![]() Three major construction industry subcategories saw employment increases in June, according to the most recent numbers issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, representing a now nearly 3% increase over where things stood a year ago. Altogether, the BLS notes that industry employment is up by a healthy 235,000 new jobs since June of 2023, with the greatest growth seen in the nonresidential category with 177,700 new jobs. The latest figures, said Anirban Basu, chief economist with the Associated Builders and Contractors, mean one thing for certain: "Despite indications that the broader economy is slowing, the construction industry continued to add jobs at a rapid pace in June." In a statement, Basu added that most likely the nation's builders would have reported even stronger numbers, "if not for ongoing labor shortages." Nonresidential specialty contractors saw an 3.4% in the last year, representing 92,600 new jobs; with heavy and civil engineering jobs up by 3.6%, or 39,700 new jobs. The numbers were slightly less, but still on the upside, among residential specialty trade contractors with a 1.5% increase, representing 34,700 new jobs. In the larger economy, more than 206,000 new jobs were added in June, with the largest increases coming in the public sector at around 70,000; and the nation's healthcare industry, reporting 48,600 new positions. Those 206,000 new jobs, said Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, means that the "prime age labor participation rate hit a 22-year high, and the unemployment rate remains low at 4.1%." Appearing in the publication Forbes, Eli Amdur, economics columnist, took issue with the notion that the latest job figures, while still on the upside, represent an economy that is cooling down. In the context of what people are actually earning, said Amdur, "the current rate of wage increase, 3.9%, once again significantly outpaces inflation, which is at 3.2%. Every industrialized nation on earth would trade their numbers for ours if they could." For all of that, The Hill newspaper, in looking at those same numbers, remarked: "Wage growth has generally been declining since it hit 5.9% in March 2022." By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Unsplash
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New Multi-Family Project Set for Construction in Underdeveloped Section of Booming Fort Collins7/9/2024 ![]() Plans have been announced for the construction of a new residential project on the northeast side of Fort Collins that will see the building of 344 multi-family units. The project belongs to the real estate company Thompson Thrift, and will see the building of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units on the southeast corner of E. Vine Drive and N. Lemay Avenue in a mostly rural, undeveloped part of the city. That 17-acre site will also see the building of a fitness center, swimming pool, firepits, and dog park. Further exterior amenities are set to include an outdoor entertainment kitchen. What is being called the Landing at Lemay is being defined as a Class A residence and will additionally include electric charging station facilities. In a statement, Josh Purvis, managing residential partner for Thompson Thrift, said the Landing at Lemay is in response to Fort Collins' ongoing growth, which has seen the city's population jump from 118,000 two decades ago to more than 170,000 today. Some estimates have forecast that the city will reach the 185,000 mark before the end of the decade. That growth, said Purvis, has also created a "strong demand for upscale multi-family housing." Work on the project is expected to launch later this summer, with an anticipated completion date of late 2025. Established in 1986, Thompson Thrift, named in honor of founding partners John Thompson and Paul Thrift, is headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana. The company is currently working on a project called Alta25 in Colorado Springs. That project, with 264 luxury units, is expected to be completed this fall. By Garry Boulard Historic and Unique Log Cabin Building Near Downtown Albuquerque May See Renovation and Upgrade Work7/8/2024 ![]() An effort is underway to preserve and reinforce a structure in Albuquerque that was once the home to a prominent architect and later a gathering spot for area newspaper and TV reporters. Located at 201 Highland Park Circle SE, a block to the west of Interstate 25, the three-story Whittlesey House is named after Charles Whittlesey, a prominent southwest architect who designed, among other structures, the former Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque and the El Tovar Hotel near the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Built in 1903, the nearly 5,000-square-foot log house was Whittlesey’s home until 1908. It was subsequently lived in by a series of owners before becoming the home, in 1960, to the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. The structure was finally purchased in 1973 by the non-profit Albuquerque Press Club, serving as a meeting place for local media, with room for both business and private functions. Now the Club has launched a fund-raising campaign designed to support structural work for a building that sits on a hilltop with a foundation that may be less than solid. The Club’s Whittlesey House Preservation Foundation, according to its website, is “dedicated to the maintenance and renovation” of the building. Several months ago, a Go Fund Me effort was announced for the project, with a fundraising goal of $50,000. The structure has been particularly valued by architectural historians for its large fireplace made of volcanic rock, dormer windows, and pitched ceiling. Noted the Albuquerque Tribune in 1973: the building was particularly unique owing to an “exterior appearance of a Norwegian villa,” even while being furnished inside with Southwestern style Indian rugs and pots. