Archives for May 2015

Courtesy of Rosemann Associates Shown in this computer-generated image is MorningStar of Albuquerque, an assisted living and memory care residential facility currently under construction at 8051 Polomas NE.

The $8.4 million, 61,300-square-foot project at 8051 Palomas NE, which is expected to open in December, is a joint venture of MorningStar Senior Living and Confluent Development Services, both based in Denver.

“Our geographic focus is major markets west of St. Louis,” said Matthew Turner, chief financial and development officer at MorningStar. “Albuquerque fits squarely into that. We love the city — it’s a vibrant city — and the opportunity for us to offer a quality and innovative product.”

MorningStar’s first project in New Mexico, the Palomas facility will have 48 assisted living units, ranging from studio to two-bedroom, in the two-story building as well as a 21-unit “Reflections Neighborhood” where memory care will be provided.

The facility will create about 70 full- and part-time jobs to provide 24/7 staffing, Turner said. Albuquerque resident Larry Mascarenas, who has worked in senior living for 2½ years, is its executive director.

MorningStar will offer upscale amenities including restaurant-style dining with meals prepared by an executive chef, various community spaces and an activities program. A majority of the residents are expected to be drawn from neighborhoods in the Northeast Heights.

“The average age of our residents is north of 80,” Turner said. “We’re really focused not only on providing service to our residents but to their families as well.”

MorningStar’s facility is on the same stretch of Palomas as Paloma Landing Retirement Community, an independent living facility, and Las Palomas Center, a 120-bed residential care and skilled nursing facility.

MorningStar’s new site occupies about 2½ acres of the 3.4-acre site. Turner said the balance of the site likely will be developed separately for retail uses.

MorningStar has 23 properties open or in development in 11 cities in seven states.

By: Richard Metcalf (Albuquerque Journal)

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The Rail Runner pulls out of the Santa Fe Railyard earlier this week. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal)
When launched in 2006, a New Mexico commuter rail line that would connect Albuquerque and Santa Fe was hailed by supporters as a progressive step toward taking people out of cars and putting them on the train.
But as impressive a feat as it was for a poor state’s huge foray into mass public transit, it comes at a price: The train earned $2.8 million last fiscal year in fares from more than a million riders but cost $28.4 million to operate. And even bigger amounts of red ink are looming over the horizon.
Now the question of whether the huge state investment in the 97-mile commuter rail system is worth it will be visited anew after state lawmakers asked the New Mexico Department of Transportation to conduct a study on the long-term finances of the line. The study will look at everything from future costs and debt obligations to examining whether the state should sell the Rail Runner and replace it with a bus service.
The finances surrounding the Rail Runner have created a divide in New Mexico. To some, the price tag makes no sense, especially considering relatively low ridership numbers and little congestion on the roads. Others, pointing out large price tags for road projects, suggest it’s an asset worth keeping.
“I look at it this way: We pay millions of dollars for repairs of the highways,” said Micky Hogue, waiting recently with a friend at an Albuquerque station for a midmorning ride to Santa Fe. Retired from Sandia National Laboratories, she said many of her friends ride the full morning train to work.
For those who ride the train, it’s one of the best deals in the country.
The average fare is $2.47, compared with the average trip length of 40.7 miles. That adds up to 6 cents per passenger mile. A 2011 Department of Transportation study of several train systems around the country found the rates to be among the lowest.
Meanwhile, the costs are rising. On top of operating costs, the state is paying about $28 million a year in debt for the train until 2024, and will have to shell out $112 million in 2025 and 2026 in balloon payments.
Taxpayers are also on the hook for nearly $493 million in infrastructure for the rail line. The Department of Transportation estimates that the total debt repayment over 20 years, including principal and interest, works out to nearly $784 million.
“I don’t know how we’re going to deal with it in those (balloon payment) years,” Transportation Secretary Tom Church said. “There’s no silver bullet.”
A fallback for the state could be to refinance the final two payments, a call that lawmakers will have to make.
Academics and others agree it’s not easy to quantify the value of a rail system, which brings multiple benefits aside from relieving congestion. The benefits include reducing pollution, improving safety and providing transportation for those in need.
University of New Mexico civil engineering professor Gregory Rowangould says it’s difficult to put into perspective because “what’s appropriate for New York City is not appropriate for Albuquerque.”
But he said the rail line has potential, given that population and traffic patterns can change. “I’d think that there’s value in keeping it around,” he said.
But in a state like New Mexico with low population density, it’s questionable whether a train is worth the cost, said Clifford Winston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., who studies urban rail systems. “If it is socially undesirable, then cut your losses and no longer incur the cost … and try to recover the capital that you can and walk away,” Winston said.
A House memorial sponsored by Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque, which passed 31-13, calls on the Transportation Department to produce a Rail Runner feasibility study by mid-November.
Rehm said he introduced it to highlight the cost of the Rail Runner – especially for new legislators who may not have been aware of the situation.
Rehm said the Rail Runner replaced the Department of Transportation’s Park and Ride commuter bus, which charged a $3 fare for an hourlong, one-way ride from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, with a train ride that costs $9 and takes about 90 minutes.
“I’ve heard some people say it would be cheaper to buy a Prius for each Rail Runner customer and just park the train,” Rehm said. “It’s like when you have a lemon for a car. I know I’m going to lose money, but I just need to move on.”
But Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, said he voted against the measure in the recent legislative session because he felt its language created a “negative bias” against subsidies for commuter rail when other forms of transportation are also subsidized.
“As if when we ride on the freeway we’re using Monopoly money,” he said.
By: Vik Jolly (The Associated Press)
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Thanks to all of the brokers, sponsors and guests who attended the May 2015 CCIM Deal Making Session and to those who shared the May 2015 CCIM Properties. Over 22 million dollars of commercial real estate properties available for sale were presented from all over New Mexico.

