Overall, Connecticut construction activity remains slow, but there are some glimmers of hope for better times on the horizon. Slide Show Photo courtesy of Turner Construction Co. Turner Construction Co. is fitting out the upper floors of the Smilow Cancer Hosptial at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Related Links: Helping Hands Re-Imagined in New Haven “On the private side, the market is decimated,” says Don Shubert, president of the Connecticut Construction Industry Association in Wethersfield. “There is nothing going on, very little activity at all.” Shubert reports private universities are scaling back, casino projects have stalled, and there’s just a little happening
“Grim.” “Dire.” “Hairy.”The words construction industry veterans are using to describe the state of project financing show how far the market has fallen since the 2008 economic crash. But while the lean times aren’t over, the market mood appears to be changing from shell-shocked in trenches to a cautious look outward for opportunity. “It is pretty dire out there, with up to 15 to 20% of construction loans in default,” says David Pfeffer, an attorney and co-chair of the construction practice group at New York’s Tarter Krinsky & Drogin. “But I have been seeing a little light at the end
WILLIAMS DUEKER Aguirre Roden announced Taylor Dueker, AIA, has been named vice president for its Austin office. In his role, Dueker will be responsible for professional design services, business development and project management. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in art and design from MIT and master’s of architecture from MIT. KBR, Houston, announced the appointment of Mark S. Williams as group president overseeing KBR’s Government & Defense, Infrastructure & Minerals, and Power & Industrial Business Units. Williams has more than 25 years experience in the government and defense sector. Williams joinsed KBR from Jacobs Engineering, where he most
Related Links: The Money for Moynihan Plan is There, Now All They Have to Do is Build It $83M in Fed Funds Jump-Start NYC Penn Station Project The Port Authority this week awarded the largest contract to date for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub to Skanska USA/Civil Northeast Inc./Granite Construction Northeast Inc./Skanska USA Building Inc., allowing for a critical portion of the major transportation facility to be built that will eventually serve more than 200,000 commuters. The $542 million contract calls for the construction of the PATH Hall in the site’s West Bathtub and includes the construction of four
Lawyers for two of the workers injured in the deadly Feb. 7 explosion at the Kleen Energy powerplant in Middleton, Conn. are alleging that “multiple” ignition sources were in operation while natural gas was being purged from the nearly $1 billion construction site. AP Photo Related Links: Investigators Eye Blowdown Mishap in Connecticut Blast Electricians Timothy Hilliker and Harold Thoma of Ducci Electric, Torrington, filed a lawsuit at Superior Court in Hartford claiming the gas purge at the 87,000-sq-ft facility was conducted with minimal supervision and without following standard protocol to protect against accidental ignition. The suit names Kleen Energy
Peter A. Marchetto, President of Construction Operations for Tishman Construction Corporation has been elected as Chairman of the New York Building Congress, succeeding Skanska USA Chairman Stuart E. Graham, who has held the post since winter of 2008. MARCHETTO Marchetto takes on his new role with 25 years of construction experience in all industry sectors under his belt. He joined Tishman in 2009 where he also serves on the company’s Management Committee. Previously, Marchetto served as President of Lehrer McGovern Bovis and head of its Northeast Central region after joining the New York-based Bovis Lend Lease in 1979 as one
Though federal investigators are unsure of what caused Sunday’s deadly explosion at a power plant under construction in central Connecticut, local officials are saying the accident occurred during blowdown operations in preparation for the facility’s scheduled opening this summer. AP Photo Related Links: Lawsuit Alleges Safety Protocols Ignored in Kleen Energy Blast Although reports are unconfirmed that authorities are investigating the possibility that a welder’s torch may have created the spark that caused the blast, a spokesman for the project owner, Kleen Energy Systems, said that police were still treating the site as a crime scene. The accident occurred just
The MTA is claiming it “moved far more quickly than required or planned to put federal stimulus (ARRA) funds to work,” despite a State Comptroller report claiming that current spending on city transportation represents only a tenth of one percentage of statewide expenditures. The report, released in late January, says the MTA has spent only $857,000 in stimulus funds as of Jan. 15, 2010, whereas the state has spent $704 million. As of Jan. 15, 2010, the report states, the MTA spent no money on the two projects expected to receive the bulk of its earmarks, the Second Avenue Subway
The New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architects is encouraging its members to participate in an international competition to design an Atlantic City Boardwalk Holocaust Memorial. The two-stage design competition asks entrants to submit their design concepts in digital form as part of the first stage. A panel of jurors including architects Wendy Evans Joseph who helped design the U.S Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.; former Pritzker Prize winner Richard Meier; and Daniel Liebeskind, the planner commissioned to rebuild the World Trade Center site will then select six to ten finalists who will each be awarded $2,500 to
The City College of New York recently announced the creation of an engineering scholarship to honor former Parsons Brinckerhoff CEO James L. Lammie. LAMMIE The James L. Lammie Leadership Scholarship will be given annually, beginning in 2010, to a civil engineering student in CCNY’s Grove School of Engineering who exemplifies outstanding scholastic and leadership potential in the field of civil engineering and public infrastructure support. “Of all the people I’ve known and worked with during a long career in business and government, Jim Lammie stands out as an extraordinary leader,” said New York Lieutenant Governor and former Parsons Brinckerhoff board
RSS