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Whittlesey House Preservation Foundation ![]() A depressing combination of declining demand and continued high interest rates is serving to hamper the nation’s apartment industry, according to an exclusive just published by the New York Times. The publication notes that rental building owners are particularly feeling a crunch across the states of the Sun Belt, reporting that while the number of owners no longer making payments on their mortgages remains low, “analysts worry that as many as 20% of all loans on apartment properties could be at risk of default.” Currently, less than 2% of such loans are 30 days or more delinquent. That figure is particularly striking when compared with rates of up to 7% for office building loans, and 6% for retail space and hotel loans. The paper continues: “Industry groups, rating agencies, and research firms are worried that many more apartment loans could become distressed.” The potential for trouble has also been observed by the company Mortgage Professional America, a mortgage industry information service, which noted last week that the reason for the Sun Belt worries is simple: that’s where “many developers built apartment complexes to meet expected demand during the pandemic.” But the Sun Belt influx of new residents, continues the MPA in a news analysis, has slowed since the initial year of the Covid 19 outbreak, “leading to an oversupply of luxury apartments.” In a survey of some 19 Sun Belt cities that included Atlanta, Miami, Austin, and Phoenix, it was noted that a record total of 216,000 new units were completed last year, “but demand fell to 95,000 renters.” While investors may currently be nervous thinking about where the apartment market is headed, industry professionals note that apartment building projects can be financed through both the Federal National Mortgage Association as well as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, providing a safety net not provided to all real estate sectors. Meanwhile, the number of new apartment building projects has seen a late spring decline. According to the National Association of Home Builders, the number of apartments under construction in May had fallen to 914,000. That’s the lowest count recorded since September of 2022, and a significant 11% drop from July of last year. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Unsplash ![]() A plan is moving forward for the creation of a technology campus of more than 150 acres on the southeast side of Mesa, Arizona. The project belongs to the Mesa-based Pacific Proving LLC, which wants to build a data center on a vacant desert site at northeast corner of South Crimson Road and East Pecos Road. In order to make the project a reality, Pacific Proving, via its legal representative Gammage & Burnham LLC, wants to annex two separate sites, one measuring 42 acres and the other 130 acres. As proposed, the project would include 11 buildings with a total footprint of more than 2 million square feet. A separate structure measuring 150,000 square feet would be used for offices, with one additional building, at 95,000 square feet, to house a warehouse. The project is regarded as a hyperscale development, encompassing 360 megawatts of capacity. One of the largest landowners in southeast Mesa, Pacific Proving is also planning to build an electric substation on the site to supply additional power. In city documents, the company has said that it plans to use a closed-loop water cooling system for each of the project's data halls. Located 18 miles to the southeast of Phoenix, Mesa is part of a metropolitan swath that has emerged in recent years as one of the country's largest data center facility markets. An industry report released in late 2022 listed the metro area as the fifth largest of its kind for data center development. Earlier this spring, Google revealed plans for the construction of a second data center in Mesa, measuring around 280,000 square feet. That facility follows the construction of an initial 288,000-square-foot data center scheduled for completion in the summer of 2025. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay ![]() An effort to reduce the hurdles often standing in the way of a new small business is now underway in Boulder. Members of the Boulder City Council have voted in favor of an ordinance that takes effect this month and is designed to reduce the time it takes to get approval for various development applications. “This is a huge positive step forward,” Mayor Aaron Brockett remarked of the ordinance, which is the result of a study begun last year by the city’s Planning and Development Services Department. A more streamlined process, say city officials, could reduce a waiting time that has been as long as more than half a year to just a matter of weeks. The new process may also prove particularly welcome for a project involving new construction or the renovation of an existing structure. According to city documents, the streamlining effort includes “transitioning all development review services online, while also integrating in-person and telephone assistance.” The new ordinance comes after Boulder earlier this year adopted an official Citywide Strategic Plan exploring how to “streamline processes for housing, parking, infrastructure, land use, and events that tie directly to priority community outcomes.” In taking on a more streamlined approach, the city may well find itself reducing roughly “40% of call-up memos developed by staff and reviewed by the Planning Board.” According to the publication Boulder Reporting Lab the changes to the process come after businesses in the city have complained about “long wait times, and bureaucratic hassles, costing them time and money.” Such dynamics are particularly on display, continues the publication, for “businesses and residents unfamiliar with how to navigate the city’s permitting process.” Project applicants in recent years in Boulder have asserted that compounding their problems has been a planning department that became understaffed during Covid 19. That department is now thought to be back to pre-pandemic staffing levels. According to the website crowdspring.com, city governments across the country are increasingly trying to reduce the amount of paperwork needed to start a business. In this effort, nine cities in the West - Austin, Boulder, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Provo, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Francisco - are rated as the “best cities in the United States for startups and entrepreneurs.” By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay ![]() A series of Walgreen stores are