Construction is close to starting on the Rio Rancho Walmart Neighborhood Market on the south side of the Rio Rancho Shopping Center near NM 528 and Southern Boulevard.
Walmart spokeswoman Delia Garcia said the construction contract has been awarded to Roche Constructors Inc. of Colorado.
“Construction is imminent,” she said. “We would expect construction to start within the next few weeks.”
The 42,039-square-foot store will sit on a four-acre site between Grande Boulevard and an existing office building, south of the shopping center that houses Samon’s, O’Hare’s Grille and Pub, Laura’s Laundry and other businesses.
According to the Roche website, the work will include demolition of an existing parking lot, overlot grading, utilities, parking lot paving, site lighting, landscape, some off-site infrastructure and roadway work. A construction trailer has already been moved to the site.
Garcia said Walmart anticipates an opening of the store late this year. Hiring will likely start in early fall, she said.
“We will be hiring for about 65 positions, full- and part-time,” she said. “We’re always seeking strong talent that’s customer-focused and excited about serving our customers in Rio Rancho.”
Walmart, which touts the neighborhood market as a “convenient grocery-shopping experience,” has four other markets in New Mexico. The stores are about a fifth the size of its superstores.
Roche was founded in Greeley, Colo., in 1971 and has regional offices in Las Vegas, Nev., and Westminister, Colo., according to its website.
Coronado Wrecking & Salvage recently completed razing a former movie theater and office building in anticipation of the Walmart project. Coronado is also under contract to demolish the old City Hall building at the west end of the Rio Rancho Shopping Center in the near future.
Nancy Chavez illustration
This illustration shows the location of the planned Walmart Neighborhood Market.
By: Mike Hartranft (Rio Rancho Observer)
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Real Estate Crowdfunding Finds Its Footing
Sites Offer Small Shares in Commercial Properties
Redevelopment of a Washington, D.C., building Micah Lubens invested in through Fundrise includes a restaurant and menswear store. Fundrise LLC
Before last year, Ed Medley had never invested in commercial real estate. Now, he’s a part-owner of shopping malls, mobile-home parks and apartment buildings from Los Angeles to Tennessee.
Dr. Medley’s springboard into real-estate investing was supplied by a process known as crowdfunding—the sale of shares in a venture, in this case real-estate projects, to hundreds or even thousands of individual investors. Dr. Medley, a consulting engineer and geologist in San Mateo, Calif., has invested in 15 properties, with a minimum of $5,000 in each.
“Being able to invest relatively small amounts of money into different real-estate ventures was appealing” as a way of limiting risk, he says.
Clearly, other real-estate investors feel the same way, with new websites springing up that allow individuals to buy stakes in everything from self-storage facilities to luxury hotels.
“The interest is huge,” says Scott Whaley, president of the National Real Estate Investors Association in Cincinnati. “There’s massive demand, both from entrepreneurs who want to get access to capital, and from people who want to invest capital.”
Focused Investments
Crowdfunding has caught on in a variety of industries, spurred in part by regulatory changes that make it easier for such businesses to look for investors. In real estate, Mr. Whaley says, the key advantages are the ability to access more deals, invest smaller sums and connect directly with developers to ask questions and research deals. Unlike real-estate investment trusts, real estate crowdfunding also allows people to invest in particular buildings.
Prodigy Network is looking to raise $55 million for the 17 John hotel project in Manhattan. Prodigy Network
Dr. Medley found his opportunities on RealtyMogul.com, operated by Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Realty Mogul Co. When a property starts to earn rental income, he gets a share of that. Most pay 8% or 9% annually, and he has received a couple of thousand dollars so far. He’ll also receive a share of any profits when the buildings are sold.
Dr. Medley and his wife are in their mid-60s and semiretired, so the income stream is “attractive,” he says. He knows there’s risk involved, but says he isn’t too concerned. “The total position that we have in crowdfunding is a relatively small part of our portfolio.”
Most real estate crowdfunding deals work in a similar way, with investors funding a project and receiving a share of the income when it’s up and running, plus a share of the proceeds when the property is sold. Jilliene Helman, co-founder and CEO of Realty Mogul, says that while returns vary and aren’t guaranteed, the company aims to provide investors with a 14% to 15% annual return, including quarterly payments and price appreciation.
Right now, most crowdfunding deals are limited to accredited investors, those with an annual income exceeding $200,000 or a net worth (excluding a primary residence) above $1 million. But the Securities and Exchange Commission is working on proposed rules to open crowdfunding to non-accredited investors as well.
Types of deals offered vary by site. Fundrise LLC of Washington, D.C., accepts investments as low as $100. “We’re focused on letting everyone invest in private real estate, not just high net worth individuals and institutional investors,” says Fundrise Co-Founder Ben Miller. The average investment is less than $10,000, compared with $60,000 at Realty Mogul.
