The construction industry certainly got walloped in the Great Recession. In 2010, unemployment in the industry neared 25%, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor. The impact was especially pronounced in the Southwest, primarily because of the booms that had marked the region's growth for more than 50 years. Related Links: Suntec Contributes To Mesa, Ariz., facility Architectural Record During the downturn, Suntec Concrete, Phoenix, saw its work force trimmed to nearly 250—about a 60% decrease from pre-recession boom times.But while no one wants to see a downturn, the initiatives and decisions that Suntec management made during those difficult times
Residents along Colorado’s northern Front Range were still battling at mid-day Friday the effects of what state officials are calling “historically significant” rainfall and “biblical floods” along the foothills and across the Denver metro area. Photo courtesy of CDOT The heavy rains pushed rivers and streams above their historic flood levels and washed out highways, like State Highway 72 in Coal Creek Canyon west of Denver. Photo courtesy of CDOT Highway 34 in the Big Thompson Canyon west of Loveland, Colo., will be closed "indefinitely." Some communities, including Boulder and those along the I-25 corridor north to Fort Collins, have
The Kansas State University Wildcats took the field in early September in the shadow of the massive new West Stadium Center at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan. The project, which included deconstruction of the existing Dev Nelson Press Box late last year, was completed on an extremely tight schedule. Work on the majority of the 218,000-sq-ft expansion project began in January, and a certificate of occupancy was awarded near the end of August, five days ahead of schedule. Photo courtesy of Mortenson/GE Johnson JV The landmark project serves as the new northwest gateway to the Kansas State University
The Suzanne and Walter Scott, Jr. Bioengineering Building, the newest addition to the Colorado State University campus, celebrated its grand opening on Sept. 12. The Scott Building is the second engineering building on the Fort Collins campus. Courtesy of CSU The building includes ample research space, teaching labs, design studios and a 24-hour study space. The $75-million, 122,000-sq-ft building occupies the southeast corner of Laurel Street and Meridian Avenue in Fort Collins. The building contains classroom and high-tech research space for about 40 faculty members in biomedical engineering; bioanalytic devices—sensors to detect a host of organic agents; synthetic biology, which
The city of Golden, Colo., will move significantly closer to its renewable-energy goals with a new solar photovoltaic (PV) project managed and delivered by HVAC specialty contractor McKinstry. The project was approved at the Aug. 22 city council meeting. Coupled with earlier work by McKinstry, around 10% of the city’s energy use will come from renewable energy. “Golden is a leader in renewable energy and energy efficiency in Colorado,” said Phillip Saieg, McKinstry’s project lead. Solar panels will be placed at nine city facilities including the Tony Grampsas Gymnasium, the city’s maintenance shops, Splash at Fossil Trace, the 1250 Jackson Street Parking
Nearly three-fourths of construction firms across the country report they are having trouble finding qualified craft workers to fill key spots amid concerns that labor shortages will only get worse, according to the results of an industry-wide survey recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials called for immigration and education reform measures to help avoid worker shortages. “Many construction firms are already having a hard time finding qualified workers and expect construction labor shortages will only get worse,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America. “We need to take
Colorado will receive $10 million in a U.S. Dept. of Transportation TIGER grant to add a fixed fire-suppression system at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels (EJMT) on I-70 west. The system is one of 52 projects in 37 states across the nation selected to receive funding. Photo courtesy of CDOT The Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels, 11,158 ft in elevation and 50 miles west of Denver, will get a new fire-suppression system. The fire suppression system would not completely extinguish a vehicle fire in the tunnels but rather buy critical time needed for first responders to safely approach the scene and take action. Historically,
The Colorado State University System is moving ahead with plans to launch a significant presence in Denver’s South Metro area early next year. The CSU-South Metro project is part of a strategic effort to showcase a new model for higher education that caters to both students and the business community, demonstrating how graduate and undergraduate programs can be delivered in a scalable, innovative and collaborative format. “This is something being driven by business leaders in the South Metro region, and we’re honored that they approached the CSU System as their first choice for a higher education partner,” CSU System Chancellor
Total construction spending hit a four-year high in July as private residential and nonresidential activity increased while public spending declined, according to an analysis of new Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America. “The patterns seen earlier this year reappeared in July, with strong year-over-year gains in single- and multifamily building, a range of results for private nonresidential categories, and deepening downturns in most public segments,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “These trends are likely to hold for the remainder of 2013.”Construction put in place in July, $901 billion, was the highest mark since June
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in July, increased slightly in August. The index now stands at 81.5 (1985=100), up from 81.0 in July. The Present Situation Index decreased to 70.7 from 73.6. The Expectations Index increased to 88.7 from 86.0 last month. Consumers’ assessment of current conditions moderately declined. Those stating business conditions are “good” decreased to 18.4% from 20.8%, while those stating business conditions are “bad” was virtually unchanged at 24.8%. Consumers’ appraisal of the labor market was mixed. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” decreased to 11.4% from 12.3%, while those claiming jobs are “hard
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