1.	Tim With & John Ransom	612 Encino Place	$515,000
2.	Larry McClintock & Bruce Golden	8501 Candelaria Bldg D	$825,000
3.	Tim MacEachen, CCIM, SIOR	2601 Baylor Dr SE	$1,950,000
4.	Hunter Greene, Patti Peixotto, Joel White, MAI	3720-3852 Hawkins	$12,200,000
5.	Steve Kraemer & Dave Hill, CCIM	2632 Pennsylvania St	$990,000
6.	Anne Apicella	187 Sarah Lane NW	$480,000
7.	Tim With & John Ransom	2551 Coors Blvd NW	$815,945
8.	Brett Hills	3510 Coors Blvd	$5,230,000
9.	George Chronis & Brent Tiano, CCIM	3500 Commanche Rd,Bldg E	$755,000
10.	Joel White, MAI, Patti Peixotto & Hunter Greene	1451 Innovation Park Place	$3,400,000
11.	Tim With & John Ransom	7445 Pan American Fwy	$4,500,000
12.	Rich Diller, CCIM, SIOR & Cole Flanagan, CPA	7510 Montgomery Blvd	$1,950,000

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry said Tuesday that the passage of an equal-pay ordinance by the Albuquerque City Council this week puts the Duke City on the national stage regarding the issue. The ordinance is also being hailed by many in Albuquerque’s business community too.
The measure incentivizes businesses seeking city contracts to offer equal pay to women by giving a 5 percent weighted preference to companies holding a “pay equity business certificate” issued by the city’s Office of Diversity and Human Rights.
Berry said the initiative is not only good for business owners, but “puts Albuquerque on the national forefront with pay equity.” Albuquerque is the first city in country to incentivize pay equity between men and women. Women in the state earn roughly 80 cents for every dollar a man earns, and the wage gap for Latina women is even wider — 55 cents to every dollar.
“We are extremely happy to see the city of Albuquerque take a step toward narrowing the pay gap between men and women and provide an incentive for businesses that are also working to narrow that gap,” said Pamelya Herndon, executive director of the Southwest Women’s Law Center. “Although businesses are not required to show complete parity in pay between men and women under the new ordinance, this is an opportunity for the city to gather reliable data on pay differences, and watch whether businesses move to improve their efforts to provide equal pay for women,” she said.
The initiative was spearheaded by Berry and City Councilors Diane Gibson and Klarissa Peña. The ordinance takes effect July 1.
By: Sal Christ (Albuquerque Business First)
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