![]() The famous Punch Card Building in Phoenix, so named because a part of its facade resembles a 1960s-era vertical computer punch card may soon get a new life as a boutique hotel. The Left Lane Development company of New York has announced its intention to purchase the sleekly designed structure at 3443 North Central Avenue with the goal of substantially repurposing it. Completed in 1964 and designed by modernist architect Wenceslao Sarmiento, the 19-story building for decades served as office space for a variety of private companies and government agencies. Officially named the Phoenix Financial Center, the building, sitting on an 8-acre site, measures around 285,000 square feet and includes two adjacent 9,000 square-foot rotundas. Those rotundas, the Arizona Republic observed several years ago, feature "stained glass ceilings with geometric designs. One is mostly reddish, the other blue." In recent years the structure has been largely vacant. A plan announced in the spring of 2022 to turn the building into a multifamily structure never became reality, although some renovation work was done on the 18th floor. Now the Left Lane company is seeking to acquire the property, with plans to build just under 200 hotel rooms and 144 apartment units in the main structure, while building a second structure which will feature a spa and rooftop deck. The company is currently in the pre-application process with the City of Phoenix, with actual work on the structure not expected to begin until late 2024 or early 2025. By Garry Boulard
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![]() Safe street planning and demonstration grants with a total dollar value of more than $5.4 million have been awarded for seventeen projects in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. The funding is coming through the federal Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which has just announced grant awards totaling $82 million for 235 projects across the country. The grants are designed to help such entities as cities, counties, metropolitan planning organizations, and Tribal governments plan and design safer streets. By so doing, according to a Transportation Department press release, those entities will be better able to "understand the safety challenges in their communities, and then begin to identify solutions to make our streets, roads, and highways safer for all road users." In Arizona, five rural-based projects are receiving a total of around $2.8 million in grant funding for the development of safe street action plans in the cities of Buckeye and Yuma and Yavapai County, along with two similar plans for the Hualapai Indian Tribe and the Navajo Division of Transportation. An urban-based grant of $260,000 is going to Pinal County, also for the development of an action plan. Colorado is in line for just under $1.8 million in grant funding for eight projects, with the cities of Colorado Springs, Durango, Rifle, and Woodland Park, along with the towns of Eagle and Minturn, and the counties of Huerfano and Summit, all getting action plan development support. New Mexico is receiving $680,000 for three action plan development projects, all rural based, belonging to Curry County, Las Cruces, and the Ramah Navajo Chapter. By Garry Boulard ![]() Far from Artificial Intelligence replacing workers, the country needs greater training for the increasing number of workers who will be using the growing technology, asserts Colorado's senior U.S. Senator. In hearings conducted by the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, Senator John Hickenlooper remarked that even though movie plots have shown AI replacing humans entirely, "the reality is that in many cases AI will work hand in hand with American workers." To that end, Hickenlooper suggested that private companies should advance increased AI literacy training for workers who will be using the technology. "This technology has the potential to positively alter the way that literally all of us work," the Senator continued. But he cautioned: "We've got to find smart workforce development opportunities around AI that are inclusive, that lift up the skills of all of our workers, and to make sure that everyone thrives, that everyone has the opportunity to create their own better future and their own career." Hickenlooper additionally emphasized that such training is particularly important for workers in small businesses and rural communities. In separate remarks, Brad Newman, co-chair of the American Bar Association's AI Subcommittee, said the "AI employment context is one area where the federal government should act," adding that currently "existing laws do not adequately provide for the potential downside impact of AI." Legislation, Newman added, focusing on AI issues should encourage the establishment of worker training programs, while also requiring a 60-day notice to workers who may be replaced by AI. Such legislation, continued Newman, "will go a long way to building trust between management and the workforce when it comes to AI employment tools." By Garry Boulard ![]() The approval timeline for building projects being reviewed by the Santa Fe Historic Districts Review Board may be considerably shortened, depending upon the actions of the Santa Fe City Council. Members of the council may soon be tasked with signing off on a proposed ordinance that will provide the Historic Districts board with final approval on most projects seeking building code exemptions. As it now stands, members of the council serve a kind of project approval of last resort, determining the validity of building code exemptions earlier given a green light by the Historic Districts board. While that board previously had the authority to approve code exemptions in general, a ruling late last year by the Santa Fe City Attorney’s office mandated that the council should essentially decide on all exemption requests, leaving decisions regarding height requirement exemptions with the Historic Districts board. The City Attorney decision more specifically referenced historic design and signage standards matters. The end result, say critics of the City Attorney’s office, has made the project approval process in Santa Fe more cumbersome. “The shift has led to the council hearing a slew of historic district exemptions at the end of some meetings,” notes the Santa Fe New Mexican, “an