now set to be closed in Boulder, Denver, and Longmont, Colorado, as well as Albuquerque and Los Lunas in New Mexico. The Deerfield, Illinois chain, with more than 8,700 stores, has announced that it is closing nearly one hundred of its locations in all regions of the country as part of a new strategy to increase revenue. In announcing the store closings, Tim Wentworth, Walgreen chief executive officer, remarked: “We continue to face a difficult operating environment, including persistent pressures on the U.S. consumer and the impact of recent marketplace dynamics which have eroded pharmacy margins.” In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Wentworth added: “Our results and outlook reflect these headwinds.” Launched in Chicago in 1901 as a neighborhood grocery store, Walgreens saw rapid growth during the 1930s and 40s because of its drugstore service and famous soda fountain malted milks. By 1984 Walgreens had opened more than 1,000 stores, a rate of growth that quickly accelerated in the decades to come, with the year 2003 seeing the chain hitting the 4,000-store mark and more than doubling that figure in the following decade. The rapid growth, according to some industry analysts, may have left Walgreens overextended. In announcing the store closings, a focus on locations that are considered to be underperforming is implied. Stores that are located too closely together are particularly targeted for closure. Another half dozen Walgreens on the West coast, where theft has become an increasing problem, are also soon to be history. According to a company statement sent to USA Today, Walgreens said that about “25% of its stores are not contributing to the chain’s long-term strategy.” By Garry Boulard ![]() The Almere, Netherlands-based semiconductor manufacturing giant ASM International is moving forward with plans to build its new headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. The project will see the construction of a 250,000-square-foot main facility to go up on a 20-acre campus. In a statement, ASM chief executive office Benjamin Loh said the new facility will "substantially expand our research and development activities, further strengthening Arizona as a hub for top-notch semiconductor innovation." Beginning operations in 1968, ASM today is a world leader in the manufacturing of semiconductor wafer processing equipment for the fabrication of semiconductor devices. The company, with around $2.7 billion in annual revenue, has facilities throughout Europe and Asia. It opened its first U.S. location in Phoenix in 1976. It is expected that ASM will spend upwards of $300 million over the course of the next five years designing and building its new Arizona facilities. According to published sources, the Scottsdale facility will also house a research and development lab, global training center, and supply chain and manufacturing engineering space. In an earlier press release, the company said the $300 million will fund a "combination of capital expenditures related to infrastructure and lab equipment and includes operational expenses such as the additional research and engineering jobs created with the expansion." By Garry Boulard ![]() A park site nearly 20 miles to the east of downtown El Paso may soon see extensive construction work. The Beast Urban Park is already the home of a modern recreation center that houses a popular swimming pool, gymnasium, and computer center. Now, according to plans released by the City of El Paso, it could also see the building of four new baseball fields and two basketball courts. Additional plans call for half a dozen pickleball courts at the park's site, which is located at 13501 Jason Crandall Drive, not to mention two sand volleyball courts. According to city sources, the project, which has been subject to public input meetings, will also see the building of two pavilion shelters and the installation of landscaping and irrigation systems. Altogether, it is expected that it will cost nearly $7 million to undertake the park's long-discussed expansion project, with work expected to begin in spring of next year. The Beast Urban Park, built on desert land for an underserved community, opened in the spring of 2021. Funding for the 92-acre park, which was given its unique name through a public naming contest, is coming out of what's left of the big Quality of Life Bond approved by voters 12 years ago. Work on the park is expected to be completed by the summer of 2026. By Garry Boulard ![]() After the big Covid 19-inspired boom, self-storage asking rents have been on a downward slope, a trend giving little evidence of ending any time soon, says a new industry survey. According to the latest Self Storage National Report, published by the Scottsdale, Arizona-based Yardi Matrix, the average rental price per square foot at $16.44 nationally is 4.5% lower than where things stood in May of 2023. A year ago, the average price per square food stood at $17.36. The decline is connected with several larger trends: continued high interest rates and the impact those rates have had on the U.S. housing market. The rate drop has hit both climate-controlled and non-climate-controlled spaces nationally, with the decrease ranging anywhere from 1.2% in New York to a high of 9.1% in Atlanta. Rent declines have showed up everywhere, with more than 5% drops in Philadelphia, Charleston, Tampa, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. In looking at the big Texas market, Yardi Matrix noted rent growth increases in Austin and Houston, while Dallas and San Antonio have "underperformed on rent growth." The burden of high interest rates, meanwhile, will "continue to influence storage demand from home sales." The home sales trend, continues the report, will "impact self-storage transaction activities well into the next year, despite substantial pools of dry powder waiting on the sidelines." Whatever the latest rates, new self-storage construction remains strong, with a total of 76.1 million square feet nationally now being built. That construction rate growth ranges from less than 1% in San Jose, to 7.4% in Orlando. Phoenix saw a construction increase of 4.5%, while Denver stood at 1.4%. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Unsplash |
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