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
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 released today 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
The U.S. Dept. of Labor historically has expressed concern that the construction industry has low compliance rates with federal minimum wage and overtime requirements, as well as employee misclassification issues. On multiple occasions over the years, it has launched compliance and enforcement initiatives directly or indirectly aimed at the construction industry. Construction employers can expect those efforts to continue into the future. In its 2011-2016 Strategic Plan, the DOL reiterated its emphasis on so-called “fissured” industries, i.e., industries using business arrangements that, in the DOL’s view, cloud the realities of the employment relationship in order to dilute responsibility for Fair
Colorado business leaders’ optimism has resumed going into the first quarter of 2012 after a dip in confidence last quarter, according to the most recent quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index, or LBCI, released this week by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. For the first quarter of 2012, the LBCI posted a reading of 54.7, up from 47.3 last quarter. Business leaders are optimistic about all of the metrics measured by the quarterly index, which include industry sales and profits, capital expenditures and hiring plans, and national and state economic growth.“The first quarter index is much more
Engineering News-Record has announced the winners of its fourth annual “Best of the Best Projects” Awards for 2011, a national competition that recognizes design and construction excellence based on regional winners of ENR’s seven regional publications’ Best Projects of 2011 Awards. Related Links: Montage Deer Valley Brings New Level of Luxury Resort to Park City Boulder's Casey Middle School Designed for LEED Platinum Performance “One of the judges called me personally to tell me how impressed he was with the entries,” said Janice L. Tuchman, ENR editor-in-chief. “I was delighted to tell him that I agree completely. We are proud
Denver’s Civic Center Park was honored in December as Masonry Construction magazine’s Masonry Construction Project of 2011. Approved by Denver voters in 2007, the $9.5 million in Better Denver Bond funding enabled restoration of Civic Center’s historic Greek Theater, Voorhies Memorial, balustrade wall and Broadway Terrace. Photo courtesy of City and County of Denver BRS was meticulous in selecting the most effective cleaning solutions, and in some cases, carefully resurfaced the stone to release old stains, remove graffiti and provide a clean, fresh face to the park's structures. Photo courtesy of City and County of Denver Crews saw-cut around pavers and
At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $417.6 billion, new construction starts in November dropped 11% from October’s elevated pace, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. Nonresidential building retreated after being boosted in October by the start of a massive manufacturing plant, and nonbuilding construction showed electric utilities pulling back from the brisk pace of recent months. Meanwhile, residential building in November registered moderate growth, helped by further strengthening for multifamily housing. During the first eleven months of 2011, total construction on an unadjusted basis was reported at $390.5 billion, down 2% from the same period a
The Regional Transportation District FasTracks program celebrated numerous milestones throughout the past year. Here are the top 10 FasTracks milestones in 2011. 1. $1.03-Billion Grant – U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood and Federal Transit Administration Administrator Peter Rogoff awarded RTD a $1.03-billion Full Funding Grant Agreement for the East Rail Line to Denver International Airport and the Gold Line to Arvada and Wheat Ridge. It is the largest transit grant awarded by the Obama Administration to date.2. Gold Line Groundbreaking – RTD celebrated the groundbreaking for the Gold Line in historic Olde Town Arvada. The event also
United Rentals Inc. and RSC Holdings Inc. recently announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which United Rentals will acquire RSC in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $18 per share, or a total enterprise value of $4.2 billion, including $2.3 billion of net debt. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the proposed transaction and recommended that their respective stockholders approve the proposed transaction. The proposed transaction will create a leading North American equipment rental company with a more attractive business mix, greater scale and enhanced growth prospects. The combination is also expected
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