involved process requiring petitioners to be sworn in to redeliver their presentation during a public hearing.” Other detractors have pointed out that the six-member Historic Districts board is better positioned to determine various exceptions because it is made up of subject matter experts. Earlier this month Signe Lindell, a member of the Santa Fe City Council, introduced a bill giving the Historic Districts board the authority to “approve additional exceptions, including exceptions for signs and murals; and to remove certain administrative requirements for land use staff approvals and disapprovals of signs and murals.” The board is expected to decide on the ordinance proposal in its next meeting, scheduled for November 14. If approved, the matter will then be sent to the City Council for final approval. In a city where some structures are 300 years old and more, the Historic Districts board is tasked with making certain that construction and renovation projects are undertaken in a manner that pays homage to the architecture and historic styles of other buildings in the area. By Garry Boulard ![]() Despite a historic level of employment and general wage growth across the country, a majority of Americans say that their earning powers are being eroded by persistent inflation, says a new survey. According to a poll just released by the survey company Rasmussen Reports some 55% of respondents to a questionnaire expressed frustration that in the last two years their wages have not kept up with the rate of inflation. To compensate, a majority of respondents said they have been working extra hours in response to the increase in the price of goods and services. A smaller 40% said that they felt that their current income has kept pace. An earlier survey conducted by Rasmussen indicated that an overwhelming 85% of respondents regarded inflation as a serious problem, and one that will undoubtedly be seen as a major issue in the coming 2024 president election. The current inflation rates stand at around 3.7%, which is lower than the historic covid economy rate of 7% in 2021, but higher than the 1.9% average seen between 2016 and early 2020. The latest Rasmussen survey comes as the Federal Reserve has announced its intention to leave current interest rates intact. In a press conference in Washington, Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve chairman, remarked: "Inflation has been coming down, but it's still running above our 2% target." Powell added that because the economy is generally moving in a positive direction, the Federal Reserve was unlikely to promote a new rate policy any time soon. "Given how far we have come, along with the risks and uncertainties we face, the committee is proceeding carefully." Powell went on to note that with the exception of inflation, general trends have been favorable. "Recent indicators have indicated that economic activity has been expanding at a strong pace," he said. By Garry Boulard ![]() A zoning change request has been approved for a project in Queen Creek, nearly 40 miles to the southeast of Phoenix, that will see the building of 320 residential units. To be called Elanto, the project belongs to the Church of Latter Day Saints and will go up on 55 acres on the northwest corner of W. Pima and S. Meridian roads. The site, formerly farmland, is currently vacant. Members of the Queen Creek Town Council have given their unanimous approval to a rezoning proposal for what will be a massive residential/commercial project. By design, Elanto will be a gated and build-to-rent community. Renderings of the project show a well-ordered development with neatly laid out blocks and an abundance of trees and bushes. The project will include a combination of detached single-family homes and attached homes. Larger site amenities will feature a clubhouse, dog park, and courts for the increasingly popular pickleball. Work on Elanto could begin sometime during the first quarter of next year. The Church of Latter Day Saints is thought to be one of the largest property owners in Arizona. Nationally, according to various news sources, the church owns upwards of nearly 2 million acres. As of the spring of last year, those properties were collectively valued at around $16 billion. According to a group called the Truth & Transparency Foundation, the church owns land in every state of the country, with those lands located in both urban and suburban areas. By Garry Boulard ![]() New funding coming out of Washington has been secured for a long-planned transmission line project running across the lower regions of New Mexico and Arizona. The Southline Transmission Project will see the construction of a double-circuit, 748-megawatt transmission line running around 175 miles between Hildalgo County, New Mexico, and Pima County in Arizona. New funding to the tune of $1.3 billion for the project has just been announced by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a package of three transmission projects designed, in part, to achieve national decarbonization between now and the year 2050. Such projects, said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a statement, will help to “drive down costs for American families and deliver thousands of good paying jobs for American workers, helping communities keep the lights on in the face of climate changed-induced weather events.” In announcing the awarding of the grant in ceremonies at the Apache Generating Station in Cochise, Arizona, Granholm pointed to the coming Maxeon Solar Panel Factory in Albuquerque and the American Battery Factory in Tucson and remarked: “The last thing we need is an outdated grid that is holding us back.” The Southline project, which has been in the planning stage for more than a decade, has been touted by its supporters not only for providing reliable power across a desert terrain, stretching from one existing substation to another, but also for minimizing land use by being built along existing infrastructure in the area. Two other projects receiving Energy Department funding: the Cross-Tie Transmission Line, a 214-mile 1500 megawatt line between Utah and Nevada; and the Twin States Clean Energy Link, seeing a 1,200 megawatt line built between New Hampshire and Vermont. Construction is expected to begin in early 2024, with plans for the first phase of the Southline Transmission project being operational