During a season of increased border crossings, President Biden has announced that he is approving construction of a section of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The new project is going to be paid for out of funds that were previously approved by Congress during the Trump administration. In a statement, Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Homeland Security Department, remarked that the building of the new section represented "no new Administration policy with respect to border walls." On the contrary, continued Mayorkas, "From day one, this Administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer." But Mayorkas also remarked that the Administration's hand was forced in the matter simply because the funding for the project had earlier been approved, requiring that the funds must eventually be spent. In a press conference, Biden said he tried to get Congressional members to rescind the original appropriation, but those members turned down his request. "In the meantime," said Biden, "there's nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated." According to sources, the new 20-mile wall will go up in Starr County in south Texas in an area that has seen around 245,000 undocumented entries since last October. A notice regarding the project and published in the Federal Registry stated: "There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas." Building a wall along the border was a Trump administration priority. During the former president's four-year term some 450 miles of barriers were built. Upon taking office in January of 2021, Biden issued a proclamation declaring that "no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall." Although no specific date for when work on the new wall will begin, Mayorkas in his official statement also remarked: "This Administration believes that effective border security requires a smarter and more comprehensive approach, including state-of-the-art border surveillance technology and modernized ports of entry." Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has officially called the Texas State Legislature into special session beginning on October 9 with the goal of pushing for several initiatives including "legislation to impede illegal entry into Texas by providing more funding for the construction, operation, and maintenance of border barrier infrastructure." By Garry Boulard
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Some Congressional analysts are speculating that the sudden and dramatic overthrow of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will make it more difficult to avoid a government shutdown next month. McCarthy was voted out as House Speaker on October 3 due to a lack of support among his own caucus. He is the first Speaker in history to be so removed. But because McCarthy was instrumental in rounding up Congressional support for a temporary funding bill designed to keep the government running until November 17, worries that a government shutdown may finally become reality have become general. "A mid-November US government shutdown, already a serious risk, is increasingly likely following the toppling of Speaker Kevin McCarthy," notes Congressional reporter Erik Wasson for the news service Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs analysts, according to the publication Barron's, are forecasting that the "ouster of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker raises the odds of a government shutdown later in the quarter." The Washington Post agrees: "Kevin McCarthy's ouster from the House Speakership Tuesday appears to have increased the risk that the U.S. Government will shut down next month." The paper additionally notes that the "chaos on the House floor is eating into the time necessary to forge a bipartisan agreement on spending." The outlook for specific fiscal legislation appears equally doubtful. According to Glenn Thompson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, a new five-year farm bill may be doomed simply because of the time it may take to elect a new Speaker. "Without a Speaker, you can't do anything," Thompson remarked to the publication Roll Call. Because it takes more than a few weeks to bring an appropriations bill to the House floor, time in the lower chamber is currently a precious commodity. "Every day we lose our ability to get something done by November 17," Connecticut Representative Rosa De Lauro, remarked to the Post. But other observers say that once a new Speaker is elected, attention in the House will almost entirely be focused on the mid-November budget deadline. Nominations for the next Speaker are expected to be formally made next week on October 11. By Garry Boulard Work is continuing on pace with the three-phase expansion of the always-busy Jeppeson Terminal at the Denver International Airport, with its famous roof design made to appear like the peaks of the Rocky Mountains. That terminal, which is the airport's only terminal, is slated for new TSA checkpoints, as well as additional check-in counters, and four new concourses. In a press conference, Phil Washington, chief executive officer of the DIA, remarked that the ongoing Jeppeson work is of a piece with a long-range view of facility improvements at what is the country's third largest airport, which in the first half of this year accommodated a record 36.5 million passengers. Airport officials have estimated that by December, DIA will have scored yet one more record: 79 million passengers for the entire year. Washington said planning at the airport currently also means "looking out to 2045 as well, because I think it is our responsibility as infrastructure professionals to prepare for the next generation of passengers that come through here, even 20 or 30 years from now." DIA officials had earlier forecast that the airport was expected to support upwards of 100 million passengers a year by 2032. But it’s now expected that that number may well be reached by