![]() In an effort to provide transitional youth housing, the City of Albuquerque is purchasing and planning to upgrade a two-story, 106-room hotel on the northeast side of the city. The San Mateo Inn at 2424 San Mateo Boulevard NE was formerly a Motel 6, and before that a La Quinta Inn location. It has been branded as the San Mateo Inn for the last two years. The City has purchased the 25,200-square-foot building for $4.7 million for a project using local, State of New Mexico, and federal funds. The idea behind what is being called the Young Adult Housing Navigation Center is to provide shelter for up to 90 days for young people aged 15 to 25 years of age who are out on the street. The problem may be bigger than imagined: according to a study published two years ago by the Beltsville, Maryland-based Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation there are up to just a little over 2,300 people in Bernalillo County in that age range with no place to live. As envisioned, the program will be run along the lines of the City’s current temporary family housing effort which is tasked with providing housing for three months before transitioning residents into something permanent. Upgrades to the hotel, which was built in 1970 and saw some renovation in 2018, may see a reconfiguring of the rooms in order to accommodate more shelter space. It is thought that work on the building will most likely be completed by the summer of 2025. The City has found potential in repurposing older and underperforming hotels for affordable housing purposes. Last year saw the purchase of the former 104-room Sure Stay Hotel near the intersection of Lomas Boulevard and Eubank Boulevard. That $11 million project, with the 30-year-old hotel renamed the Los Altos Lofts, reduced the overall room count of the structure to around 90 studio and single-bedroom apartments. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay
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New Harvard Report Sees Lack of New Trades Workers as Major Construction Industry Challenge6/7/2024 ![]() An ongoing shortage of construction trade professionals is continuing to plague the industry, even though overall employment is up, says a new study issued by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies. The study, Rebuilding the Construction Trades Workforce, notes that there are currently one million fewer workers in the construction trades than there were roughly two decades ago. The shortage, all too familiar to construction company owners, stems from the “difficulty the industry has had attracting and retaining young people, women, and people of color.” But the industry has also been challenged in trying to find “new immigrant trades workers who have historically filled the labor gaps.” Result: By the end of 2022, the industry had roughly 6.2 million people working in construction trade occupations, a figure that had been slowly moving upward over the preceding two years, but was still significantly below the nearly 7 million seen in 2007. Ironically, as policy makers in Washington debate the impact of ongoing large numbers of people coming over the U.S./Mexico border, the “flow of new immigrants into the construction industry is down significantly," asserts the study. The last decade charted that immigrant labor flow at around 45,000 annually, down from the 88,000 seen in the first decade of this century. The study also looks at the challenge of the industry trying to recruit younger people to enter the professional trades. Referencing a National Association of Home Builders survey, it notes that the construction trades in general are “an unpopular career choice for young adults, with only 3% indicating it is a field they would like to pursue.” Not all is gloom, however: “Several notable initiatives aim to expose younger generations to trades through the expansion of vocational training and apprenticeship programs." Those programs, such as the Washington-based Building Talent Foundation, are providing students with “hands-on experience and technical skills training in construction trades such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, and masonry.” The study also notes that the industry has in general made efforts to promote diversity and inclusion, particularly in regards to addressing a lack of women in the field. The gains have been on the marginal side, but still appear to be moving in the right direction. While women make up around 11% of the industry’s workforce, their numbers are higher at 14.5% when it comes to architecture and engineering jobs. In management, they are at around 14%. While the overall numbers in various demographic groupings are incremental, the Harvard study concludes that industry initiatives aimed at increasing the number of underrepresented populations in the trades have proven successful. In an advocacy note, the study adds: “Complementary immigration policies would help to ensure that the trades workforce avoids future costly gaps in labor supply.” By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Unsplash ![]() A new law in Arizona allowing for the construction of smaller homes on lots previously designated for a single home is expected to boost needed housing in the Grand Canyon State. As proposed earlier this year in the Arizona State Legislature, the measure HB 2721 has been signed into law by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, with hopes that it will open the way for increased housing construction on defined lots. In approving the bill, Hobbs said she hoped it will "expand housing options and help mitigate the effects of rising costs to make life more affordable for everyday Arizonans." As originally proposed by Republican Representative Michael Carbone, the bill allows for the construction of what are popularly called "missing middle" homes within a central city or residential development project area comprising 10 acres or more. Missing middle homes are typically structures such as townhomes and duplexes that are smaller in square footage and usually less expensive to build than the average single-family home. According to a recent study issued by the Sightline Institute of Seattle, such homes also have the potential of greatly reducing carbon impact simply because, being smaller, they require less energy to heat or cool. Ultimately, the bill will allow for