Over the last decade, Alec has worked closely with investment companies to measure the full range of economic, fiscal, and demographic impacts associated with hundreds of real estate and infrastructure projects throughout the United States. Importantly, for projects involving union building trades, Alec has conducted extensive prevailing wage research to customize the IMPLAN model and estimate the impacts on wages and benefits for union trades. All of Alec’s clients receive among the highest grades in the North America’s Building Trades Unions (“NABTU”) Real Estate and Infrastructure Managers Report Card.
Real Estate Investments and the Impacts for Union Building Trades
For the National Electrical Benefit Fund (“NEBF”) and the National Electrical Annuity Plan (“NEAP”), Pinnacle measured the economic and fiscal impacts associated real estate projects throughout the United States by seven real estate investment managers. These investment managers oversee investments on behalf of NEAP and NEBF in open-end funds, closed end funds, and separate accounts across a variety of core, core-plus, and value-add strategies. Collectively, these real estate managers have approximately $124 billion of real estate assets under management. For this study, Pinnacle analyzed more than 1,120 real estate construction projects and thousands of tenant improvement projects managed by these firms from 2012 through 2022 . Importantly, these managers are committed to responsible investment as evidenced by their use of Responsible Contractor Policies which address certain asset-level risks and help ensure that their projects employ a highly skilled, stable, and productive workforce. To do this, Pinnacle conducted extensive prevailing wage research for union construction trades across all 36 states, and used that data to augment or customize the IMPLAN model to more accurately reflect the use of union trades during construction. Pinnacle not only measured the economic impacts for state economies and fiscal impacts for state and local governments, but also the wages, health and welfare benefits, pension benefits, and other benefits for union building trades.
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Real Estate and Infrastructure Investments for the Ullico Family of Companies
Ullico’s Separate Account J, commonly known as ‘J for Jobs,’ is a commercial real estate debt investment vehicle that lends to real estate developers and property owners. Established in 1977, loans made through J for Jobs require that all construction be built with union labor as a condition of the lending agreement. For well over a decade, Pinnacle has measured the economic and fiscal impacts of Ullico’s J for jobs real estate investments throughout the United States using the IMPLAN model and detailed prevailing wage data for union construction trades. Recently, Pinnacle began measuring the economic and fiscal impacts for Ullico’s Infrastructure Fund with investments in solar, wind, natural gas-fired electric generation, transmission lines, inland barge services, data centers, and more.
Real Estate Investments and Tenant Improvements for the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust (“BIT”)
Pinnacle used its union-enhanced IMPLAN modeling framework to measure the economic and fiscal impacts for union construction trades for new construction and tenant improvement projects invested in by BIT over the 1992-2021 time period. The construction-related direct impacts included 59.6 million hours of work for union construction trades, with $4.3 billion in labor income consisting of $2.7 billion in prevailing wages and $1.6 billion in benefits.
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Equity Fund Real Estate Investments in the United States
Used detailed project costs to measure the economic and fiscal impacts associated with almost $7.5 billion in real estate investments funded by the Multi-Employer Property Trust (“MEPT”) since 1982. Impacts were measured for individual projects, and then summed by market and state. Projects include office buildings, warehouses, flex/research and development facilities, multi-family residential, retail centers, and mixed use. Economic and fiscal impact measures include changes in output, income, employment, and state and local tax revenues. Additional impacts were calculated for union construction labor and green building projects.
Mutual Fund Real Estate Investments in the United States
For the AFL-CIO’s Housing Investment Trust (“HIT”), measured the economic and fiscal impacts associated with $8.5 billion in real estate projects throughout the United States. Impacts were measured using a detailed expenditure approach within the IMPLAN modeling software. Projects included multi-family residential, mixed use commercial, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and senior living and rehabilitation centers. This mutual fund finances projects that support union labor. As a result, developed a union trade module that was used to allocate direct construction jobs to 16 different trade groups. In addition, researched and developed a detailed union-augmented, input-output framework that allows for the estimation of secondary union jobs, by state, across all 539 industry sectors in the IMPLAN model. To our knowledge, we are the only economic consulting firm in the United States with this union-augmented input-output modeling framework.