Micah Lubens, 26 years old, has used Fundrise to put a total of $700 into two Washington, D.C., buildings under redevelopment. “I’ve lived in D.C. for the last seven years and I love it, so this was a way for me to own and be invested in the city,” he says.
For higher-end projects, some investors turn to New York-based Prodigy Network. The company has raised more than $200 million from 4,200 investors in Colombia to build that country’s tallest skyscraper, and $30 million for a luxury extended-stay residence in New York’s lower Manhattan. It’s now seeking to raise $55 million from individual investors for another luxury New York hotel project.
Do Your Homework
Experts caution that crowdfunding in real estate is a very new area, and that investors should do plenty of research before committing.
“By nature, [real-estate] crowdfunding is a high-risk asset class,” says Sherwood Neiss, co-founder of consulting firm Crowdfund Capital Advisors. He recommends starting with only a small portion of your overall portfolio, and focusing on the track record of the people running the projects. “Have they had prior successes? Who knows them? Look at all the disclosures. You can’t go into this thinking that just because the opportunity’s there, it’s a good investment,” Mr. Neiss says.
Prodigy Chief Executive Rodrigo Niño says investors should make sure any money they invest is handled by a third-party fund administrator and held in escrow until the project is fully funded. Ask for full disclosure about “related parties” in the transaction, too. “If I bring in my cousin to do the construction and my wife to be the hotel operator, that is shady,” Mr. Niño says. And be sure investors have equal rights. “You want to know that the sponsor is not making money if you’re not making money as well,” he adds.
Gary Spirer, CEO of technology firm DilogR LLC in Austin, Texas, and author of a book on crowdfunding, advises investors who are just starting out to become an expert in one type of property. “Look at a lot of deals,” he says. “Learn about the criteria for determining value, then weigh that against what’s being shown to you.”
And finally, investors should ask about the exit strategy, since some properties can take a long time to sell. Even if a promised yield is achieved, says Mr. Spirer, “there’s still a risk that you won’t get the cash out at the end.”
By: Andrew Blackman (The Wall Street Journal)
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New Mexico's Ranking: Losing Ground to Nearby States
New Mexico’s ranking in terms of economic and business competitiveness slipped in 2014, according to the annual Rich States, Poor States study by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
New Mexico’s ranking slipped to 37th place from 34th in 2013, according to the study, which ranks states in 15 areas, including top personal income rate and the number of public employees. The state’s ranking was the lowest in the seven-state region. Utah had the top spot in the U.S., the study said.
New Mexico scored well in the study in some areas and low in others. For instance, the state ranked first [the best possible score] in terms of inheritance taxes [none], and fifth in property tax burden. But the state drew a rank of 50 for not being a right-to-work state, was 49th in sales tax burden and 43rd for the number of public employees per 10,000 residents.
In 2008, the first year ALEC published the study, New Mexico ranked 27th in terms of economic competitiveness.
New York placed last on the list for 2014.
Here’s how New Mexico and surrounding states ranked:
- Utah: 1
- Arizona: 7
- Nevada: 8
- Texas: 13
- Oklahoma: 21
- Colorado: 22
- New Mexico : 37
By: Dennis Domrzalski (Albuquerque Business First)
Click here to view source article.
Click here to view Rich States, Poor States source article.
Concealed-Carry and Commercial Real Estate
Commercial property managers and real estate practitioners have a lot to consider when it comes to balancing building safety and gun-rights advocacy.
Can posting a “No guns allowed” sign on your building put you on a high-risk list? Grass Roots North Carolina says it can.
The nonprofit, all-volunteer organization is determined to defend people with concealed-carry permits who want to be allowed to carry their handguns into all bars and restaurants that serve alcohol—as long as they don’t drink. With the passage of a controversial gun law in the state that took effect on Oct. 1, 2013, the owners of restaurants and bars who don’t want guns in their businesses must post a sign. And those business owners who have posted signs are now listed on Grass Roots North Carolina’s “High Risk Restaurant List.”
“We generate a notice to the merchant that they are being reported and give them a chance to remove signs before their business’ contact information is released to tens of thousands of gun rights supporters,” says Paul Valone, president of the organization. “We don’t want gun owners to patronize these restaurants.”
Businesses such as The Smokin’ Cue and BS Jones Pub and Grill are both on Valone’s list because of their no-weapons signs, and the owners of both establishments say they have no plans to take those signs down. However, Grass Roots North Carolina is taking credit for at least nine other businesses that have taken down their signs after being listed on its website. Those, which include three Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, have been moved to a new list, titled “Welcome Back.”
Of course, this is just how one group in one state is responding to laws requiring businesses to post signage representing their business stance on guns on the premises. Professionals who work in commercial real estate are approaching the issue from a variety of standpoints.
