Large Swath of Vacant Land in Northwest El Paso May Be Developed
3/9/2021
A developer in El Paso specializing in office and residential projects has purchased a large swath of land on the northwest side of the city.
Located near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Artcraft Boulevard, the nearly 44 acres was previously set aside by the city to be developed as a resort by the Great Wolf Resorts company.
Those plans fell through due to the pandemic economy.
The new buyer of the land is Van Trust Real Estate, which has offices in Phoenix, among several other cities. Neither the company nor the City have disclosed their plans for the property.
In selling the land to Van Trust, the El Paso City Council also agreed to pay up to $600,000 for transportation infrastructure at the site.
Van Trust is currently completing work on a four-building project on the east side of the city known as the El Paso Logistics Park. Those buildings vary in size between 121,000 and 142,000 square feet with the project expected to be completed by summer.
Great Wolf Resorts withdrew from its El Paso plans last spring after the City had agreed to a package of incentives designed to develop the property.
The land, earlier appraised at $18.6 million, was previously acquired by prominent El Paso businessman Paul Foster in exchange for city-owned land elsewhere.
By Garry Boulard
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Highlands University Asking State Legislature for Just Under $40 Million in Facility Funding
3/8/2021
The Las Vegas-based New Mexico Highlands University is seeking funding from the state legislature for eight facilities upgrade and construction projects, the largest of which will see the creation of a reforestation center.
University officials are asking for a capital outlay of exactly $25 million for the planning, design, and building of that center, which will go up in collaboration with the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University.
Smaller capital outlay requests from Highland includes $5.8 million for the upgrading of the school’s Facilities Services Building in the center of the campus; as well as $4 million to demolish and rebuild Highland’s subsurface infrastructure.
Highlands also hopes to secure exactly $1.5 million for the upgrading of its popular Gene Torres Golf Course at 1 Country Club Drive to the north of the main campus.
Opened in 1893, Highlands has an enrollment of just under 4,000 students, and features the only forestation program in the state.
By Garry Boulard
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Strong Job Growth Reported in February, Says Labor Department
3/8/2021
Just under 380,000 new jobs were added to the nation’s payrolls in January, in a trend outpacing the predictions of many of the nation’s economists.
Described by the Los Angeles Times as “surprisingly robust,” the job growth was seen in nearly all sectors of the economy and represented a significant increase over January’s 166,000 jobs increase.
According to the Department of Labor, the nation’s unemployment rate, at more than 14% last spring, is now down to 6.2%.
An analysis of the new numbers issued by the Labor Department said that “most of the job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality,” with smaller gains in temporary health services, health care and manufacturing.
The construction, education, and mining sectors saw employment declines.
The report added that although the overall unemployment rate and the number of unemployed people are “much lower than their April 2020 highs, they remain well above their pre-pandemic levels in February 2020.”
In February of 2020, the unemployment rate was at a historic low of 3.5%.
The leisure and hospitality fields saw the greatest increase at about 355,000 new jobs, which the Labor Department attributes to an easing of pandemic-related restrictions in some parts of the country.
Temporary help workers were up by 46,000; followed by health care employment, with a 20,000 job gain.
On the downside, the construction industry recorded a loss of 61,000 jobs in February. According to the Labor Department, those numbers reflect a decline in both nonresidential specialty trade contractors as well as heavy and civil engineering construction.
Notes the Labor Department analysis: “Severe winter weather across much of the country may have held down employment in construction,” adding that overall employment in the industry is now off by around 308,000 compared with where it was a year ago.
Reacting to the new numbers, Ken Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General Contractors, remarked: “Despite recovery in some parts of the economy, private nonresidential construction is still experiencing many cancelled and postponed projects and few new starts.”
Anirban Basu, chief economist with the Associated Builders and Contractors, had a positive take on the latest numbers, noting that they were impacted by the interruption of projects in the South due to the colder-than-usual weather.
“The balance of the economy appears to be outperforming expectations in terms of labor market recovery,” continued Basu in a statement, “and there is now growing evidence that more pervasive vaccinations are beginning to shape economic outcomes for the better.”
By Garry Boulard
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Growing Section of Denver to See Construction of Mixed-Use Property
3/8/2021
Plans are actively underway for the construction of a modern mixed-use property in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood that will go up on nearly 13 currently vacant acres.
What is being called the Runway 25 North will belong to the Evergreen Devco Incorporated, in a joint venture with Wall Development and Equity Ventures Commercial Development.
The site is located at the southwest corner of East 46th Avenue and Central Park Boulevard. The joint venture collaboration purchased that property for just under $84 million.
Located to the northeast of downtown Denver, the Central Park neighborhood is dominated by new, upper-end multi-story residential and apartment projects. The neighborhood stands at the former site of the former Stapleton International Airport, which was decommissioned and closed in 1995.
It is the largest and also one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in metro Denver.
In a statement, Tyler Carlson, managing principal with Evergreen, said the Runway 25 North project will offer a “mix of retail, restaurant, and medical uses.”
Plans currently call for the site infrastructure work to be completed by late this year, with the new project opening for business in 2022.
With offices in Denver and Phoenix, Evergreen is a real estate development and commercial realty company founded in 1974 that also specializes in property management, asset management and sustainable building.
By Garry Boulard
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New Flagstaff Residential Community Proposal Secures Zoning Change
3/5/2021
Plans are moving forward for the construction of a housing community in southwest Flagstaff that will see at least 10% of its homes designated as affordable housing.
The Sky Cottages project will go up on roughly 23 acres at the intersection of McAllister Ranch Road and Woody Mountain Road.
The project could ultimately see the construction of just over 200 single-family rental units. Those units will vary in size from one bedroom to three bedrooms.
The project will also see the creation of open and green community space.
Members of the Flagstaff City Council have now given their unanimous approval to a zoning change to facilitate the project. That change takes the site from rural residential to medium density residential.
As envisioned by the Phoenix-based developer Vintage Partners, the Sky Cottages, to be built in a tree-lined suburban neighborhood pattern, will also promote sustainability in their construction.
The homes will all include electric appliances and heating, with the overall development featuring three electric vehicle charging stations.
It is expected that work on the Sky Cottages project could begin later this year.
By Garry Boulard