Construction and Operation of a Data Center
For Facebook, measured the economic and fiscal impacts associated with the construction and operations of its Prineville Data Center. The analysis provided detailed impacts for each phase of the $210 million construction project for the local, regional, and state economies. The report also served as a foundation for a presentation to persuade the Oregon Legislature to alter its property taxing policy on data centers. Alec was the sole analyst and author of this comprehensive analysis.
Bond-Financed Capital Projects for Portland Schools
For the Portland Public School District and Clackamas Community College, used an economic impact modeling framework implemented within the IMPLAN system to measure the economic and fiscal impacts associated with over $700 million in bond-financed construction and renovation projects for Portland area schools. Impacts were based on detailed project spending and financing costs over various time periods to measure both the gross impacts (unadjusted for bond financing) and net impacts (adjusted for bond financing).
City of Seattle’s Alaska Way Viaduct Replacement Project
Conducted a comprehensive economic analysis of impacts of proposed changes to Seattle area transportation resulting from restructuring of the Alaska Way Viaduct, including analysis of tolling and other congestion models, impacts of freight traffic, analysis of the short-term construction impacts and the long-term accessibility and business development impacts using a combined econometric and input-output model designed to link changes in accessibility to changes in business activity.
Bremerton Downtown Revitalization Program and Boardwalk Project
Conducted a comprehensive socioeconomic impact study for the City of Bremerton’s proposed down town revitalization program, including a 25 year forecast of the economic and fiscal impacts; estimation of the tax revenues to be received by various local entities such as schools, fire and police, and roads; and evaluation of a wide range of economic development issues such housing supply, commercial space, and changes in zoning regulations. Study included an analysis of the economic and fiscal impacts from a proposed Boardwalk project, including a market demand analysis, evaluation of tourism-related impacts and economic development potential.
San Francisco Tolling and Transit Policy Alternatives
Development of a combined econometric and input-output model to measure the economic impacts associated with changes in zonal accessibility resulting from the NE Corner Cordon tolling and transit policy alternatives designed by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. Static user benefits were measured using a Benefit-Cost Analysis tool. The changes in inter-zonal travel impedances resulting from the tolling options were used to predict impacts on the trends (relative to baseline trends) of employment and other indicators in the city, the rest of county, and other Bay Area counties. The analysis used impedance-incidence analysis, and measures of the locational sensitivity of affected business sectors.
Proposed 500-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Project
For Portland General Electric (“PGE”), evaluated the economic and fiscal impacts associated with PGE’s nearly $1.0 billion, 500 kV Cascade Crossing Transmission Project. Used detailed construction cost estimates, and the IMPLAN economic impact modeling software to measure the economic and fiscal impacts of the project for the state of Oregon and the nation. Importantly, to meet critical project deadlines, the impact modeling and report were prepared in less than 45 days.
Magnolia Bridge Replacement in Seattle, Washington
Prepared an analysis of the impacts of replacement of the Magnolia Bridge in Seattle, WA on overall business activity, including long-term changes in business and shopping patterns, altered commercial sales potential and resulting effects on jobs, cluster industry economics, long-term employment creation, including development and business growth, and effects on property values and property tax collections, on B&O taxes, and on sales tax revenues. Short-term impacts were also assessed. These included economic impacts related to project construction activities, including temporary changes in accessibility and resulting business or shopping patterns, construction-related employment, sales tax revenues, the loss of businesses and jobs as a result of property acquisition, and potential commercial development at Terminal 91.
Construction and Operation of Combined-Cycle Power Plant in Oregon
For Troutdale Energy Center (“TEC”), measured the economic and fiscal impacts from construction and operation of a proposed $680.5 million combined-cycle power plant facility in Troutdale, Oregon. Used detailed construction and operating cost estimates and the IMPLAN economic impact modeling software to measure the economic and fiscal impacts of the TEC. In addition, the report described the fiscal impacts of the facility for property taxes and community service fees. The report assisted in the application for the State of Oregon’s Strategic Investment Program (SIP), a tax incentive program created to encourage traded sector businesses to locate in Oregon.