The Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise announced Tuesday that it has selected a construction team for the long-embattled, $400 million, 1.2 million-sq-ft West Valley Resort and Casino which prompted U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake to introduce a companion bill to an earlier House-passed measure that would prohibit the construction of any new Indian gaming operation on unincorporated land in the metro Phoenix area that is not contiguous to an existing Indian reservation. Courtesy Tohono O'odham Rendering of the proposed West Valley Resort and Casino. According to a press release issued by Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, Hunt Construction Group and
Planning to work out of state? Here are some tips to avoid surprises when you perform a construction or design contract outside your home state. 1. Become authorized to do business. Whether you want to do business in another state as an existing construction or design firm or create a new entity to do business in the other state, you need to get a certificate of authority from the state agency that regulates business entities—usually the secretary of state or the department of commerce.One reason for registering in each state where you do business is that many states prohibit an
Construction employment expanded in 215 metro areas, declined in 80 and was stagnant in 44 between June 2013 and June 2014, according to a new analysis of federal employment data recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. “Contractors have been expanding their workforce in about two-thirds of the country for several months in a row,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “Some metro areas are adding workers at a strong clip, but the gains remain modest and sporadic in many localities.”Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas added the largest number of construction jobs in the past year (11,700 jobs, 10%), followed
New construction starts in June advanced 6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $549.7 billion, the highest level so far in 2014, according to McGraw Hill Construction, a division of McGraw Hill Financial. Nonresidential building strengthened after pulling back in May, with the lift coming from the start of several large manufacturing plant projects. Modest gains in June were also reported for housing and nonbuilding construction (public works and electric utilities). During the first six months of 2014, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $254.1 billion, up 1% from the same period a year ago.June’s data raised
Nonresidential fixed investment expanded 5.5% and residential fixed investment expanded 7.5% during the second quarter of 2014, according to a July 30 release by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Overall, real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 4% (seasonally adjusted annual rate) during the second quarter of 2014 following a 2.1% decrease (revised from -2.9%) in the first quarter.“The robust second quarter growth was primarily driven by higher consumer and business spending,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The 4% reading on second quarter GDP blew away consensus expectations of 3%, and the first quarter wasn’t quite as
The $56.5-million Morgridge Family Exploration Center, the latest addition to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS), has earned LEED-Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Photo by Rick Wicker, Denver Museum of Nature and Science The $56.5-million Morgridge Family Exploration Center is the second DMNS project to receive LEED Gold or higher. DMNS partnered with architecture firm klipp|gkkworks and general contractor GH Phipps Construction, both of Denver, on the five-story, 126,000-sq-ft addition, which opened to the public in February.“Earning LEED-Platinum certification allows the museum to continue its goal of informal education about sustainable practices,” said Elaine Harkins,
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved in June, increased again in July. The index now stands at 90.9 (1985=100), up from 86.4 in June. The Present Situation Index increased to 88.3 from 86.3, while the Expectations Index rose to 92.7 from 86.4 in June. Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved in July. Those claiming business conditions are “good” edged down to 22.7% from 23.4%, while those stating business conditions are “bad” was virtually unchanged at 22.7%. Consumers’ appraisal of the job market was more favorable. Those saying jobs are “plentiful” increased to 15.9% from 14.6%, while those
The commercial real estate development industry grew at the strongest pace since the economic recovery began in 2011, according to an annual report on the state of the industry recently released by the NAIOP Research Foundation. The report, titled “The Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate,” determined that the economic impact realized by the development process rose 24% over the previous year, the largest gain since the market began to recover in 2011. Direct expenditures for 2013 totaled $124 billion, up from $100 billion the year before, and resulted in several economic contributions to the U.S. economy:• Total contribution to
The Chubbuck Diverging Diamond Interchange, which connects U.S. 91/Yellowstone Highway over the Interstate 86 system in Chubbuck, Idaho, has received the Idaho Transportation Dept.’s 2014 Excellence in Transportation Award in the Large Design category. ITD sponsors the Excellence in Transportation Awards to recognize outstanding initiatives in developing, planning and implementing transportation projects throughout the state.The project replaced an existing bridge, provided increased capacity for the current interchange and increased safety. Engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff worked closely with ITD District 5 to lay the groundwork for this innovative freeway interchange solution.PB provided preliminary engineering, which was then used to evaluate interchange types
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