A development review process is underway for a project that will see the building of 15 townhouses in downtown Fort Collins. The one-half acre site for the proposed project is 220 E. Oak Street, longtime home of the Community of Christ Church. The scale of the project has changed from an earlier proposal to build forty condominiums within a four-story complex that would also include a courtyard and some retail space. As designed by the Fort Collins-based Davis Davis Architects, the latest proposal is calling instead for units that will measure anywhere from 1,000 square feet to 3,000 square feet. According to city documents, what is being called the East Oak Townhomes requires a permitted use designation which can only be obtained via a Fort Collins Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing and review. As envisioned, the East Oak Townhomes will very much duplicate the L’Avenir Townhome, directly across the street from the project site, a unique three-story net zero structure built in 2019 and also designed by Davis Davis Architects. The property is located on a tree-lined block populated with houses and apartment buildings. The 40-condominium proposal was originally aired in 2022, with plans for construction to begin in the summer of 2023. That proposal was abandoned owing to concerns that Colorado’s condo defects laws might make the project unduly challenging. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay
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An effort is underway to preserve and repurpose a once-popular 1950s-era motel in the Miracle Mile Historic District of Tucson. Located at 127 W. Drachman Street, the Tucson Inn was built in 1953 and is valued by historians as a strong example of the Googie and Modernist architectural style that was so prevalent in the post-World War II southwest. With its front sun ray-bursting-skyward neon sign, the building has for decades been one of the most iconic and visible structures of its kind in Tucson, serving as a motel that slowly fell on hard times before being purchased in early 2018 by Pima Community College. The school has said that it would like to turn the structure into offices for its education tech services program, as well as providing space for an innovation center and diversity program, among other uses. Now members of the school's governing board have voted in favor of putting out a request for a developer to come up with a plan for saving and repurposing the structure. Because PCC may not have enough funds to take on the repurposing project itself, it is thought that a private developer could do that, obtaining the building on a lease basis. The Tucson Inn was built at a cost of around $500,000 and underwent a $100,000 renovation a decade later. At the time of the motel's 1953 opening, the Tucson Citizen made note of its 24-hour coffee shop, flagstone lounging terrace, and rooms featuring "record music controlled in the central office." By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay Around 7,800 nonresidential specialty trade jobs were created last month, a category seeing the greatest employment growth in the overall construction industry, according to just-released federal figures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that, overall, the national construction industry hired 9,000 new workers in April, part of a year-to-year increase of 258,000 jobs. In a statement, Anirban Basu, chief economist with the Associated Builders and Contractors, remarked: "It is really quite remarkable that the nation's nonresidential construction sector continues to add jobs so consistently in an environment characterized by elevated project financing costs." Year over year gains were also posted in the heavy and civil engineering category, with 42,000 new jobs as of April; and the residential specialty trade sector, with nearly 49,000 new jobs since April of 2023. "At the heart of growing demand for construction workers in America is the prevalence of mega projects in many parts of the country," added Basu, "including major manufacturing plants, data centers, and public works." Employment in April in all categories was up by 175,000 new jobs, according to the BLS, a number below the 240,000 that many analysts were forecasting for the month. The 175,000 figure, in fact, represented the smallest job growth pace since last October. The country's current job market, notes the New York Times, "may be shifting into a lower gear this spring, a turn that economists have predicted for months after a vigorous rebound from the pandemic shock." Looking at all industries, the health care sector was up by 56,000 new jobs in April, which the BLS report characterized as "in line with the average monthly gain of 63,000 over the prior twelve months." Social assistance employment, meanwhile, was up by 31,000; with transportation and warehousing work seeing an increase of 22,000. Other gainers: retail trade, up by 20,000 new jobs since April of 2023; and general merchandise retailers, with 10,000 more jobs. Noting that April also showed an unemployment rate of 3.9%, Julie Su, Acting Secretary of Labor, remarked in a statement: "This continues the longest stretch of such low unemployment in more than half a century." By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay A number of public schools in El Paso may be placed on the market or repurposed, depending upon the outcome of a consolidation plan. The El Paso Independent School District, responding to long-running trends seeing a significant enrollment decline, is planning to reveal sometime this fall the names of schools it plans to close. Those enrollment trends have seen the district hit with a 20% student decline in the last decade, falling to less than 50,000 today. Current indications suggest a further drop to around 40,000 or so within the next decade. In response, district