Even though the �Great Recession� of 2008-09 is now behind us, McGraw-Hill Construction�s new report, �2010 Special Sector Study: Education Construction in Hard Times,� reveals that it will continue to haunt the halls of schools and colleges across the country for some time to come. The construction of publicly-funded schools and colleges will continue to be weighed down by mushrooming state and local budget deficits, while the construction of privately-funded schools and colleges will suffer from a slump in alumni donations and the tumultuous movement of the stock market (where endowments are typically invested). Exacerbating this situation, the ongoing crisis
Watsonville�s Granite Construction Inc. announced continued actions to reduce its cost structure, enhance operating efficiencies and strengthen the business to achieve long-term profitable growth. As part of its Enterprise Improvement Plan, the company says it is initiating a reduction in force of approximately 227 employees, or approximately 13% of its salaried workforce. Actions associated with the reduction in force are expected to reduce the company�s cost structure by approximately $20 million to $24 million annually. Granite will record a pre-tax charge in the fourth quarter of approximately $10 million to $12 million associated with severance and benefits-related costs. As part
California High Speed Rail Authority�s share of the latest round of stimulus funds came with specific directions: The $715 million had to be spent in the Central Valley, to either start construction on the Merced-Fresno or Fresno-Bakersfield leg of the 800-mi, $45-billion project. Authority board members stressed that despite the Federal Railway Administration suggestions of where to direct the funds, they would use a pre-established formal criteria to determine where to begin building the rail infrastructure based on land acquisition, progress on environmental work and other factors. �It is absolutely critical that we invest these funds where they will do
Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, a privately held consulting firm with 500 employees in 14 offices around the world, has acquired Treadwell & Rollo, a premier geotechnical and environmental engineering firm based in San Francisco. The acquisition, the first in Langan�s 40-year history, firmly establishes a nationwide footprint for the company by adding 70 high-caliber professionals from Treadwell & Rollo�s California offices in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento. �This is momentous news for Langan and Treadwell & Rollo, not to mention the engineering and environmental design industry,� says David T. Gockel, president/CEO of Langan. �Two elite firms with
The State of California, Department of Transportation and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority issued a notice of intent to award a public-private partnership project worth $1 billion to a consortium around Essen, Germany-based HOCHTIEF Concessions for the design, construction, finance, operation and maintenance for 33 years of San Francisco�s Presidio Parkway project. HOCHTIEF�s 50% partner on the Golden Gate Bridge southern access project is Meridiam Infrastructure, based in Luxemburg. The consortium�s construction team is led by HOCHTIEF subsidiary Flatiron. The German firm set up HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions North America in 2009 to bid on PPP projects in Canada. It
Salesforce.com announced the purchase of approximately 14 acres of undeveloped land in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco from Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. The company plans to build a facility that will become its new headquarters. The land, which is adjacent to the University of California, San Franciso campus on one side and the San Francisco Bay on the other, is part of the San Francisco Mission Bay redevelopment area. It is located directly on the San Francisco Muni T line at the UCSF station, and is also directly accessible from the Mariposa Street exit off of 280.
University of California, Davis Medical Center and design-build contractor McCarthy Building Cos., with architect and engineer Watry Design Inc., broke ground on a sevem-level, 1,200-stall parking structure. Cost of the design and construction of the project is $20.7 million and work is expected to be completed by September 2011. �Watry and McCarthy have successful track records working on campus projects throughout the U.C. system and we are thrilled to have their combined skill and talent on the new and much needed U.C. Davis Medical Center�s parking structure,� says Doug Austin, project manager of the U.C. Davis Health System. The 417,000-sq-ft
For 29 years, the American Institute of Architects, California Council has celebrated outstanding architecture through the AIACC Design Awards program. Once again, the AIACC last week announced recipients of this year�s competition. According to the council, architects realize that design is about relationships, not just �looks.� �It�s about how look and feel, use and comfort, stability and durability come together to support one another,� the council says. �How light shapes space and space shapes light -- and how light and space together suggest where we would most like to sit. There are less tangible benefits, too, like the delight that
An increasing number of California architects and contractors are employing building information modeling tools to enhance their use of green technology in new projects and renovations. A 2010 Green BIM SmartMarket report from McGraw-Hill Construction, the publisher of California Construction, showed that 78% of companies that use software to share digital models of buildings’ functions plan to incorporate BIM within the next three years to measure sustainability. The same report indicated 17% of green BIM practitioners believe they realize more than 50% of BIM’s potential to achieve green objectives. “The growth of green projects will drive the growth of BIM
If you’re a tough public utilities commission advocating energy efficiency and water conservation and other sustainable requirements for taxpayers, and you plan on building a new headquarters, the old saying “if you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk” holds a more serious sway. Webcor crews start to go vertical on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission headquarters building in the Civic Center. KMD/Stevens Architects designed the SFPUC building. Related Links: Green Building In San Francisco, its PUC is facing this challenge every day while moving toward a spring 2012 completion of its new, LEED-platinum building.
RSS