Archives for March 2016

CARW is pleased to be an organizing partner of the Real Estate Alliance for Charity and to serve as the administrator for the organization.  REACH has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from generous professionals in the commercial real estate industry and provided much-needed grants to local charities that focus on children.

REACH is now looking for the next charity to participate in the Charitable Giving Program; the program provides a minimum grant of $10,000 per year for 3 years to a charity selected through a process in June/July.

Learn more about the program and how to apply – 2014 REACH Charitable Giving Program Request for Proposal

While supporters and opponents of Albuquerque Rapid Transit continue debating whether or not the project is a “done deal” — and at least one city councilor says she’d consider putting it to a vote in Albuquerque’s November general elections — its general contractor, Bradbury Stamm Construction, has already released projected schedules for at least one of the five construction segments along the 15-mile route.
Cynthia Schultz, Bradbury’s CEO, said at last night’s public meeting on the Westside — the fourth of five planned to provide the company with input to help steer its build schedule — that the meetings have helped.
ART project leaders observe a public meeting in progress from the sidelines. Standing from left to right: Cynthia Schultz, Bradbury Stamm Construction CEO; and Dayna Crawford, ABQ Ride deputy director and ART project manager.
“We’re learning there’s lots of festivals,” Schultz said. “There’s lots of events, and we’re trying to accommodate them as we can, and we’ll try to accommodate them how we can, and we’re trying to make our schedule work as much as possible. At the same time, we still have to finish on schedule and have the quality and the safety.”

Schultz said construction segments one and five, which encompass the east and west ends of the route, may see some activity as early as May, while the interior segments from Atrisco Drive on the Westside to Monroe Street in East Nob Hill will start to see some heavier lifting in August. Tentative schedules show construction starting in the Downtown area, which is in segment three, along the ART route on Copper and Gold Avenues from July to September.

Finalizing the build schedule is central to the city’s ability to ask the Federal Transit Administration for permission to begin spending the $18.7 million in local matching funds from gross receipts tax bonds and other programs that the city has earmarked for the project, which planners want to spend before Congress approves the $69.7 million Small Starts grant that President Obama’s 2017 budget awarded for the system’s construction. Project manager Dayna Crawford said the construction schedule has to be detailed in the letter ABQ Ride will send to the FTA asking for the preconstruction agreement.

Thanks to all of the brokers, sponsors and guests who attended the March 2016 CCIM NM Deal Making Session and to those who shared the CCIM NM March Properties. Over 25 million dollars of commercial real estate properties available for sale were presented from all over New Mexico.

When it comes to national rankings, Albuquerque has a spotty record. For every positive ranking, the city often finds itself on the negative end of one or more lists.

But the Duke City can breathe a sigh of relief. U.S. News & World Report released its Best Places to Live Ranking on Wednesday morning and Albuquerque did surprisingly well (depending on your point of view), coming in 41st out of 100.

Ranking metropolitan areas based on affordability, job prospects and quality of life, the U.S. News gave top honors to Denver, followed by Austin, Texas, and Fayetteville, Arkansas. Nabbing the lowest spots on the lists were Modesto, California, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Neighboring Arizona landed two cities on the list – Phoenix (48) and Tucson (73). In addition to Denver, Colorado also was represented by Colorado Springs (5). Texas had six cities make the list – Austin (2), Houston (17), Dallas (21), San Antonio (23), El Paso (71), and McAllen (89). Albuquerque is sandwiched between two Florida metropolitan areas – Palm Bay-Melbourne and Tampa. On U.S. News’ scorecard, Albuquerque scored 6.6 out of 10, with desirability and value earning high marks.

View the entire list on U.S. News & World Report’s site.

In a press release, Miriam Weiner, product manager for real estate at U.S. News, had this to say about the rankings: “The Best Places to Live ranking accounts for the most important concerns people have about where to live, such as cost of living, employment opportunities and access to good schools. Top-ranked areas not only have steady job markets, but they also have attributes that contribute to a high quality of life – affordability, low crime rates, shorter commute times and quality health care.”

According to U.S. News, roughly two-thirds of the country’s population lives within one of the metropolitan areas on the list. The list also was determined in part by a public survey and data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the F.B.I. and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By: Christopher Ortiz (Albuquerque Business First)

Click here to view source article.