The Fort Worth area has grown a lot since the historic 1949 Trinity River flood, which prompted creation of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Fort Worth District and construction of the existing levee system. Urbanization has resulted in the addition of parking lots, airports and many hard surfaces that prevent absorption of water into ground soil and rivers, creating the opportunity for higher Trinity River levels and increased risk of flooding. “We have outgrown our existing levee system, and we needed a plan that will take us into the next 50 to 100 years,” says Woody Frossard, project manager
Texas 2010 rank: No. 13Green rank: 12 Bartlett Cocke General Contractors in San Antonio built green before sustainability began gaining in popularity. It completed the Lady Byrd Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin in the 1990s, paying careful attention not to disturb natural flowers and fauna. The company made a commitment to protecting the environment then, and it maintains it to this day. Photo: Bartlett Cocke Texas A&M University Veterinary Research Building. Related Links: Top Green Contractors The Beck Group McCarthy Construction Co. Manhattan Construction Co. Hensel Phelps Construction Co. “If you don’t take a sustainable approach to building, it cannot
Texas 2010 rank: No 19Green rank: No. 9 The Beck Group’s experience building green dates to the late 1990s. The company completed some of the first LEED buildings in Texas and two platinum projects—the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin and Central Texas and the Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange, says Betsy del Monte, director of sustainability at Beck of Dallas. Now, green building has become an integral part of its business model. Photo: Beck Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. Related Links: Top Green Contractors Bartlett Cocke General Contractors McCarthy Construction Co. Manhattan Construction
Texas gained nearly four million people during the past decade, making it one of the fastest growing states in the nation, and all of those folks depend on clean, potable water, spurring municipalities to build new plants and upgrade to add capacity at existing facilities. Photo BCRUA Pepper-Lawson is building the Brushy Creek Water Treatment Plant. Due to the size of the initial basin, crews poured segments of the first basin, then returned to pour the walls atop the mat. Related Links: Additional water treatment projects A nearly 150,000-person population growth in Williamson County, in suburban Austin, led three cities—Round
During even the best of economic times, fraud is not uncommon in the construction industry. During periods of recession, however, it’s a problem that grows appreciably worse. For various reasons, contractors historically have had weaker internal controls than in other industries. That’s alarming because even the best of companies are at risk. U.S. businesses lose more than 5% of annual revenues to fraud, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Inc. That translates to more than $652 billion in fraud losses each year. Fraud isn’t the only reason contractors need to think about adopting formal internal controls. Controls help
Green building is expected to become the standard rather than the exception. High-performance and “green” buildings are designed and built to minimize resource consumption, reduce life-cycle costs, maximize health and productivity for the building’s occupants and improve performance. To achieve this, owners, architects and contractors must engage new construction practices and behaviors. The standard in the green-construction movement is the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design program (or LEED). LEED certification looks at various aspects of building and awards recognition to buildings that meet certain standards. LEED projects earn credits on a point-based system in several categories. Based upon the
A/E/C firm leaders need to embrace an alternative methodology for assembling teams to meet the challenges of today’s building. Owners and developers are setting ever-higher standards for new buildings as they work to meet demands for sophisticated structures that accommodate complex programs, incorporate sustainablability and provide productive work environments. Industry leaders have responded with improved design processes, new building technologies and advanced project delivery systems. One area remains unchanged: team formation. While building information modeling (or BIM), building performance software and Internet communications advance the building process on a daily basis, the methodology for selecting design teams has not evolved.
Omaha, Neb.-based design firm Leo A. Daly announced that STH Architectural Group of West Palm Beach has taken the name of its parent company. STH was acquired by Leo A. Daly in February 2009. Related Links: AGC Leaders Emphasize Collaboration, ‘Being Heard’ St. Joe Relocates Corporate HQ to Northwest Florida Ajax Building Opens Atlanta Office Bayview Construction Recognized Nationally for SFWMD Project
Tallahassee, Fla.-based Ajax Building Corp. announced that it has opened an office in Atlanta. It is the contractor’s eighth office and the first outside Florida. Related Links: AGC Leaders Emphasize Collaboration, ‘Being Heard’ St. Joe Relocates Corporate HQ to Northwest Florida Leo A. Daly Completes Acquisition of Schwab, Twitty & Hanser Bayview Construction Recognized Nationally for SFWMD Project
As the economy continues to suffer, construction professionals find themselves increasingly focused on ways to secure payment for the labor, services and materials furnished on a project. The ability to properly preserve and assert lien rights is critical to getting paid. Most states’ lien laws have requirements that are strictly enforced, requiring potential lienors to exercise diligence and implement protocols to confirm observance with the deadlines and other provisions contained therein. One issue faced by all would-be lienors is how to calculate the claim of lien and what amounts may be included. The improper calculation of a claim of lien
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