The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved in June, declined in July. The index now stands at 90.9 (1985=100), down from 99.8 in June. The Present Situation Index decreased moderately from 110.3 last month to 107.4 in July while the Expectations Index declined sharply to 79.9 from 92.8 in June. Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was somewhat less favorable in July. Those saying business conditions are “good” decreased from 26.1% to 24.2%. However, those claiming business conditions are “bad” was virtually unchanged at 17.9%. Consumers were slightly less positive about the job market. Those stating jobs are “plentiful”
New construction starts in June dropped 15% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $620.2 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The decline followed an especially strong May, which benefitted from a $9.0-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Texas being entered as a May start. By major sector, nonbuilding construction in June fell sharply as the result of a steep pullback by its electric utility and gas plant category while nonresidential building witnessed a less severe loss of momentum. Residential building in June was able to post a slight gain, helped by continued
Prices for inputs to construction industries expanded 0.2% in June after increasing 1.1% in May. Year-over-year prices were down 2.2% in June and prices have not increased on an annual basis for the past seven months. The last time this occurred was the third and fourth quarter of 2009 when the global economy was still reeling from the financial crisis; however, June’s year-over-year decline in construction input prices was the smallest so far in 2015. Prices of inputs to nonresidential construction industries rose 0.3% on a monthly basis, but are down 3.6% on a yearly basis.“The June figures do not
The first project to reconstruct Interstate 25 through Pueblo officially got underway on July 1. The contracting/design team of Flatiron Constructors and HDR broke ground on the reconstruction of I-25 between City Center Drive (1st Street) and Ilex Street. The project also upgrades a number of bridges south of downtown Pueblo, Colo. The $69-million project consists of:• Constructing new bridges on I-25 over D Street, the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railroad and Gruma Street and replacing two structurally deficient bridges, built in 1959, that cross over Ilex and Bennett streets and the railroad tracks.• Rehabilitating six bridges on I-25 northbound
Developer Wiens Real Estate Ventures LLC (WREV) has started construction on the second of three office buildings in the Arista residential, retail, office and entertainment community. Arista is the 200-acre, transit-oriented development anchored by the 1stBank Center along U.S. 36 between Denver and Boulder. Rendering courtesy of GKK Arista Place II is located along the main street within Arista and will have main-floor restaurant and retail tenants with Class A office space above. GKK is the architect of Arista Place II and Pinkard Construction is the general contractor.Upon completion in June 2016, Arista Place II will be an 82,000-sq-ft, five-story office
The Colorado Dept. of Transportation has selected Kiewit Infrastructure Co. as the construction manager/general contractor to do the permanent repairs in a 23-mile section of U.S. 34 between Estes Park and Loveland.
Alloy on Lawrence, a new environmentally conscious residential project, has broken ground at 32nd and Lawrence in Denver’s RiNo (River North) neighborhood.
Led by growing demand for new schools, hospitals, cultural facilities and municipal buildings, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) increased in May, following its second monthly drop this year. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending.The American Institute of Architects reported the May ABI score was 51.9, up from a mark of 48.8 in April. This score reflects an increase in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 61.5, up from a reading of 60.1 the
The Colorado Dept. of Transportation, the High Performance Transportation Enterprise and the Colorado Bridge have received five statements of qualification (SOQ) from private partners interested in building the I-70 East Project, which extends from Brighton Boulevard to I-225. The SOQs were received from combined teams of construction and engineering firms, operators and equity investors. CDOT is pursuing a possible public-private partnership to deliver I-70 East, based on a design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) model for finance and delivery of the project. An SOQ is a summary of a team’s experience in the industry and that of similar projects, which helps CDOT begin the
The Colorado Dept. of Transportation celebrated the June 22 completion of Phase 1 of the U.S. 36 Express Lanes Project. CDOT was joined in the grand opening ceremony by its partners, the Regional Transportation District, the High Performance Transportation Enterprise, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Along with elected officials and many stakeholders, the agencies marked the end of major construction impacts and the beginning of multi-modal choices on the newly reconstructed highway that connects Denver to Boulder. Photo courtesy of CDOT Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (center) leads the June 22 ribbon cutting for Phase 1
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