A new 1-MW solar power plant is being planned for Arizona State University’s Polytechnic Campus in Mesa, Ariz. The project will be built as a partnership between the school, Phoenix-based utility Salt River Project and San Jose, Calif.-based SunPower Corp. Photo courtesy SunPower SunPower's C7 Tracker technology is designed to concentrate the sun's power sevenfold by combining single-axis tracking with rows of parabolic mirrors. SunPower will engineer, construct, operate and maintain the plant on the southeast corner of the ASU Polytechnic campus. SRP has agreed to buy the entire output of the solar plant, and ASU will purchase an equivalent
The annual World of Concrete show opened its doors in Las Vegas this week with better moods and traffic. The estimated attendance of 50,000 was an improvement over 2011, but 10% less than just two years ago. Photo by Tudor Van Hampton Attendance at this year's World of Concrete is expected to reach 50,000, slightly higher than last year's 48,554. Photo by Tony Illia While some longtime large exhibitors were missing this year, smaller independent dealers picked up the slack. "There is a tinge of optimism," said Ed Sullivan, chief economist for the Skokie, Ill.-based Portland Cement Association, on the first day of
The Salt Lake City School District is in the final stages of a $401-million seismic upgrade or replacement of all district facilities, with two projects to be completed this summer before the 24-year effort is finally done. Photo by Brian Fryer East High School in the Salt Lake City School District was completely rebuilt as part of a 24-year effort to make all district schools more seismically stable. East was the first of 20 schools rebuilt to meet new seismic and programming standards, while 16 schools were retrofitted. Of the 36 school buildings in the district, 22 were replaced and
Significantly fewer construction firms are planning to layoff employees in 2012 than at any point in the past few years—including AGC-member firms in both Utah and Colorado (see sidebar at the end of this story)—according to survey results recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America and Computer Guidance Corp. The survey, conducted as part of the 2012 Construction Industry Hiring and Business Outlook, shows many firms expect key private-sector market segments to expand this year even as the overall outlook remains mixed. “While there are some promising signs, especially when it comes to construction employment, the outlook for
Barry Bartle BARTLEhas been named president at Phoenix-based NAI Horizon and will lead the strategic repositioning of the Property Management Division to help the commercial real estate firm grow its management portfolio to 10 million sq ft. With a career spanning 30 years, Bartle has led property management divisions for such firms as RREEF, Cushman and Wakefield and Pacific Office Properties, directing more than $2 billion in real estate investments for more than 100 clients. Anthony Jeffers has been hired as a project manager for Johnson Carlier, Tempe, Ariz. Jeffers has more than a decade of experience in construction management,
The amount contractors pay for a range of key construction materials edged down 0.2% in December but climbed 5.3% from a year earlier, according to an analysis of producer price index figures recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Meanwhile, the amount contractors charge to construct projects remained largely flat for the month and is up only between 3.3% and 4.7% for the year, cutting into contractor earnings and adding to the challenges the hard-hit industry is facing, association officials said.“Any relief contractors might get from recent declines in materials prices is being offset by their inability to
Construction employment increased in December by 17,000 jobs, driven by gains in nonresidential construction employment, according to an analysis of new federal employment data recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that construction employment likely benefitted from unseasonably warm weather across much of the country that extended the construction season.“Nonresidential construction is clearly driving last month’s employment gains,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But it is too early to tell whether those gains came because the weather was good enough for crews to keep working well into December or because demand is truly
Ahern Rentals Inc., the 58-year-old family-owned equipment rental giant that filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 22, prided itself on not selling out. Now, at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Reno, Nev., Ahern's Chapter 11 proceedings unfold on the heels of an announced merger between the construction industry's two largest rental companies—United Rentals Inc. and RSC Holdings Inc.—which for more than a decade have been chipping away at independents like Ahern through roll-ups, volume purchasing and price competition. Tudor Van Hampton for ENR Don Ahern is a fixture at equipment shows such as World of Concrete. Photo by
Economic development incentives are a fact of life in real estate development and construction. Governments package and promote their offerings in highly competitive bids to spark economic activity, create jobs and generate new tax revenues.For most builders and developers, the challenge is not finding these incentives. The challenge is making sense of all that is being offered and determining what level of incentives, traditional investment and financing, will make a project viable and attractive to investors.Reducing Construction Costs Credit is still hard to come by in many markets, so builders and developers are still finding it difficult to launch new
Collaboration is a common theme throughout many of the 2012 top 10 trends for project management, which were determined by a global panel of ESI International senior executives and subject matter experts. Those trends include: 1. Program management will gain momentum, but resources remain in short supply. Increasingly, large initiatives undertaken by corporations and government agencies are being recognized for what they are and aren’t—namely programs, not projects, which require a highly advanced set of skills supported by appropriate tools and methods to execute.Yet many organizations struggle to find the right people and lack the management practices necessary to
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