![]() A project that could see the construction of nearly 1,500 homes in the northern Colorado city of Loveland is on the verge of receiving crucial official support. Known as Centerra South, the project belongs to the Denver-based McWhinney company and will see the ultimate building of up to 700,000 square feet of mixed-use structures on 3,000 acres of farmland off Interstate 25. The McWhinney company, which was launched in 1991 and specializes in real estate development, investment, and management, envisions the project as a kind of village onto itself, populated with tree-lined streets, a full-service boutique hotel, and a children’s museum. That museum is the Children’s Museum of Northern Colorado, which last month announced its intention to build an innovative, immersive facility geared for children 10 years of age and younger at the site. According to city documents, Centerra South will also feature up to 18,000 square feet of facility space to be used for public meetings, and both multifamily and townhome construction. Opposition to Centerra South has been voiced by those questioning the public-private partnership component of the project, which will likely see the City of Loveland absorbing the cost of the initial roads and utilities construction. If the project secures the official approval of the Loveland City Council, work on the massive master-planned community could begin later this year. By Garry Boulard
0 Comments
![]() Voters in El Paso will make their intentions known later this week on a controversial charter amendment known as the Climate Charter which seeks to address a wide range of climate issues locally. Appearing on city ballots as Proposition K, the proposal, if passed, would establish a Climate Department allowing for the public ownership of the utility company El Paso Electric. The proposal also calls for creation of a city-wide solar energy plan, a blueprint for preparing the city’s infrastructure for extreme weather events, and a ban on the sale of city water for any fossil-fuel related activities beyond the physical boundaries of El Paso. The new charter would additionally mandate that 80% of the energy used by the city must be composed of “clean renewable energy” by the end of the decade. A further item in the proposal would see the establishment of a Climate Commission tasked with advancing the goals of the Climate Charter. The proposal has won support from a number of community and labor groups. In fact, its appearance on the ballot is the result of a successful petition drive late last year securing upwards of 36,000 signatures. Among those groups supporting the Climate Charter: the Sunrise Movement of El Paso, Justicia Fronteriza, and the Washington-based Earthworks. Those in opposition, charging that the Climate Charter will prove too cumbersome and expensive to enforce, include the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and a group called the Consumer Energy Alliance. By Garry Boulard ![]() A move is underway in Washington to provide enhanced funding for infrastructure upkeep and repairs within the National Park System. Three years ago, in a rare bipartisan vote Congress overwhelmingly approved the Great American Outdoors Act, which sailed through the Senate by a 73 to 25 margin and in the House by 310 to 107. The legislation has since provided up to $1.9 billion in support for deferred maintenance needs annually for projects that are not only a part of the National Park System, but also the U.S. Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. The support has been particularly needed considering an historic recent increase in park visitations which have put pressure on the parks’ roads, bridges, visitor centers and trails infrastructure. Last year, there were around 312 million such visitations—a 5% increase over the year before. In the West, the Grand Canyon remains a crowd magnet, seeing around 5 million visitors, while the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado brings in 4.5 million annually and the White Sands National Park in New Mexico is nearing the 800,000 mark. In a letter to the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands, Jack Waldorf, executive director of the Western Governors Association, has urged for an extension of the Great American Outdoor Act “beyond 2025,” while also suggesting that Congress should “examine longer term solutions to the deferred maintenance backlog.” The National Parks Conservation Association, among other groups, is also calling for an extension of the legislation, which it describes as a “critically needed source of funding for deferred maintenance and repairs.” By Garry Boulard ![]() Extensive renovation work may begin later this year on two longstanding apartment complexes in Denver’s North Capitol Hill neighborhood. The three-story Art Deco-designed Drehmoor Apartments at 215 E. 19th Avenue was built in 1926 and encompasses 74 residential units. Those units, in a city with a rapidly increasing cost of rent, are income restricted. Now