate. Of the top 15 large metro areas experiencing the most growth, nearly all were located in either the South or West. The Stessa report put the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area at number 15, noting it’s 11.4% increase in housing units since 2010. The total number of housing units in metro Phoenix as of 2010 stood at 1.7 million. That number, by the end of 2020, was up to just under 2.0 million. Metro Phoenix was also singled out in the Stessa report for a 19.1% increase in population. “Record low interest rates, strong savings rates and wage growth, and shifting consumer preferences for housing were among the conditions that spurred high demand for residential real estate over the last 2 years,” the report notes, while adding that a “slowdown in the housing market could portend a recession later this year or in 2023.” By Garry Boulard ![]() The historic Santa Fe Municipal Airport will soon see the reconstruction of an existing terminal apron that airport officials have long wanted to replace. New funding for the project has just been secured through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and is part of some $2.5 million that three airports in New Mexico are receiving as a result of that legislation. “Airports are pillars of opportunity, and that’s exactly what this federal funding is going to bring,” said New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich in announcing the funding, which is officially being awarded by the Federal Aviation Administration. Nearly $293,000 in funding is going for the reconstruction of a runway pavement at the Espanola Municipal Airport, with additional work seeing the replacement of the airport’s wind cone and installation of runway identifier lights. The largest award, at just over $2 million, is going to the Albuquerque International Sunport for a project designed to improve air quality and facilitate the use of zero-emissions technologies. The funding for the Santa Fe Airport comes after airport officials earlier this year announced that the facility, which was opened in 1957, was moving ahead with a plan to expand its terminal space to around 18,500 square feet, while also tripling the number of available parking spaces. By Garry Boulard ![]() A bond proposal that will fund up to $2 million in park upgrades in Las Cruces will go before the voters in November. The proposal is one of four bond questions totaling $23 million that Las Cruces residents will decide on. The largest, at $10 million, will find the construction of a new fire station in the Sanoma Ranch section of the city. A $6 million bond will go for the creation of a housing fund designed to support a city initiative calling for the construction of up to 300 affordable housing units in the next three years. That $6 million will be used to leverage up to $36.5 million in federal, state, and private funds for the program. A third bond proposal, at $5 million, will fund phase two work at the East Mesa Public Recreation Center, located at 5589 Porter Drive. The final bond question, at $2 million, will fund restroom upgrades, new shade facilities, and playground replacement at La Llorona Park, located at 3440 W. Picacho Avenue. New shading and solar lighting is slated for the Salopek/Stull Park at 464 Sallopek Boulevard; while the Tellbrook Neighborhood Park at 4290 E. Winchester Road, is slated for the building of new exercise equipment. La Fonda Park at 1600 La Fonda Drive and the Hass Terrace Park at 500 W. Picacho Avenue will see a series of upgrades funded by the bond, including the building of new benches. By Garry Boulard ![]() Providing the latest evidence of a post-Covid 19 jobs recovery, the nation’s employment rolls increased by 315,000 in August, with the professional and business services segment leading the way with 68,000 new jobs. In just-released figures by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly every employment segment saw gains: with healthcare up by 48,000 and the retail industry seeing an increase of 44,000. Construction firms last month hired 16,000 new people, with nonresidential specialty trade contractors seeing a 5,600 increase in employment and general building contractors up by 700 new jobs. Employment in residential construction, which includes homebuilders and multifamily general contractors, saw a gain of just under 11,000 last month. Heavy and civil engineering construction firms, however, were off by 2,000 jobs. According to a recent survey published by the Associated General Contractors of America, a massive 91% of contractors said they are continuing to have a difficult time finding new workers. In a statement, Ken Simonson, chief economist with the AGC, remarked: “With the industry unemployment rate hovering below 4%, finding qualified applicants is sure to remain a major challenge.” Other employment segments seeing gains in August: leisure and hospitality, up by 31,000; manufacturing, with a 22,000 gain; and the financial activities industry, adding 17,000 jobs. In a statement accompanying the latest national figures, William Branch, Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner, said the August numbers “brings total nonfarm employment 240,000 above its February 2020 level, before the coronavirus pandemic.” The overall national job increase in August was seen as good news by economists, many of whom had earlier predicted an employment gain of no more than 290,000, although the Wall Street Journal noted that the gains were down from July’s 526,000 new jobs. “The deceleration marked a pullback from robust gains that characterized much of the past two years,” said the paper. By Garry Boulard ![]() As part of a larger move leading to the expansion of broadband throughout the country, Corning