As a place to test out urban renewal and green technology ideas, Pegasus Global Holdings, a technology development company, would like to build a 20-square mile city that will include newly-built residential and commercial structures.
In a statement, Pegasus Global Holding CEO Bob Brumley said the idea behind what will essentially be a modern ghost city is to allow researchers “to test new and emerging technologies beyond the confines of a sterile lab environment.” The pretend city may also make money through rentals from other companies, scientists and inventors.
The company has not yet selected a site for the city, dubbed “The Center.” The development will most likely be built on state land either in Las Cruces or somewhere between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Pegasus Global Holdings says it plans to invest up to $200 million in the construction of a town that would in normal circumstances be big enough for at least 35,000 people.
The company adds that it has been working on the concept of The Center with the state of New Mexico for the last 18 months and is going to conduct a feasibility study to be completed by early next year to determine the best location for the development.
By Gary Boulard
- PROJECT SIZE: 20 square miles
- PROJECT COST: $200 million
- PROJECT ARCHITECT: Not yet announced
Up to $30 million in public projects may be on the Santa Fe ballot next year, funding such things as a new fire station and affordable housing.
The possible bond has won the support of Santa Fe Mayor David Coss, who has talked about the need to fund a wide array of projects that may include park improvements, photovoltaic solar collectors, and the renovation of the city’s police station.
Although no firm figures have yet been announced, the bond may include $3.5 million for the construction and equipping of a new fire station; $1 million for both buying land and building affordable housing on it; and $1.5 million for a new police station, to be located in southwestern Santa Fe.
The general obligation bond may appear on the city’s March ballot, but only after first winning the approval of the Santa Fe City Council.
Members of that council may decide instead to approve a capital infrastructure bond funding the same projects, which would not need voter approval.
By Gary Boulard
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This summer the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico received just over $117,000 from the Health and Human Services Department for the purchase of new equipment.
The grant was part of some $95 million in awards given to nearly 300 school-based health center programs nationally. A large portion of that money was used for the building of new structures or renovating of existing structures in order to establish the centers.
“Probably in the future some of the sites will need to be updated,” remarks Luan Wagner Burn of the four school-based health centers operated by the CFSNM in Las Cruces.
“Some of the centers in other places have free-standing school-based health centers that might be near a school, but not on school property,” says Wagner Burn, “which means doing any sort of construction or renovation is more complicated.”
Even so, says Wagner Burn, future facilities expansion of the centers is not out of the question: “We are working with a consortium that includes the schools themselves, and it will really be up to them.”
But the executive director notes that often a health center in a separate building is preferred by school health officials due to privacy considerations.
By Gary Boulard
Efforts to revitalize downtown El Paso have taken a step forward with the hiring of a development company that specializes in arena development.
The Paseo del Norte Group, whose mission it is to spur new development in downtown El Paso, has hired Harrow Sports Ventures to put together a capital projects comprehensive plan.
That plan must be then voted on by El Paso residents in the November 2012 elections.
The Paseo del Norte Group, which has a membership of some 360 businesses, has in the past talked about renovating and rehabilitating existing buildings in the downtown area, as well as new construction.
The group’s efforts have not been without controversy: El Paso community activists have said the organization has not been inclusive regarding public input.
The Harrow Sports Ventures company is owned by Rick Harrow, who has assisted other cities in their quests for getting major sports franchises. Harrow is also known for emphasizing capital projects designed to promote economic development.
By Gary Boulard
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After months of controversy the Albuquerque Public School system has announced a schedule for the construction of a $7 million stadium complex.
The facility is slated to go up in northwestern Albuquerque and has been the target of criticism from neighborhood groups concerned about increased traffic.
Money for the project was approved by voters in early 2010, followed by an APS school board approval of the stadium last winter. In September the project got the green light from the city’s Development Review Board.
The structure, which will be built near the intersection of Interstate 40 and 98th Street, is designed in a bowl shape and will be the home to Albuquerque Public School sporting events.