by 2027, and the second phase completed the following year. By Garry Boulard ![]() Things have certainly been worse: consumer spending is slightly up, unemployment is down, and prices are continuing to increase, but at a modest pace. So says the newest edition of the Beige Book, officially called the Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions, reporting on general economic trends across the country. Released eight times a year, the Beige Book, published by the Federal Reserve Board, documents economic trends in the various Federal Reserve Bank districts nationally based upon interviews with bankers, businesspeople, developers, economists and others, trying to get an economic overview of what’s up and what’s down. In its just-released edition, the Beige Book notes that “consumer credit quality was generally described as stable and healthy,” tourism was up, and manufacturing activity mixed. In the 10th District of the Federal Reserve, which includes northern New Mexico and Colorado, hiring and business conditions in the last several months were mostly unchanged, while “contacts in the energy, agriculture, and commercial real estate sectors reported moderate declines in activity.” New office, retail, and industrial construction in this district “continued to perform above expectations, while Class B properties faced lower operating incomes and valuations.” The labor market in the 10th District showed slight job gains over the last month, which perhaps was indicative of filling long-vacant positions rather than actual workforce growth. In the 11th District, which is based in Dallas, and takes in Texas and southern New Mexico, “growth moderated in the service sector, but rebounded in manufacturing and energy.” Housing demand in this district “generally held up during the reporting period, despite higher mortgage rates, although contacts noted some seasonal softening.” Existing home sales dipped, while new home sales were mostly solid. Meanwhile, apartment leasing was solid, even as “rents and occupancy were largely flat as supply continued to outpace demand.” Employment growth in the service sector appeared moderate, but “rebounded in manufacturing and energy.” Economic activity in the 12th District, which includes all of Arizona, was stable with robust retail sales, and prices and wages both increasing. Activity in residential real estate slowed just a little, while inventories of single-family homes remained tight as “owners with existing lower-rate mortgages stayed out of the market.” Employment levels in this district, it was also noted, slightly eased as “labor supply and demand came into better balance.” The report added: “Hiring was somewhat easier with contacts reporting more job applicants, higher quality candidates, and lower employee turnover.” By Garry Boulard ![]() A study is being undertaken in Colorado that could lead to the building of a passenger rail line stretching nearly 200 miles and connecting Denver on the east to the city of Craig in the west. Funding has been secured by the Colorado Department of Transportation to study the project, which has won support from a wide variety of state and local officials. In a statement, Governor Jared Polis said the new rail line would represent a "just transition for communities moving away from coal production, cutting traffic and reducing pollution." Those outcomes are all regarded, added the Governor, as "some of my administration's top priorities." Prospects for what would be a mountain rail service have improved in recent months with a decline in coal train traffic, which has, in turn, prompted the Union Pacific company to entertain other uses for its regional rail route. "We have an unusual confluence of favorable conditions in place right now," Shoshana Lew, CDOT's executive director, was quoted as saying in the publication Mass Transit. Lew added: "This is a rare opportunity for us to get significant funding for a project we know is very doable." According to a press release issued by the CDOT, the next step in making the project become reality will see the gathering of public input from residents living in communities along the rail route, and continued planning with Union Pacific. A former line ran roughly along the same route, but was discontinued in 1968, during a time when the Coloradoan newspaper remarked that "passenger service is declining at a geometric rate." In fact, passenger rail traffic nationally declined by a remarkable 84% during the first two decades after World War II, as more and more Americans turned to automobiles as their primary means of transportation. Passenger rail advocates, however, have noted a return to passenger rail service in the county's largest metro areas in the last two decades. Earlier this month, the Federal Railroad Administration announced that it was targeting $1.4 billion in funds for new passenger rail line construction and upgrade projects. By Garry Boulard Small School District in New Mexico Village Asking Voters for Facility Improvements Funding10/31/2023 ![]() Voters in the village of Maxwell in northeastern New Mexico will decide next week on a property tax question, the revenue of which will go for a variety of school facility projects. Last spring members of the Maxwell Municipal School District's governing board voted to put on this November's ballot a question asking voters to approve a property tax of $2 on every $1,000 of property for a variety of facility projects. The revenue, by design, will also target the construction of teacher housing, while also acquiring and improving school grounds. Located at 412 Parque Avenue, the Maxwell Municipal Schools is made up of three primary facilities and has a total enrollment of around 120 students. According to information provided by the school district, the property tax revenues may also be applied to the installation of education technology improvements. District voters in May overwhelmingly approved a $1.1 million obligation bond designed to pay for facility heating and cooling system improvements and security upgrades. The larger village of Maxwell has a population of around 224 people, according to the most recent Census Bureau statistics, and was founded in the late 1870s as a way station for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. By Garry Boulard |
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