Concealed-carry is now the law of the land. In District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed an individual’s right to keep and bear arms in the nation’s capital. Two years later, the court affirmed this ruling at the state level, denying local governments from interfering with an individual’s rights to bear arms. After that point, areas with gun bans in place had to pass legislation that did not come into conflict with the court’s ruling. Illinois was the last state in the nation to pass a concealed-carry law last July.
Although it’s now a hotly debated issue on the national level, states have been dealing with gun rights issues in local contexts for decades. In 1976, Georgia Governor Zell Miller introduced a concealed-carry law that would become a model for future state laws.
While some states do not require any kind of permit to carry, many other states (such as Colorado and Nebraska) allow people to carry concealed weapons only with a proper permit. Florida has more than 1 million people who have concealed gun permits. However, in all these states, it’s up to a building owner to prohibit concealed guns if they wish. In Missouri and Kansas, for example, most office buildings post signage forbidding firearms.
Commercial building owners and managers are apprehensive about the concealed-carry laws in their various states, according to Ed Lowenbaum, president of Lowenbaum RET Inc., a Chicago-based company that represents businesses in leasing, building, and selling across the United States. “Commercial property owners and property managers believe this is a liability issue. They are concerned about the safety of their employees and themselves, as well as anyone else who enters their property,” he says.
Many of Lowenbaum’s commercial real estate clients are writing rules into their new leases that include barring people from bringing concealed weapons onto their premises. It is then up to the owners of the businesses, especially in multitenant buildings such as office towers, to make sure that this new rule is being enforced.
“By putting this clause in the lease, the building owner is placing the liability back onto the tenants and forcing them to monitor visitors and contractors,” Lowenbaum says. He adds that, for existing tenants, property managers usually have a clause in their current leases that allows them to make additional changes and add rules and regulations.
Lowenbaum says that in Texas, the issue is being addressed before a tenant even rents the space. Building owners are trying to avoid liability, he says; they don’t want to be sued if someone is injured or killed on their property. “Property owners aren’t putting in metal detectors yet,” says Lowenbaum. “But all it takes is one bad situation and everything could change.”
“There are many unknowns at this time because Illinois is working through the permit process and screening the applicants,” says Chicago’s Building Owners and Managers Association Executive Vice President Michael Cornicelli. He notes that in Texas, Ohio, and Illinois, for example, the law allows building owners to post signage—showing a handgun in a circle with a slash through the circle—to notify the public that they cannot bring weapons onto the premises. “If the building owner doesn’t post a sign, anyone can walk in with a concealed weapon as long as he or she has a permit.”
But what happens if a building has a sign posted stating no concealed weapons, and someone walks in with one anyway? Cornicelli says the situation raises more questions for those in commercial real estate: “If a management employee notices a violation is occurring, what is his obligation? Should the violator be confronted? Should the person notify the police that this violation is occurring? What instructions has the commercial property owner given the management company as to what should be done?”
There are other gun-related issues outside of concealed carry that some commercial practitioners should be aware of. Utah’s House Bill 76, would have allowed any individual to carry a weapon without having to obtain a concealed-carry permit, but it was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Gary Herbert. Meanwhile, Oklahoma instituted a law in 2012 that extends the right of a licensed person to openly carry a handgun, in addition to its concealed-carry law.
Some commercial property owners allow tenants to make up their minds. David Malk, vice president at CRM Properties Group Ltd. in Deerfield, Ill., has not placed signs on any of their properties prohibiting concealed weapons. However, if a tenant wants to post such a sign, he has no objection as long as the signage is in compliance with all sign rules and regulations of the shopping center and the government. To date, none of his tenants have brought their concern about having concealed weapons in any of the shopping centers to his attention.
Regardless of local sentiment, commercial practitioners should make sure that, however they choose to address this issue, they make themselves aware of the state and local laws that apply to their property.
“Currently, there isn’t a national organization that is a repository for concealed weapons information about every state or for what steps each state is doing about concealed-carry guns, Cornicelli says. “Building owners should contact their state police or local police where their building is located if they have any issues or questions about the concealed-carry law in their state.”
By: Vicki Gerson (REALTORMag)
Click here to view source article.
The nonprofit, all-volunteer organization is determined to defend people with concealed-carry permits who want to be allowed to carry their handguns into all bars and restaurants that serve alcohol—as long as they don’t drink. With the passage of a controversial gun law in the state that took effect on Oct. 1, 2013, the owners of restaurants and bars who don’t want guns in their businesses must post a sign. And those business owners who have posted signs are now listed on Grass Roots North Carolina’s “High Risk Restaurant List.”
“We generate a notice to the merchant that they are being reported and give them a chance to remove signs before their business’ contact information is released to tens of thousands of gun rights supporters,” says Paul Valone, president of the organization. “We don’t want gun owners to patronize these restaurants.”