members of the Denver City Council are contemplating approval of loans through the Department of Housing and Stability that will fund the renovation work. Last week, the council’s Safety, Housing, Education and Homeless Committee gave its approval to the awarding of those loans. One loan will see just under $726,000 going for the work at the Drehmoor. According to city documents, that work will include the installation of low flow plumbing fixtures and LED lights, as well as repairs to the building’s elevator and sidewalks. The second loan in the amount of $1.1 million would target similar renovation work at the Argonaut-El Tovar Apartments, located at 1505 Grant Street. An elegantly Italianate-designed structure of five floors built in 1908 as a hotel, the Argonaut-El Tovar complex houses 108 residential units in two brick buildings. This complex, too, will see repairs to its elevator, sidewalk upgrades, and installation of both LED lights and low flow plumbing fixtures. Most residents at both complexes are on Social Security disability income, with the units restricted to those earning 30% of Area Median Income. By Garry Boulard ![]() Both city and state funding has been secured for the building of a new movie studio in Las Cruces that is being seen as one more indication of a growing film industry in New Mexico’s second largest city. The project belongs to 828 Productions, which was founded four years ago and has already seen to completion more than a dozen film productions. Members of the Las Cruces City Council have voted to commit just under $900,000 to the project, funding that will be joined with $3 million earlier awarded through the New Mexico Economic Development Department. The $3 million comes in the form of a Local Economic Development Act grant. Located at 106 S. Miranda Street, 828 Productions is billed as a full-service film production and financing company who motto is “We Help People Tell Their Stories.” The funding for 828 Production’s new facilities comes as Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed legislation allowing New Mexico to increase over time the amount of money it spends on tax incentives for film production work in the state. The annual incentive packages officially offered by the state will now increase from $110 million to $160 million. 828 Productions has said that it wants to build a 300,000 square foot studio facility in the 900 block of West Amador Avenue just to the west of the city that will also include a 20-acre backlot. Phase one of the project will see the construction of four sound stages. Formerly headquartered in Glendale, California, the company purchased a 7,500 square foot building in downtown Las Cruces in the spring of 2022 to be used for training and post-production purposes. By Garry Boulard Hotel Construction, Reflecting Industry Confidence, Nicely Up for the First Quarter of 20234/28/2023 ![]() New hotel pipeline construction across the country has seen a healthy increase in the first three months of this year, according to a prominent industry survey. Altogether, there were some 5,545 hotel construction projects between January and March of this year, according to Lodging Econometrics. That number represents a total of 658,207 rooms. Both in the number of individual projects and the hotel rooms those projects represent, construction was up by 9%. The total 5,545 projects, according to the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Lodging Econometrics, is only some 5.7% “behind the all-time high of 5,883 projects” recorded in the spring of 2008. As of March 31, projects actually being built stood at 1,051—a figure representing 140,365 rooms. But it’s what’s being planned that shows the most promise, with 2,060 projects in the pipeline for the next 12 months. And those pipeline projects mean a big 241,568 rooms. Notes a Lodging Econometric narrative accompanying the latest numbers: The latest early 2023 numbers mark the “fourth consecutive quarter of total pipeline growth for the U.S., which can be, in part, attributed to the robust recovery of travel demand.” Increased consumer confidence and spending activity has “fueled strong occupancy and rate growth throughout the last twelve months as well.” The outlook for the rest of the year looks particularly promising given that “developers are motivated to sign new projects anticipating more favorable financial conditions in the coming quarters.” Despite the strong early 2023 numbers, the publication Hotel Management notes that “market volatility, persistent inflation, rising energy prices, elevated transportation costs, materials shortages and supply chain backlogs continue to pose a challenge and slow the timeline to a full recovery.” By Garry Boulard ![]() A two-story structure that has served as a church for more than half a century is on the market in Aurora and being advertised as a “specialty building.” Located in a residential section about 2 miles to the northwest of downtown Aurora at 10600 E 14th Avenue, the building has