the end of the decade. By Garry Boulard Plans are now advancing for the construction of a mixed-use housing project that will go up in the downtown Albuquerque neighborhood of Barelas. The company Palindrome Communities, which is based in Portland, Oregon, earlier proposed building an affordable housing project that would also include some retail space and a taproom. Property for the site, at the intersection of 2nd Street and Santa Fe, directly across from the Albuquerque Rail Yards, was purchased by Palindrome in 2008. Although a zoning change for the project was approved last spring by the Albuquerque City Council, a local group known as the People's Housing Project announced its opposition to that change, charging that Palindrome was not concerned with the best interests of the neighborhood. The group also said the zoning change was adopted too quickly and without proper research. But ultimately the council unanimously voted to maintain the zoning change for the project. Palindrome has spearheaded a number of highly visible projects in Albuquerque, including the redevelopment of the famous El Vado Motel at 2500 Central Avenue SW. The company is currently undertaking a makeover of the Imperial Inn Motel at 701 Central Avenue NE. By Garry Boulard Long-Term Picture for Industrial Space Looking Good; Short Term Not So Certain, Says New Report10/5/2023 The supply of industrial property, after an overall construction increase in the last several years, may well be looking at a decline in the next two years. So suggests a report just released by the Scottsdale-based Yardi Matrix, a premiere commercial real estate data firm. In its National Report: Industrial Rent, Occupancy and Supply Recap, Yardi Matrix notes that just "204.3 million square feet of industrial space has been started so far in 2023." That's a significant decline from the 614.1 million recorded last year and the 586 million square feet seen in 2021. Reasons for the slowdown are many but include the fact that "demand for industrial space normalized from the significant levels seen in previous years." At the same time, "interest rate hikes and stricter lending standards have made construction financing more expensive and harder to come by." Meanwhile, spec development has become a riskier proposition, continues the report, "due to inflation hitting material and labor costs, as well as general economic uncertainty." Such factors should be enough to cloud the picture for any future industrial space work, but the Yardi Matrix report instead predicts "the long-term outlook for industrial development remains positive." Fueling this positive forecast, the report notes that logistics demand has normalized, while e-commerce sales trends are currently conforming to a "pre-pandemic trend line." This means that a large number of firms may subsequently move from a "just in-time inventory management to just-in-case, which reduces exposure to supplier delays, but requires more warehouse space." Even more, in keeping with the many business media reports charting the decline of actual retail space, "online sales require more logistics space than brick and mortar because distribution networks need to be larger and decentralized to deliver goods quickly." The report makes note of the "massive multi-billion-dollar semiconductor and electric vehicle facilities" that are being built across the country, driven in large part by "government incentives and geopolitical trends." This means an increased presence in such places as Phoenix and Austin, among other cities, both to support semiconductor and electric vehicle facilities. Competition for such space, predicts the report, will increase after "deliveries slow in 2024 and 2025." "We anticipate," continues the report, "that starts will pick up again in 2026." By Garry Boulard A firm based in Madison, Wisconsin that has developed technology to detect cancer has announced plans to build a massive new facility in Phoenix. The Exact Sciences Corporation says it wants to build a new 250,000 square-foot facility that will expand the footprint in the city it already has with its current downtown facilities located at the Translational Genomics Research Institute building. The molecular diagnostics company, founded in 1995, has focused on the prevention of colorectal cancer. Besides its current facilities in Phoenix, the company also operates a 169,000 square-foot clinical laboratory and warehouse in Madison. The new Phoenix facility will be built on vacant land just to the west of the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and will include laboratory and office space. According to documents submitted to the City of Phoenix, the new building will also house a manufacturing and warehouse area. The site for the project is more specifically located at the northeast corner of North Sky Harbor Circle and Buckeye Road. By Garry Boulard The largest community college in southern New Mexico is asking local voters to approve a $16 million bond next month that will be used to fund a variety of facility projects. According to the official ballot language for the proposal, the $16 million will generally be used for "remodeling and equipping buildings and utility facilities," as well as acquiring land and "making other real property improvements." Headquartered in Las Cruces, Dona Ana Community College is a thriving institution of higher learning with six different campuses and an enrollment of more than 7,000 students. If approved, just over $2.8 million will target such specific projects as classroom configuration efforts, along with room furnishes, among other items, as a part of the school's larger classroom renovation master plan. A smaller $1.4 million of the bond will target improved security and safety system work at all of the school's campuses, while $1.1 million is set for facility repair and maintenance projects, also at all of the campuses. According to DACC officials, the $16 million general bond will be