Neighbors originally vowed to appeal the DRB decision, even though school officials said they were determined to build the structure. “Proposals for the project are due on December 6,” says Rigo Chavez, APS spokesman.
“The hope is to award a construction contract in mid-January and begin construction in February,” continues Chavez, adding that the stadium is expected to be completed in early 2013.
By Gary Boulard
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One of the oldest existing structures in the city of Yuma may be slated for restoration if local officials can find the funding.
The Molina Block building was built in 1875 and made of sun-dried adobe bricks. In later decades a sloping roof was added, as well wooden beveled posts and decking.
Through the years the building has served as a grocery store, restaurant and clothing store. In the 1960s it was the site of a soup kitchen and shelter before being turned over to the Arizona Historical Society in 1991.
Officials with the AHS would like to see the building turned into a museum, but estimate that it may cost more than $1 million to restore the structure. AHS officials are contemplating a fund-raising campaign to underwrite that effort.
By Gary Boulard
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School officials in Belen celebrated when voters last winter passed a $23.7 million bond issue targeted for a variety of facility improvements in the city.
Among those projects are the “$1 million building of a replacement wing at the Dennis Chavez Elementary School; the $750,000 renovation of the Gil Sanchez Elementary School at a cost of $750,000; and the $2 million classroom addition the H.T. Jaramillo Community School.
The school system is currently getting ready to put together a five-year facility master plan. “After that is done, sometime in February or March of next year, we may sell bonds and start to prioritize our projects,” says Ron Marquez, the new superintendent of the Belen public school system.
“We just met with our financial adviser and are estimating that our first sale of those bonds will probably go into play maybe even as late as April or May of 2012,” adds Marquez. “At that point we may be looking at bond in the area of $7 million.”
If the bonds are sold, construction on a prioritized list of projects in Belen could begin as soon as June 2012.
- PROJECT SIZE: A series of school renovations and new construction
- PROJECT COST: $7 million to begin with
- PROJECT ARCHITECT: Not yet named
By Gary Boulard
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Plans have been announced for the building of a new 148,000 square foot Wal-Mart in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The building will go up in the Pikes Peak section of the city near Interstate 25 and South Academy Boulevard.
The supercenter will also include a pharmacy with a drive-in window as well as a garden center, and will be built along with a new Sam’s Club warehouse.
Altogether the two enterprises will comprise some 350,000 square feet in new retail space.
The project, which still must be approved by El Paso County officials, is being developed by the St. Louis-based THF Realty.
Plans currently call for the store to begin construction next summer and be completed by the summer of 2013.
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A 1977 graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso has donated $10 million to the school, money that will be targeted for a variety of uses, including both new campus construction and renovation projects.
Miguel Loya, the president of the oil trading company Vitol, Inc., said he gave the money because the school “Gave me the foundation from which to build on.”
UTEP is currently engaged in a fund-raising effort called the “Centennial Campaign,” which has an overall goal of $200 million and is designed to increase giving to support graduate school fellowships and scholarships, among other things.
But school officials have also said that UTEP has a wide variety of capital needs, particularly as the urban campus responds to a growing enrollment now in excess of 22,600 students.
“The impact of this gift will be both powerful and long-lasting,” UTEP President Diana Natalacio said in a press conference announcing Loya’s donation.
By Gary Boulard
Members of the Montezuma-Cortez School District’s Board of Education have voted to approve placing a bond on the November ballot that would allow for new construction work to take place at the Southwest Open Charter School.
The school is located in the southwestern Colorado town of Cortez and earlier this summer won the approval of the state’s Building Excellent Schools Today program for its construction plans.
Because of the BEST vote, the charter school has been given $7.4 million in state funding for construction purposes. The bond, if passed, will give the school another $3.4 million.
According to the Architect, 33,000 square feet of new school space will be built, including the construction of a 10,000 square foot gymnasium.
The school, with a fall 2011 enrollment of 170 students, currently operates out of a single building and a series of modular structures dating back to the 1970s.
By Gary Boulard
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