for well over a decade been the home to the Korean Full Gospel Church. Built in 1950, the building measures just under 5,800 square feet, and features a balcony with a seating capacity for two dozen people looking out on a massive wooden cathedral ceiling and nave. Listed for $950,000, the property also includes a 936 square foot residence that has served as a pastor’s residence. Located in a defined Opportunity Zone, the church and pastor’s residence are being listed by the Lakewood offices of RE/Max 100, Incorporated. By Garry Boulard ![]() As part of a larger effort to create more outdoor recreation space in Dona Ana County, plans have been unveiled to develop a park along the west bank of the Rio Grande. According to those plans, the park will include a playground, fire pit, picnic shelter, boardwalk with benches, and restrooms, among other features. The oblong-shaped park will be partially bordered by the popular Shalem Colony Trail, with an emphasis on open space: turf lawn, an adventure and nature play space, and access to the river. Project designer for the park is the Phoenix-based engineering and design firm Wilson & Company. The land for the park is currently owned by the International Boundary Commission. County officials hope to enter into a lease agreement with that commission but must first submit design plans to that same body. The project has been the subject of at least one public input meeting earlier this winter, with another scheduled for the first week of May. There are well over two dozen parks of varying sizes in Dona Ana County, serving a population of around 215,000 residents. According to the website Countyoffice.org, Dona Ana is ranked third out of 33 counties in New Mexico for the number of parks it has per capita. Earlier this spring, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham approved $100,000 in capital outlay funding for improvements to the county’s Butterfield Park, along with another $200,000 to upgrade the East Mesa Park. By Garry Boulard Popularity of Nuclear Energy as Electricity Source Highest Since 2012, According to New Survey4/27/2023 ![]() Although it has been in decline for most of the last decade, popular support for nuclear energy providing electricity has risen to a strong 55%, according to a new survey released by the Gallup polling company. That figure represents a clear gain for nuclear power in the last seven years, with support down to 44% in 2016. Meanwhile, opposition has declined in an almost perfect symmetry during that same time from 54% in 2016 to 44% today. Although the use of nuclear energy has gone through phases of varying critical evaluation among experts, Americans, says a narrative accompanying the survey results, “have generally been more amenable to the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity for the U.S. when oil prices have been high, and less open to it when oil prices are low.” The strongest nuclear support was registered in 2010 when 62% of respondents said they were either strongly or somewhat in favor of the use of nuclear power. Opposition hit a low of 32% that same year. The latest Gallup numbers come as the Biden Administration has targeted more than $1 billion in federal funds to keep power plants across the country open. Past Gallup surveys have indicated that Republican respondents have in general been more supportive of nuclear energy than Democrats, with a high of 76% indicating support in 2009—a figure that now stands at a still-strong 62%. Democrat responses have indicated less nuclear enthusiasm, with 46% in favor a decade ago—a figure that remains the same today. By Garry Boulard ![]() A just over 80-year-old building that serves as the home to the El Paso Rhinos hockey team may be in danger of demolition. Located at 4100 East Paisano Street, the El Paso County Coliseum was built during the middle of World War II at a cost of $321,000 and initially hosted rodeo events. In subsequent decades the structure housed sporting and musical events, with fans packing the building for an Elvis Presley concert in late 1972. The coliseum, with a current seating capacity of around 8,000, underwent a comprehensive $9.5 million renovation in 2003. Now, according to various sources, the 20,200 square foot building could be a thing of the past if a federal project seeing expansion of the nearby Bridge of the Americas port of entry becomes reality. Three design options have been aired by the General Services Administration, with one of those options proposing that the federal government purchase and eventually demolish the building for the bridge expansion. The possibility of the coliseum being leveled has sparked opposition from local officials as well as residents, with a public input meeting scheduled for early June. The General Services Administration has said that a final decision in the matter has not yet been made. It was earlier announced that the Bridge of the Americas work could begin in 2027. By Garry Boulard |
Get stories like these right to your inbox.
|