combined with another $16 million in state funding to take on all of the institution's facility work. Should the bond proposal prove successful it would officially authorize the Advisory Board of the New Mexico State University Dona Ana Community College District to authorize the bonds. Dona Ana Community College's other campuses are located in Anthony, Chaparral, and Sunland Park. The school's current more than 6,000 student enrollment is up from 5,200 students recorded in the fall 2014 semester. By Garry Boulard A well-known children’s products and goods store chain that declared bankruptcy several years ago is planning to make a location comeback. The Toys R Us company, which closed its final stores in America around five years ago, has announced that it plans to open a series of what it calls “flagship stores” in some two dozen locations across the country. The brand, which was purchased by the company WHP Global, plans to also open smaller shops in airports, with the first such location expected to be open for business next month inside the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Founded in Washington, D.C. in 1957, Toys R Us had nearly 750 stores at its height, initially selling baby furniture before it expanded into a wide array of children’s toys and clothing. The company’s sales began to decline in the 1990s due to competition from such big box retailers as Walmart, Target, and Costco. The emergence of online retail giant Amazon, beginning in 1994, only made things tougher. Finally in 2017, Toys R Us, confronting reported debts of around $5 billion, announced it was filing for bankruptcy. But now the company has said it plans to launch a new and unique strategy seeing it opening stores in such unusual places as airports and on cruise ships. Toys R Us has also opened locations inside the more than 500 stores run by the Macy’s department store chain. In a statement, Yehuda Shmidman, chief executive officer of the New York-based WHP Global, remarked that Toys R Us is “growing fast and our expansion into air, land, and sea is testament to the brand’s strength.” Shmidman also disclosed that the company has increased its “global retail footprint by more than 50%” with openings in locations Great Britain, India, and Mexico, among other countries. Former Toys R Us stores measured around 45,000 square feet, while some of its locations in smaller markets came in at around 25,000 square feet. It is not certain if WHP Global plans to build any new stand-alone stores for the brand. By Garry Boulard A final hurdle has been cleared for the building of 640 new homes in Fort Collins. The project belongs to the company Landmark Homes, which is based in Windsor and has a focus on the development of residential communities in northern Colorado. Set for construction to the rear of the Front Range Village Shopping Center, between Ziegler Road and Corbett Drive, the project will see also see the construction of some 40,000 square feet of commercial, day care, office, and retail space. Plans for the project also include a bike and pedestrian pathway connection to the nearby English Ranch neighborhood. Site for the new project is around 6 miles to the southeast of downtown Fort Collins in an area of mostly recent residential and commercial development. The project, which has been in the talking and planning stage for well over a year, has now won the unanimous approval of the Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Commission. Members of the Fort Collins City Council had earlier sent the proposal back to the planning and zoning commission after several residents expressed concerns over traffic issues, in particular asking for a new traffic light on Hidden Pond Drive in the planned development area. Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission, however, rejected calls for a new traffic light, saying they thought such concerns were overstated. According to city documents, the project originally called for up to 50,000 square feet of commercial and community space. Landmark Homes, which was launched in 2005, has specialized in single-family, condominium, and town home projects, and has spearheaded planned community developments in Fort Collins, Longmont, and Loveland, among other Colorado cities. By Garry Boulard A plan to substantially upgrade and renovate a well-known Albuquerque hotel has taken a big step forward with the securing of $39.5 million in funds to help the project along. Located at 5151 San Francisco NE, the hotel was opened in the fall of 1986 and originally branded as a Holiday Inn Pyramid. It became the Crowne Plaza Pyramid several years later before finally turning into the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North. In September the Albuquerque-based Legacy Development & Management purchased the 310-room hotel, announcing plans to spend upwards of $22 million renovating it. At the time of the purchase, Aleem Kassam, chief executive officer of Legacy, told the Albuquerque Journal that the plan was to “renovate and modernize the entire hotel while keeping the Pyramid’s distinct southwestern style intact.” Now that plan is advancing with a vote by members of the Bernalillo County Commission to approve $39.5 million in industrial revenue bonds that will be used for the project. The renovation work, which is expected to take at least two years to complete, will also see upgrades to the hotel’s exterior. Located within the Journal Center Business Complex, the hotel is visually known for its Santa Fe-style architecture and Aztec pyramid design, as well as its 10-story atrium. The Legacy company has made a name for itself with large hotel redevelopment projects in New Mexico, Washington, and Oregon, among other places. It is most known in the Albuquerque area for its renovation and upgrading of the historic 10-story Hotel Andaluz, which was built in 1939 by famed hotelier Conrad Hilton. By Garry Boulard |
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