Pueblo - General Info (Denver, Colorado Springs: mortgage, celebrity, architect)

[Josseppie]

One of the things i like about MJ and hemp is its giving a economic base to the entire county. From the airport industrial park to the farms, to the Colorado City/ Hatchet Ranch area in south county, the foot hills and Pueblo West. I think its a big reason why Pueblo is a top housing market in the nation. It will be interesting to see the mandated growth this industry brings to pueblo. My guess is 250,000 to 500,00 people. Not the biggest county but a good sized one.

[Josseppie]

Great story on Pueblo by the Denver Post!

This is what I have felt and even got in arguments with some people who want to keep Pueblo the same.

This is from the Denver Post:

"Pueblo is a city steeped in tradition and pride" "There also is a sense that the southern Colorado city hasn’t kept up with growth on the Front Range. For decades, that might have been OK with city leaders. Maintaining a certain quality of life — a small-town feel, locally owned businesses, no traffic — was important.

But as time changes, so must the city."

The link: https://www.denverpost.com/2019/09/0...yzSwhuIzFIROSM

[Vision67]

https://gazette.com/premium/pueblo-w...3edd4facc.html

"IndieDwell, a Boise, Idaho-based startup that manufactures modular homes, announced plans Monday to open a plant in Pueblo in the first quarter of 2020 with up to 200 employees.

The 100,000-square-foot plant plant at full capacity is expected annually turn out between 300 and 1,000 one- to four-bedroom homes costing $56,000-$122,000 along Colorado’s Front Range. The company expects to reach full capacity within three years and generate an annual payroll estimated at $16 million. Full-time jobs will pay an average salary of $38,248 and include medical, dental and vision benefits plus 20 days a year of paid time off.

The Pueblo Economic Development Corp. began working with indieDwell early this year and has agreed to provide the company $1.64 million from the city of Pueblo’s half-cent sales tax for economic development, said Jeff Shaw, the economic development group’s president and CEO. The tax funds must still be approved by the Pueblo City Council. The Colorado Economic Development Commission also awarded the company an incentive of up to $684,000 from its strategic fund.

Pete Gombert, indieDwell’s co-founder and executive chairman, cited the region’s need for affordable housing and a robust local work force in selecting Pueblo as the site for the company’s plant.

“Pueblo, like many areas, faces significant shortages in affordable housing but the combination of the quality workforce and dedicated local partners made this happen,” Gombert said Monday in a press release.

Denver-based Gary Community Investments, which invests in philanthropic solutions for Colorado’s low-income children and their families, along with the Colorado Health Foundation introduced indieDwell to PEDCO to begin discussions on the plant.

“PEDCO is trilled to work with Pete Gombert and his team at indieDwell, as well as Gary Community Investments, Colorado Health Foundation and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, on this incentive project for Pueblo,” Shaw said Monday in a news release. “We look forward to a long relationship with Peter and his team and thank the citizens of Pueblo for making this possible through their continued support of the half cents sales tax.”

Chris Blanchard, indieDwell’s sales and marketing manager, said the company has contracted with Gary Communities and the Colorado Health Foundation to build 400 units along the Front Range with some in Pueblo and many in the Denver area and northern Colorado. The company hopes to help solve a deficit of more than 110,000 housing rental units needed by extremely low-income individuals and families. He said the company is paying more than the prevailing wage for construction jobs because “we want people to be able to afford our product.”

“The need for affordable housing is a universal challenge that lakes a universal solution,” Michelle Hadwiger, global business development for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, said in a news release. “indieDwell’s innovative and thoughtful solution adds a vital option to the national housing crisis. Colorado will feel the benefit of indieDwell’s new jobs and factory in Pueblo and families will benefit from an affordable housing option.”

The homes range in size from 360 to 960 square feet and include up to four bedrooms, two bathrooms and with all but the smallest have a kitchen, dining and living rooms. The company will spend $13 million on the plant and PEDCO estimates the project will have an annual economic impact of $35 million.

IndieDwell was started last year in the Boise suburb of Caldwell, Idaho, by Gombert and Scott Flynn as a public benefit corporation to manufacture “healthy, durable, energy efficient and sustainable modular houses with a mission to help solve the affordable housing crisis while improving the health of the environment and empowering communities,” according to the company’s website. The company now employs 70 at its headquarters and manufacturing plant in Caldwell for homes it is building in Boise, Caldwell and McCall, Idaho. A project in Los Angeles also is planned.

The company closed last month on $5.5 million in financing for a nationwide expansion from The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan; Northern Trust, the Colorado Health Foundation and Gary Community Investments. IndieDwell plans to build 100,000 of its homes nationwide by 2025, according to its website."

I like this idea. Build a house in a factory and you should have better control of the process, materials, and quality. But a developed lot is also required. To get that part of the deal affordable will be a big challenge.

[DrDog]

Why is this new interesting topic being thrown into the end of a 50 page topic?

[Mike from back east]

In keeping with the established precedent for keeping general announcements about Pueblo in one thread.

[BornintheSprings]

I heard Pueblo has a mafia problem

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by BornintheSprings

I heard Pueblo has a mafia problem

Had. Past tense.

[Josseppie]

That is good news about the company moving to downtown to build a small houses and is building on what the mayor’s top goal is. To get large developments in downtown thus causing the rest of the metro to grow. Look for more projects in 2020.

[Josseppie]

The big news in Pueblo last night was the passing of the school bond issue.

Not only will Pueblo get an aquatic center on the Riverwalk but 2 new high schools and Central (Bell rings blue!) will be remodeled and modernized. All the high schools in Pueblo proper.

This combined with everything going on (MJ and hemp causing the economy to explode, new $500 million steel mill, green energy and other companies moving to Pueblo) should cause Pueblo to grow a lot in the 2020’s!!!!!!

From the Chieftain:

Ballot measure 4A would keep D60 a four-high school district, with two new 1,000-capacity high schools built to replace Centennial and East, and significant upgrades made to Central and South high schools, and a host of schools.

The link: https://www.chieftain.com/news/20191...ting-thumbs-up

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

Had. Past tense.

Classic mafia is long past.

The Danna/Carlino wars in Pueblo and then the Carlino/Roma wars in Denver were as bloody as anything coming out of Chicago during Prohibition.

Mexican cartels are dabbling in the marijuana market now days, but not just in Pueblo and not as high profile as the Italian mafia days. Of course we don't hear a lot about these connections when busts go down, unless they are exceedingly large.