officials have said they want to take a look at which facilities, out of a total of just over 75 schools, should be closed for good. A series of public input meetings are expected to be held this summer as part of a process leading to a list of what facilities will be shuttered. The purpose of those meetings, said EPISD Superintendent Diana Sayavedra in an interview with the publication El Paso Matters, is to "partner with the community so that our decisions are informed." Recommendations regarding the school closures are expected to be made to the district's Board of Trustees this coming fall. Depending upon the actions of the Trustees, the actual closures could be underway by the fall of 2025. The largest school district in metro El Paso, EPISD was created in 1883. The district enjoyed steady growth for most of the 20th century, and explosive growth after World War II. In just a two-year period alone, between 1965 and 1967, EPISD's total student count went from 56,500 to just over 63.000. The district has incrementally moved in recent years to shed some of its facility holdings. Earlier this year EPISD's former Bonham Elementary School building site, located at 7024 Cielo Vista Drive, was sold to make way for the construction of a new El Paso Police Department regional command center. By Garry Boulard New Mexico is on the way to receiving more than $28.6 million in federal funding for a comprehensive water system replacement project. In an announcement, Democrat Senator Martin Heinrich noted the importance of building systems that will provide a "reliable supply of safe drinking water," before adding: "This funding will keep working families in our state safe and healthy, while creating a solid foundation for our communities to grow." The funding is coming through the Environmental Protection Agency and is designed to focus on the replacement of service lines composed of lead pipes. The dollar value of the funding being sent to New Mexico is equal to that heading to Arizona. Colorado, however, is getting a slightly higher amount at $32.8 million. Support in the last three years for drinking water infrastructure projects has come from two EPA sources: the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Altogether, the EPA has announced the awarding of up to $3 billion in funding to upgrade state drinking water infrastructure across the country. In a statement, EPA Administrator Michael Regan remarked of the funding: "The science is clear, there is no safe level of lead exposure, and the primary source of harm in drinking water is through lead pipes." The effort has been particularly emphasized by the Biden Administration, continued Regan, noting that the latest round of funding for all of the states and territories will "accelerate the permanent removal of dangerous lead pipes once and for all." Ultimately, the EPA wants to replace some 1.7 million existing lead pipes nationally. It is thought that up to 9 million residences, schools, and places of business are continuing to get water via a lead pipe. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay Plans have now been approved by members of the Chandler City Council for the construction of a new QuikTrip convenience store and gas station location that will be built at 2000 W. Ray Road. The 5,300-square-foot structure will sit on a 2.5-acre site and will feature eight fuel pumps topped by a nearly 7,300-square-foot canopy. In order to make way for the new building, a 17,000-square-foot structure that once housed a drug store will be demolished. The new Chandler facilities are part of a wider effort on the part of the Tulsa-based QuikTrip Corporation to expand its locations primarily across the states of the Sunbelt. Launched in 1958, the company, which is particularly known for its full-service kitchens and variety of sandwich offerings, opened its 1,000th store in metro San Antonio last spring. Although the company struggled during its initial years of operation, its expansion efforts have always been aggressive, building forty three stores by 1967, one hundred and twenty by 1971, well over twice that amount in the early 1990s, and hitting the eight hundred mark in 2021. QuikTrip has built a particularly strong presence in recent years in the West with more than 200 locations in Texas, 120 in Arizona, and nearly a dozen stores in Colorado. A proposal to build the chain's first store in New Mexico failed late last year when the City of Albuquerque denied a special request allowing for the sale of alcohol at the site. QuikTrip locations generally range in size from 4,100 square feet to 5,700 square feet. The company's Travel Center sites, however, can be as large as 8,000 square feet. The Travel Center sites are particularly known for their extended gas station offerings, which include up to 20 pumps for cars and half a dozen diesel bays for trucks. Just since the beginning of this year, the company has built new stores and stations in Rockford, Illinois; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Denver, Colorado. By Garry Boulard A real estate and hospitality property developer based in Scottsdale, Arizona is in the early stages of a plan that may see the construction of nearly 700 residential units in northern Colorado. The Discovery Land Company has said that it wants to build what is being called the Stagecoach Mountain Ranch on a vast site of nearly 6,700 acres near the city of Steamboat Springs. The big project appears to be coming easily for a company that thinks big: Discovery is the developer of the Yellowstone Club near Big Sky, Montana, an exclusive private and golf community encompassing some 2,900 acres. The Stagecoach Mountain Ranch, which is Discovery's first venture in the Centennial State, will include both private ski and golf acreage. As planned, the project will go up just to the south of the Stagecoach Reservoir, which itself is 20 miles south of Steamboat Springs. A preliminary subdivision plan for what is being described as a "super luxury resort" is expected to be submitted to Rhoutt County offices sometime this month. Launched in 1994, Discovery specializes in the development of large and exclusive properties. Those properties, notes the newspaper Yampa Valley Bugle, are stretched across the globe, "catering to the ultra-wealthy." By Garry Boulard An innovative two-year program is launching in Albuquerque, designed to make it much easier to build new housing in the downtown area where the need is regarded as pressing. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller has now given his approval to a program known simply as FasTrax that will put an emphasis on site plan approvals and building permits for housing projects within defined Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas. By state law, such areas are designated areas within a municipality that have been singled out for redevelopment and rehabilitation, with a special emphasis on securing private investment for building projects. According to a press release issued by the City of Albuquerque, the FasTrax effort will also apply to employment and activity areas, as well as “major transit corridors and multi-modal corridors.” The program, which earlier won the support of the Albuquerque City Council, is designed to respond to what is regarded as an immediate need for housing in the city’s downtown neighborhoods, replacing a long-standing process that has seen projects approved on a first-time, first-serve basis. Additional FasTrax features will include expedited plan reviews, an assigned plan expediter, and guaranteed plan review completion dates. According to city documents, the program will be applied to the building and development of everything from single-family and multi-family homes to townhouses, dormitories, and assisted living or nursing homes, among other structures. Builders and developers in the Duke City have long complained about what is sometimes a lengthy city approval process, noting that a protracted timeline has made it difficult to complete some projects on time, while, in other instances, outright discouraging them from even submitting an application in the first place. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay A five-year-old restaurant chain with an emphasis on everything small is taking on an ambitious expansion plan that will see the opening of around 300 locations this year. Founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the company Small Sliders offers an abbreviated menu of small cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes, all prepared within a 750-square-foot modular building. The company calls its buildings “cans” because they are pre-manufactured climate-controlled facilities with exterior bright, orange-colored aluminum walls. The builders also feature both a streamlined drive-thru as well as a walk-up window. The structures are typically built on less than 1-acre sites, a business model that has allowed Small Sliders to find available locations more readily for development. Small Sliders currently has locations in both Louisiana and Mississippi, and according to a company press release has a “robust pipeline growth set across 13 states in the Southeast and the Midwest.” A company website notes that planning for franchise locations is underway in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. The recent announcement of seven new locations in metropolitan Houston prompted the publication Hello Woodlands to praise its “niche model and cult following.” The Nation’s Restaurant News last year named Small Sliders as one of the publication’s “Breakout Brands of 2023,” and subsequently noted that the company is “very much trying to appeal to younger customers, Gen Z specifically, as it expands.” In a statement, Maria Rivera, Small Sliders chief executive officer, attributed the company’s pace of expansion to a strong franchise network and desire to “disrupt the status quo.” By Garry Boulard Plans Advancing for Construction of New and Very Large Google Date Center in Southern Arizona5/2/2024 A move is underway for the construction of a second massive data center in Mesa, Arizona for the online service Google. The multinational search engine company has submitted papers to build what is officially called Redhawk Phase 2, a structure that will go up on a technology-thriving campus at the intersection of East Elliot Road and South Sossaman Road. What is proposed as a 280,000-square-foot building will house the associated equipment needed for any Google data facility and will be designed by HDR Engineering of Omaha, Nebraska, and the Phoenix-based Haydon Building Corporation. Google started work on the construction of its initial Mesa data center last summer, a 288,000-square-foot facility that is expected to be completed next summer. At the time of the launching of the work on the first facility, Google announced that the center was needed to power the company's search, email, maps, and AI services. The project had earlier been approved for up to $16 million in tax breaks to span a 25-year period by the Mesa City Council. Both of the Google facilities are a part of the ever-expanding Elliot Road Technology Corridor, which is also is the home to data centers operated by Apple and EdgeCore, among other corporations. The two facilities, according to Google officials, have a building plan emphasizing net zero emissions, matching all of its annual electricity use with renewable energy. Google currently operates, or is building, nearly two dozen similar-sized data centers across the US, with most of those facilities located either in the South or West. By Garry Boulard Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay |
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