Aperion - Redefining Community

U.S. Senate to vote on Northwest Loop

By Jimmy Currier, Observer staff writer
Published on Sunday, July 13, 2008

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, reported that a key spending bill that contains millions of dollars in funding he requested for local transportation projects has cleared another hurdle.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved the fiscal year 2009 spending bill that funds the U.S. Department of Transportation. The bill, which can now be considered by the full Senate, contains $1 million for an access road in Sandoval County.  Funding will be used to help construct a two-lane gravel Northwest Loop access road that will bypass the metropolitan Albuquerque area by creating an alternate route from Interstate 40 to Interstate 25 via U.S. 550 to the North. Bingaman secured $955,000 for this project in FY 2008.

“This new access road will help alleviate traffic congestion in one of the busiest parts of Albuquerque,” Bingaman said.

Donnie Leonard, District 2 Sandoval county commissioner, is glad to hear the news.

“This is a great opportunity for us to move forward,” Leonard said. “This is something that has been 20 years in the making.”

The road will be 42 miles and 350-feet wide.

Leonard explained the project has been 20 years in the making and that the county has money from the 2007 and 2006 state legislature to use.

The Northwest Loop will alleviate traffic and help spur industry.

The road, combined with the county’s broadband initiative, desalinization plant and airport, will help grow the area.

“What this will do is help us open up land for industrial development,” Leonard said. “It will bring in employers that pay higher wages and we have an improved picture in industry.”

He described the Northwest Loop project as a long-range program.

“It is a multi-million dollar project and it will take years to complete,” Leonard said. “We have to continue moving forward.”

Leonard compared the road to Hwy. 101 in Phoenix that moves traffic out of congested areas.

“This is a win-win for the whole metro area when it comes to moving traffic.”

Once the gravel road is constructed, private entities have committed to funding the pavement of a permanent road.

Ultimately this 15 mile paved road will provide tremendous relief for traffic congestion at the intersection of I-40 and I-25. There is a timing issue, as the rights of way for the road are due to expire in 2007.

Centex Adopts Energy Efficiency Standards

by Lisa Marquis Jackson, July 8, 2008 - Builder Online

Centex Homes announced Tuesday that it will include a standard suite of energy efficient features in all of its homes nationwide by January 2009.

Centex targets first-time buyers and has been actively working on a comprehensive redesign of the company's product line. During the process, Centex decided to incorporate an energy efficient package as standard in order to keep costs down and create a unique selling proposition.

"With today's high energy costs, energy efficiency is front and center for home buyers," said Tim Eller, chairman and CEO of Centex. "Monthly energy bills are having a growing impact on the budgets of our home buyers, affecting overall affordability."

The builder commissioned the NAHB Research Center to study homes equipped with features included in the initiative—dubbed Centex Energy Advantage—and the results revealed an improvement in energy efficiency of up to 22% over comparable homes built to the most widely used energy efficiency code, the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).

In addition, when compared to the energy efficiency of a typical 10-year-old home as defined by the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Program, the Centex Energy Advantage homes in the study were shown to be up to 40% more energy efficient

The company expects the initiative to have impressive cumulative effects. For every 10,000 homes Centex builds each year, 17,800 fewer metric tons of carbon could be released than from comparable homes built to 2006 IECC standards. That's equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions from 2,957 passenger vehicles in one year, CO2 emissions from 1.83 million gallons of gasoline consumed, or the annual carbon absorption by 3,670 acres of pine or fir forest.

For its most recent fiscal year, the company sold nearly 25,000 homes.

"We designed the Centex Energy Advantage with a focus on two priorities," said Clayton Traylor, head of environmental affairs for Centex. "First, we want to provide our customers with homes that exceed today's energy efficiency standards while maintaining affordability. Second, we want to empower our customers with the tools and information they need to lower their energy use in the future."

Features of the Centex Energy Advantage standard package include: an energy monitor; Whirlpool or KitchenAid brand ENERGY STAR–qualified appliances; Lennox high-efficiency HVAC system; programmable thermostat(s); low-emissivity windows; radiant-barrier roof decking; R-38, R-40, or R-60 attic insulation (varies by climate zone); compact fluorescent lights in high-traffic areas; and information for maximizing energy efficiency and minimizing the impact of home operation on the environment.

Lennar: Homes For The 20th Century

By: Investing From The Right   Sunday, June 29, 2008

Yesterday, I attended a grand opening at a Lennar site in the desirable locale of Jupiter, Florida. A very large development of several hundred acres was being shown to the public for the first time. Even Radio Disney was present (the kids brought the parents - good marketing ploy). A catered lunch was provided and the well-trained and readily accessible Lennar staff was both in the model home and in the blazing heat at high noon ready to pitch the homes to be built. I spoke with four different sales representatives to get a sense of the development's presence.

Six home plans were offered with four being 4000 square feet or larger. Pricing was from the mid-$300g's for the basic 3000 sq. ft. home up to $600's for the Ford-Excursion type 5300 square foot behemoth.

Therein lies my questions for the sales force. What is Lennar thinking? McMansions, no green packages for conservation, stale floor plans, Home Owner headaches and higher fees ($270/month) for the usual pool, clubhouse and landscaping perks. I thought I was in a time warp.

Turns out, I was not far off in my thinking. The development had been in the planning stages for years since Lennar acquired the land within earshot of I-95. The Jupiter city government had demanded its stamp of approval on every aspect of the development, including exterior designs and colors, which they approved in 2004 (at the height of the real estate boom). Nothing in Lennar's master plan had been changed since, as it would have meant having the city entity in charge of these matters to review the entire project. Lennar has decided to just go ahead with the dated build-out idea.

Lennar has invested millions in land, all the infrastructure including water and sewer, a well-trained sales force and then drops the ball by offering product that is dated, inefficient and priced to perfection for 2004.What could this company be thinking?

If this large development is indicative of the company as a whole, lump LEN with Ford and General Motors. Scratch that - both auto companies may actually be thinking more creatively than Lennar.

Trading at $12.63 per share, LEN is the nation's second largest home builder. The company is actually in a better financial position than many of its competitors at this time. Lennar does take a longer term view with projects,building in 42metropolitan area locations for diversity. Cash flow at this time is not an issue, although losses are substantial, especially with cross-ventures.

To sum up,Lennar puts out a great sales force, brings in the kids for Disney and has a nice lunch buffet. It may have worked in the 20th century, but I was shocked at how little this company has not learned about the changing homescape. Selling homes that are the equivalent of SUVs in a Prius environment? Maybe my observations are off base, but personally I'll wait until Lennar takes a brief ride forward in the Star Trek time machine before I consider the purchase of this security.