purchasing options for would-be home buyers that don't currently exist in Arizona, said Carbone. As quoted in the San Tan Sun News, the lawmaker took issue with ongoing large home construction, which is often in excess of 4,000 and 5,000 square feet. "We can't have those big houses anymore," he remarked, "they're not attainable based on income." By Garry Boulard ![]() Plans are moving on pace for the building of what is being described as a “regional shopping center” in the city of Buckeye, Arizona. The Verrado Marketplace has been much talked about and in the planning stage for the last two years. Adjacent to the 8,800-acre Verrado master planned community, the project is expected to cost around $125 million to complete and is being viewed as one of the most significant mixed-use developments in the history of Buckeye. Located at the northeast corner of Interstate 10 and Verrado Way, the Marketplace will feature some 522,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment space. Developers of the project, DMB Associates of Scottsdale and the New York-based real estate management company Vestar, envision an open-air shopping center complete with a central lawn, outdoor fireplace, and performance stage. Late last year it was announced that the project had signed as tenants for the center the retailers Target, Safeway, and Marshalls department store, among others. The Verrado community has won national praise for its design elements, creating a village-like ambience with single-family residences and townhomes, along with a golf course, community center, community parks, and walking and hiking paths. At full build-out, the community is expected to be the home to more than 14,000 dwelling units. The Verrado Marketplace has now secured the approval of the Buckeye Planning and Zoning Commission. Work on the project could begin by late this year with a general 2026 completion date. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Verrado Marketplace rendering, City of Buckeye ![]() As President Biden arrives in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the magazine National Review has published an essay exploring in part the industrial miracle that made that invasion possible. Conducted on June 6, 1944, the D-Day operation saw more than 160,000 Allied troops landing in Normandy as a prelude to the liberation of France. It is not only regarded as the largest seaborne invasion in history, but also a turning point in the war to defeat the Nazis. “While Britain produced 28,000 warplanes and Russia and Germany produced 48,000 each, the United States produced no fewer than 98,000,” notes the National Review. This “extraordinary industrial capacity” was such that “whenever a GI saw a plane flying above him on D-Day, there was a 99.2% chance that it would be an Allied plane.” Even more, the industrial might of the U.S. as of 1944 meant that there were “no fewer than 18 shipyards across the country, producing three ships every two days.” The country’s industrial output, joined by similar productive operations in Great Britain and other Allied nations, also meant that the Axis nations were soon being outproduced in everything from tanks to combat aircraft and machine pistols. The giant auto factories of Detroit saw an almost overnight conversion during the early months of the war, resulting in an epic production of amphibious trucks, tanks, jeeps, and four-wheel drive troop transports - more than 50,000 in all. Not surprisingly, unemployment dropped from 14.6% in 1940 to just under 2% by 1945, as U.S. factories worked to maintain the unprecedented output. By way of example, the Gulf Shipbuilding company in Chickasaw, Alabama saw its payroll increase from 240 at the beginning of the war to nearly 12,000 by D-Day. According to the book The Weapons Acquisition Process, nearly a third of U.S. military production spending was devoted to aircraft manufacture, followed by 25% for weapons, and 15% for ships. On the actual June 6 day of the invasion, roughly 5,000 ships were in action, buttressed by 13,000 aircraft. “The men who stormed the beaches of Normandy knew they had nations behind them that would keep them in ammunition till they bearded the Nazi beast in its lair,” notes the National Review. Military historians have since concluded that had D-Day gone wrong, World War II could have easily lasted at least another year, well into 1946. In a private handwritten statement he had prepared just before the invasion began, Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, expressed great confidence in the fighting abilities of the U.S., British, and Canadian forces, before adding: “If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.” With the success of the invasion, notes the National Review, “Hitler’s downfall was now a matter of when, not if.” By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of the Department of Defense ![]() The City of Denver has issued a Request for Proposals for an extensive drainage project that will be built along a much-used residential street. The Torreys Peak General Storm project is designed to improve drainage and lessen the flooding, ponding, and icing that regularly occurs on E. Ellsworth Avenue. The roughly $4 million to $4.4 million project is the second phase of a drainage improvement effort whose first phase was completed two years ago in the Cherry Creek neighborhood just to the west of E. Ellsworth. The new work will take in a two and a half block area and will also see the building of new curbs and gutters, curb ramps, driveways, and sidewalk improvements. Additional work will include waterline adjustment. E. Ellsworth runs east to west through a historic section of Denver dotted mostly with century-old homes. The RFP has a submission deadline of June 27. By Garry Boulard ![]() Land is being purchased in Dona Ana County for the eventual construction of a new health care center that will belong to the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. The project, which is being supported to the tune of $10 million via an executive order by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, will see the building of up to 8,000 square feet of clinical space providing a wide variety of reproductive health care services. The site in question is located just to the north of Lohman Avenue between Road Runner Parkway and North Sonoma Ranch Boulevard. Grisham