Businesses such as The Smokin’ Cue and BS Jones Pub and Grill are both on Valone’s list because of their no-weapons signs, and the owners of both establishments say they have no plans to take those signs down. However, Grass Roots North Carolina is taking credit for at least nine other businesses that have taken down their signs after being listed on its website. Those, which include three Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, have been moved to a new list, titled “Welcome Back.”
Of course, this is just how one group in one state is responding to laws requiring businesses to post signage representing their business stance on guns on the premises. Professionals who work in commercial real estate are approaching the issue from a variety of standpoints.
Concealed-carry is now the law of the land. In District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed an individual’s right to keep and bear arms in the nation’s capital. Two years later, the court affirmed this ruling at the state level, denying local governments from interfering with an individual’s rights to bear arms. After that point, areas with gun bans in place had to pass legislation that did not come into conflict with the court’s ruling. Illinois was the last state in the nation to pass a concealed-carry law last July.
Although it’s now a hotly debated issue on the national level, states have been dealing with gun rights issues in local contexts for decades. In 1976, Georgia Governor Zell Miller introduced a concealed-carry law that would become a model for future state laws.
While some states do not require any kind of permit to carry, many other states (such as Colorado and Nebraska) allow people to carry concealed weapons only with a proper permit. Florida has more than 1 million people who have concealed gun permits. However, in all these states, it’s up to a building owner to prohibit concealed guns if they wish. In Missouri and Kansas, for example, most office buildings post signage forbidding firearms.
Commercial building owners and managers are apprehensive about the concealed-carry laws in their various states, according to Ed Lowenbaum, president of Lowenbaum RET Inc., a Chicago-based company that represents businesses in leasing, building, and selling across the United States. “Commercial property owners and property managers believe this is a liability issue. They are concerned about the safety of their employees and themselves, as well as anyone else who enters their property,” he says.
Many of Lowenbaum’s commercial real estate clients are writing rules into their new leases that include barring people from bringing concealed weapons onto their premises. It is then up to the owners of the businesses, especially in multitenant buildings such as office towers, to make sure that this new rule is being enforced.
“By putting this clause in the lease, the building owner is placing the liability back onto the tenants and forcing them to monitor visitors and contractors,” Lowenbaum says. He adds that, for existing tenants, property managers usually have a clause in their current leases that allows them to make additional changes and add rules and regulations.
Lowenbaum says that in Texas, the issue is being addressed before a tenant even rents the space. Building owners are trying to avoid liability, he says; they don’t want to be sued if someone is injured or killed on their property. “Property owners aren’t putting in metal detectors yet,” says Lowenbaum. “But all it takes is one bad situation and everything could change.”
“There are many unknowns at this time because Illinois is working through the permit process and screening the applicants,” says Chicago’s Building Owners and Managers Association Executive Vice President Michael Cornicelli. He notes that in Texas, Ohio, and Illinois, for example, the law allows building owners to post signage—showing a handgun in a circle with a slash through the circle—to notify the public that they cannot bring weapons onto the premises. “If the building owner doesn’t post a sign, anyone can walk in with a concealed weapon as long as he or she has a permit.”
But what happens if a building has a sign posted stating no concealed weapons, and someone walks in with one anyway? Cornicelli says the situation raises more questions for those in commercial real estate: “If a management employee notices a violation is occurring, what is his obligation? Should the violator be confronted? Should the person notify the police that this violation is occurring? What instructions has the commercial property owner given the management company as to what should be done?”
There are other gun-related issues outside of concealed carry that some commercial practitioners should be aware of. Utah’s House Bill 76, would have allowed any individual to carry a weapon without having to obtain a concealed-carry permit, but it was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Gary Herbert. Meanwhile, Oklahoma instituted a law in 2012 that extends the right of a licensed person to openly carry a handgun, in addition to its concealed-carry law.
Some commercial property owners allow tenants to make up their minds. David Malk, vice president at CRM Properties Group Ltd. in Deerfield, Ill., has not placed signs on any of their properties prohibiting concealed weapons. However, if a tenant wants to post such a sign, he has no objection as long as the signage is in compliance with all sign rules and regulations of the shopping center and the government. To date, none of his tenants have brought their concern about having concealed weapons in any of the shopping centers to his attention.
Regardless of local sentiment, commercial practitioners should make sure that, however they choose to address this issue, they make themselves aware of the state and local laws that apply to their property.
“Currently, there isn’t a national organization that is a repository for concealed weapons information about every state or for what steps each state is doing about concealed-carry guns, Cornicelli says. “Building owners should contact their state police or local police where their building is located if they have any issues or questions about the concealed-carry law in their state.”
By: Vicki Gerson (REALTORMag)
Click here to view source article.