Incorporated has announced plans to build a large new manufacturing facility in Gilbert, Arizona. The new plant will focus on the production of optical cable, supplying AT&T projects. Headquartered in the city of Corning, New York, the Corning company specializes in everything from ceramics to specialty glass and advanced optics. Founded in 1851, the company has mostly produced optical fiber and cable for the communications industry out of its massive plants in Concord and Wilmington, North Carolina. The new plant in Gilbert will be the company’s western-most optical cable manufacturing site. “We believe access to broadband means access to opportunity, from education to healthcare to quality of life,” Wendell Weeks, chief executive officer of Corning, said in announcing the new Gilbert facility. Corning’s partnership with AT&T, continued Weeks, will help the company expand its “U.S. manufacturing capacity and train the next generation of American workers.” In the last two years, Corning has invested up to $500 million in fiber and cable manufacturing. Work on the new Gilbert facility is expected to begin this fall, with a planned completion date of early 2024. Corning traces its roots to 1851, when it began as the Bay State Glass Company, manufacturing a variety of glassware that eventually included the first mass produced light bulbs. By Garry Boulard ![]() Three new fire stations will be built in the growing city of Mesa, Arizona if voters in November give a thumbs up to a $157 million bond proposal. Ballot Question Number 2, if approved, would appropriate a total of $60.4 million for the construction of two new fire department facilities: Northeast Fire Station 223 and Southeast Fire Station 224, both to go up on land already owned by the city. Both facilities, according to city documents, will have four bays. Officials say the new stations are a response to a population growth seeing Mesa go from 396,000 two decades ago to nearly 510,00 people today. A third fire department project to be funded by the bond will see the demolition of the existing Fire Station 205, which is located at 730 S. Greenfield Road on the east side of the city. That one-story, two-bay facility is thought to be no longer adequate for today’s fire department needs. According to a bond information guide published by the city, a new facility to replace Fire Station 205 will be built at the same site in order to meet the “needs of the citizens as well as the fire department.” The last similar bond proposal to make it to the Mesa ballot was in 2018, when voters, by a 59% to 41% margin, gave the green light to a $196 million package for fire and police facility work, as well as park upgrades. By Garry Boulard ![]() After hitting a 13-year low in June, the Gallup survey’s Economic Confidence Index is reporting somewhat renewed views nationally regarding current economic conditions. The most recent confidence index shows that as of late July conditions were given a minus 39 reading. While that it still in the negative territory, it’s an improvement over the June numbers, which came in at minus 51. The index is designed to summarize American attitudes and assessments regarding current economic conditions and has a range of minus 100 all the way up to plus 100. To date, the highest reading on the index was a plus 56, during Bill Clinton’s last year as president and the end of what was known as the dot.com boom. Conversely, the lowest index reading came in October of 2008 just as several large Wall Street investment firms collapsed, during the initial months of the Great Recession. That reading was minus 72. Before the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic and subsequent national economic shutdown, the index was just below the plus 41 mark, quickly descending to minus 33 by April of 2020. The latest Gallup survey records 16% of respondents describing the current economy as excellent or good. Just under 50%, meanwhile, characterized the economy as poor. In June of this year, only 11% had a positive take on the economy, while 54% judged it as poor. A Gallup narrative suggested the slightly improved attitudes were partly related to “the decline in U.S. gas prices, which are now more than $1.00 lower than they were in June,” as well as a reduced unemployment rate. By Garry Boulard ![]() Work will most likely begin next year on the building of a massive life sciences complex in Superior, Colorado, 8 miles to the southeast of Boulder. The planned Coal Creek Innovation Park is expected to cost upwards of $280 million to build and will comprise three buildings, housing, office space, and labs ranging in size from 85,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet. The structures will feature 16-foot-high ceilings, as well as what is described as “flexible infrastructure” designed to accommodate any number of offices for lab and research and development uses. One more structure on the campus will provide both retail and parking space. The project jointly belongs to PMB, a healthcare real estate developer headquartered in San Diego, California, and the real estate investment firm Montgomery Street Partners, which has offices in both Dallas and New York. The project is advertising itself as “The Life Sciences Workplace Redefined,” with a campus and buildings “giving forward-thinking companies a place to thrive.” In a statement, Bill Jencks, PMB senior vice president, noted that the innovation park “represents one of the last infill sites in Boulder County located south of Boulder,” with visibility from the highway U.S. Route 36. Members of the Superior Town Board have recently given their approval to final development plans for the project. By Garry Boulard |
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