approved funding two years ago for what is being called the Center for Reproductive Health in an effort to provide both abortion and pregnancy care services. In signing the order, she remarked: "The goal here is to build it, and they will come." A press release issued by the school's Health Sciences Center said the "community advised, full spectrum, reproductive health care center will serve the needs of thousands of individuals living in southern New Mexico who have lacked access to basic reproductive health care for decades." Although a total amount for the project has not yet been announced, it is thought that the acquisition of the land will come to a little over $1 million. If all goes as expected, work on the new facility will begin later this year, with a completion date of sometime in 2025. By Garry Boulard ![]() Less than a quarter of small businesses currently offer their employees a 401 (k) plan, according to a new survey, with a sizable segment of those owners indicating that they may never have such employee benefits, owing to cost concerns. The survey was conducted by the Arlington-based firm Wakefield Research and also revealed that some 55% of responding small businesses with staff levels of anywhere from one to fifty felt that their companies were too small to actually access a plan. A smaller 28% said they did not think they would be able to afford a company match. The survey’s findings align with a different survey conducted last year by the company Fidelity Investment which showed that 48% of small business owners said they didn’t think they could afford to offer such plans to their employees. 401 (k) plans have been up and running since 1978. As defined by the Internal Revenue Code, such plans are employer-sponsored and serve as personal pension or savings accounts with both employees and employers contributing to the plan’s fund. Such plans have proven to be mainstays among larger businesses and corporations, with the most recent figures revealing that total 401 (k) plan assets in the U.S. are in excess of $4.6 trillion. The Wakefield survey also showed that business owners in general are saving less than 1% of their current income for retirement, with a larger 17% saving anywhere between 1 and 9%. A sizable 25% of the respondents said they were not contributing one way or the other to a retirement plan. Nearly 50% of the business owner respondents, indicating a precarious economic state of affairs, said they doubted they would ever have enough savings to retire. The survey was commissioned by the group ShareBuilder 401k of Seattle, which provides retirement products and resources to small and mid-sized companies. By Garry Boulard ![]() Some seven months after the Denver Broncos football team announced plans to build an expansive new training facility, new details specific to the project have emerged. As earlier announced, the $175 million facility will include some 320,000 square feet of building space, along with meeting rooms, expanded locker rooms, and sports performance areas. Football operations will take up the structure’s second floor, with the team’s business offices located on the third floor. Additional features: an amenity courtyard, hospitality space, and rooftop terrace. The new facility in Englewood will connect to the 115,000-square-foot Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse, which is located at 13403 Broncos Parkway. With a sleek modern design, the building and surrounding site is being called the Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit, in reference to an ongoing partnership that the team has with the hospital group CommonSpirit Health. Describing the new structure as a “state-of-the art team headquarters,” Damani Leech, president of the Broncos, said the groundbreaking is scheduled to take place after the conclusion of the team’s pre-season in August. Founded in 1959, the Denver Broncos have played in the old Mile High Stadium before moving over to the Empower Field at Mile High. Meanwhile, the team has used the same training facility for at least three decades. Earlier this year, Greg Penner, Broncos chief executive officer, suggesting that the older facility had become an expensive proposition. “We keep putting more and more money in it to keep it up to the standard that it needed to be at,” he remarked in a press conference. Long in the planning stages, design work on the new training facility began in 2022. It is thought that construction will be completed by the late summer of 2026. By Garry Boulard New School Facility Housing Unique Alternative Education Program Set to Be Built in Rio Rancho6/3/2024 ![]() Plans are now settled for the construction of a new 50,000-square-foot school building that will be a part of the Rio Rancho Public Schools system. The Independence High School will go up at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Ontario Place on the north side of the city at a currently vacant site. That school is defined as an alternative educational facility which puts an emphasis on students at risk of dropping out. According to the New Mexico Public Education Department, a unique feature of the school has seen the existence of what is called “The Well,” a brightly lit, open-concept space, designed to encourage conversation and instruction. The current Independence High School, measuring 28,000 square feet, is located at 421 Quantum Road NE. According to district documents, the current high school has a capacity of serving around 200 students, while the new structure will be built to house up to 350 students. The new $26 million building project is being funded out of an $80 million bond that was approved by around 71% of district residents last fall. That bond also included funding for electric, heating, and cooling upgrades to three elementary and middle schools as well as the Rio Rancho High School. As planned, once work on the new Independence High School is completed, the original structure will become the home to the new Special Services Support Center. Rio Rancho Public Schools has a current enrollment of more than 17,200 students, a double digit increase in the past two decades, reflecting the larger population growth of Rio Rancho itself which has gone from just under 52,000 two decades ago to more than 104,000 today. By Garry Boulard |
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