According to an analysis made by the New York Building Congress, New York City local construction costs have increased from .8% to 4.9% through the first three quarters of 2010 with construction spending in New York remaining above $20 billion a year. Nationwide, construction costs have increased between .1% and 7.2%. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Using a series of surveys in its analysis including Engineering News-Record’s Building Cost Index which shows that construction costs in New York City have risen by 3.3% in 2010, after a .9% decline in 2009 while nationwide, costs have increased by 5.6%, the
A contract for the above and below-grade construction of the $176 million, 180,000-sq-ft, Fulton Street Transit Center has been awarded to Plaza Construction of New York who will serve as the General Contractor along with Schiavone Construction of Secaucus, New Jersey. Rendering Courtesy of the MTA The $176 million, 180,000-sq-ft Fulton Street Transit Center is scheduled to open in 2014. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Construction on the center which is said to modernize this major Manhattan subway complex began in December 2008 but Plaza Construction’s work isn’t scheduled to begin until this coming February following the erection of
41 Cooper Square, Cooper Union College’s new academic building located on Third Avenue between East 6th and 7th Streets has been awarded LEED Platinum, the highest LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The building has been verified by the Green Building Certification Institute and is the first academic building in New York City to achieve this status. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The LEED certification achieved by the nine-story, 175,000-sq-ft 41 Cooper Square was based on green design and construction features including radiant heating and cooling ceiling panels, a building skin made of perforated aluminum steel panels
Michael Sackaris, the former owner of Copiague, New York-based Nu-Way Crane Service has been sentenced to two to six years in state prison for offering bribes to the Acting Chief Inspector for Cranes and Derricks for the New York State Department of Buildings, James Delayo. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Sackaris, 50, pleaded guilty back in May to offering cash bribes ranging from $200 to $500 on approximately twenty occasions in exchange for falsification of crane inspections and operator licenses. Delayo accepted the cash payments totaling more than $10,000 and pled guilty to bribe receiving in the second degree.
Amid the controversy surrounding Park51, the Muslim community center and worship space in Lower Manhattan labeled the “Ground Zero Mosque” by its opponents, the young New York-based firm SOMA Architects last week quietly unveiled designs for the new 15-story building. “I think the location of the center has been overexposed and overrated,” says Michel Abboud, principal at SOMA. Image courtesy of SOMA Architects SOMA Architects unveiled designs for the controversial Park51 Islamic Center in Lower Manhattan, but the young company is looking to work with a larger, more experienced firm if the project goes forward. Abboud recently sat down in
Did you know that until recently anyone could challenge a certification issued under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program of the United States Green Building Council? Did you know it could occur at any time, and be related to any point or prerequisite? Did you know that such a challenge could result in loss of specific credit points or even loss of a certification under LEED? div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Many people were not aware of the LEED challenge process until it erupted onto the national landscape as a result of a controversial challenge on a
R.J. Griffin & Co. of Atlanta overcame regulatory hurdles, record winter storms and a steady stream of visitors to complete HCA’s $96-million, 282,358-sq-ft Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center in Fredericksburg, Va., on time and within budget. Photo Courtesy R.j. Griffin & Co. Photo Courtesy R.j. Griffin & Co. Related Links: Best of 2010 List R.J. Griffin released the sitework and concrete contracts on the fast-track greenfield project early, before receiving construction drawings, to fulfill state certificate-of-need requirements that all footings be complete by Aug. 31, 2008, a little more than three months after breaking ground. The team also let the steel
The $73.5-million restoration of Richmond, Va.’s Carpenter Center and expansion into the former Thalhimers’ block has created the Richmond CenterStage. The project cornerstone, the historic John Eberson-designed Loew’s theater, is a landmark theater that has been restored to its original 1928 architectural glory. Photo Courtesy Gilbane Building Co. Related Links: Best of 2010 List Improvements include an expanded stage house, resloped balcony seating, enhanced lobby and restroom spaces and added accessibility for all levels. The renovations included qualifications for historic tax credits and were constructed to strict historic preservation standards to preserve the building, one of only five John Eberson
The first $41.5-million phase of the Settlers Ridge shopping center near Pittsburgh converted a 79-acre former coal strip-mine site into a retail project and boosted the local economy. Photo Courtesy EMJ Corp. Related Links: Best of 2010 List EMJ Corp. of Dallas began the project in September 2007 and provided sitework, offsite improvements, building shells and fit-outs for smaller shops. The economic downturn altered the initial plans of Chattanooga, Tenn.-based developer CBL & Associates Properties for a lifestyle center. Instead, the company brought the design and construction team together, while sitework was under way, to create a 400,000-sq-ft outdoor destination
The new Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library is one in a series of new libraries in Washington, all part of the District of Columbia Public Library’s Building Program. Located in the Shaw neighborhood, the new $12-million, 22,800-sq-ft library is three stories, with one below grade. Photo Courtesy Forrester Construction Co. Related Links: Best of 2010 List The new facility exists on the site of the former library structure, which was demolished to accommodate the new structure. The new building foundation was designed based on the previous building’s geometric shape and form. Due to problems with the demolition of the original foundation,
RSS