Archives for 2015

There’s a saying among economic developers and those in construction — the economy is healthy when you can see those big cranes at work.

They’re referring to construction cranes on job sites, and driving around Albuquerque lately, there are a few more to be seen than in recent years.

Several projects throughout Albuquerque are under construction – this is the Imperial Building in Downtown.
Business First has created an interactive map that highlights some of the bigger projects in work in the metro area. Play with the map below (in this link) to see what’s working in your corridor. Click on the “map pins” to see project profiles, images, renderings, a brief description and links to other Business First stories.

To keep it manageable, we included bigger commercial projects that are being built from the ground up, not renovations. We included developments that have broken ground and are in some phase of construction, including senior living projects, but not other multifamily endeavors for this map. It’s not an exhaustive list.

If you have a project that’s not included here, and you’d like it to be in the future, email me at sguzman@bizjournals.com. To view the complete map on a mobile device, click “view full site” at the bottom of the story page.

By: Stephanie Guzman (Albuquerque Business First)

Click here to view source article.

Most people wouldn’t go out of their way to spend time thinking about zoning related to real estate, but it’s crucial in how cities are shaped and grow.

Zoning starts with what uses are allowed in certain areas, such as manufacturing verses a restaurant, and then spells out elements such as how high buildings are allowed to be built.

The City of Albuquerque is working on rewriting its zoning code, the Integrated Development Ordinance. City planners just released the zoning code’s first module, which proposes new zones that will replace all of the old zones.

Mikaela Renz-Whitmore, a planner with the city, said the current system is so inconsistent, vast and complex that it’s hard for developers to introduce new ideas to the city.

For example, Renz-Whitmore said new container development Green Jeans Farmery had a hard time getting through the system because there wasn’t anything in the zoning code that resembled such a development.

In the current code, there are about 40 standalone sector development plans with zoning, which are rules for specific areas such as Downtown’s 2025 sector development plan. On top of that, there are about 550 special-use zones, which relate to specific properties.

City planners are trying to condense all of those zones into fewer than 20 proposed categories.

Renz-Whitmore said the new categories are fairly intuitive and fall under either residential, nonresidential or mixed-use categories.

“Our goal is not to take away uses but replace it with a framework and system that’s much easier to understand and administer so we can develop the kinds of things people want to see,” she said.

The city of Albuquerque has held five public meetings over two days about the proposed categories, meetings that ranged from 15 to 60 people.

While residents worried that the elimination of some sector plans will take away property rights and neighborhood protections, businesses and developers sometimes want to throw out sector plans all together, especially if the plans hinder new development.

“We’re trying to strike that balance, which raises quality while also not making it so difficult to develop in Albuquerque so that we get the kinds of redevelopment and invest where we want them,” she said.

The city is hosting one more public meeting about the new categories. The meeting takes place Thursday, Oct. 29 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at City Hall, the Council Committee Room on the 9th floor.

For more information, visit the city’s ABC-Zone website.

By: Stephanie Guzman (Albuquerque Business First)

Click here to view source article.

CCIM New Mexico Celebration
October 20, 2015

Debbie Dupes, CCIM & Dan Newman CCIM NM Deal of the Year Award: Over $1 Million

View Celebration pictures on the CCIM NM Facebook page.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) has officially completed the first phase of its $500 million carbon dioxide flooding project in Hobbs.

Announced in 2013, the project involves flooding the oil field in South Hobbs with carbon dioxide in order to increase oil production substantially. According to company representatives, when the company — also known as Oxy Permian — began CO2 flooding in Hobbs more than a decade ago, oil production doubled as a result.

Grant Taylor, president and CEO of the Hobbs Chamber of Commerce, said that Oxy’s investment in the South Hobbs field has “decades-long outlook” and could extend the life of the oil field there by as much as 30 years.

Two years ago, Hobbs’ oil operations involved primary and water recovery alone — methods of recovering oil through drilling new wells first and then injecting water to recover more oil after primary recovery wanes. Oil recovery through CO2 flooding is considered a third stage oil recovery method; Oxy Permian’s South Hobbs project replaces water-only recovery with CO2 flooding.

Grant Taylor, president and CEO of the Hobbs Chamber of Commerce, said that Oxy’s investment in the South Hobbs field has a “decades-long outlook” and could extend the life of the oil field there by as much as 30 years.

“Oxy’s South Hobbs project is a great example of the billions in capital expenditures we’ve seen over the last decade in the Permian Basin. Aside from exploration and production, we’ve also seen major investments in infrastructure like pipeline and rail,” he said.
Oil prices have largely remained at $50 or less per barrel over the last year. While many in the industry are struggling, the project will likely increase oil production and bring more jobs to the area. Taylor said that those in Hobbs “remain optimistic about the long-term outlook for oil and natural gas production.”
One of the largest carbon dioxide injectors in the Permian Basin, Occidental Petroleum is a leader in what’s known as enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology and operated more than two dozen carbon dioxide flooding projects in 2014 alone. The company plans to invest a total of $740 million in Hobbs over the coming years via flooding projects and expansions.
New Mexico is one of the top states for onshore oil production and is the fourth-largest net energy supplier in the country.
By: Sal Christ (Albuquerque Business First)
Click here to view source article.