As city and county officials and local trade unions work out the kinks in adhering to San Francisco’s new local hire law, which went into effect March 25, a state assemblyman from a county to the south is pushing new legislation that will shut down main elements of the ordinance. Webcor Builders� San Francisco Public Utilities Commission headquarters building project. The new San Francisco law, commissioned by Supervisor John Avalos, mandates that 20% of all project hours within each trade be performed by local residents on city/county projects in excess of $400,000. That percentage rises 5% every year until reaching
Skanska USA Inc.’s civil construction business unit has signed a contract for its first transit project in Southern California – a $547 million design-build contract by the Expo Line Construction Authority to construct a seven-mile light rail extension from Culver City to Santa Monica. The owner and operator of the line is the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (METRO). Parsons Brinckerhoff will provide design services as a subcontractor to the joint venture. The Skanska-Rados Expo 2 Joint Venture will start construction in the spring with anticipated completion in mid-2015. Skanska says the contract will include $382.9 million in its
The California High-Speed Rail Authority last week officially applied for all of the high-speed rail funding recently returned to the federal government by the state of Florida. The authority’s board of directors approved the staff recommendation that California pursue the $2.43 billion recently made available and offer a 20% state match in order to make California more competitive for the funds. The resulting funds could allow the completion of the entire backbone of the statewide system – linking Merced and Bakersfield, including stations in each respective city. In addition to completing the backbone, it could also allow the authority to
Associated General Contractors members across the nation gathered in Las Vegas last month for AGC of America’s 92nd annual convention and CONEXPO-CON/AGG tradeshow at the Bellagio Hotel and Las Vegas Convention Center. AGC of California and several of its members were recognized for their many accomplishments achieved over the last year. “AGC congratulates and is pleased to recognize our members for their outstanding contributions within the industry,” says AGC of California CEO Tom Holsman. The week began with AGC of California receiving the Enterprise Chapter of the Year Award for the highest volume and number of sales for the Enterprise
Photo: Loren Faulkner McCarthy Building Cos. begins demolition of the former March Air Force Base hospital to make way for the $3.3 billion March LifeCare medical and wellness facility campus. Photo: Loren Faulkner McCarthy Building Cos. representatives at the March Air Force Base hospital demolition event included, from left to right, Mike McGee, superintendant; Laura Barton, assistant project manager; Don Ecker, chairman/founder, March HealthCare Development; Steve Mynsberge, executive vice president, healthcare services; and Jesse Ruiz, Southern California Division safety coordinator. McCarthy Building Cos., Inc. reports that it has begun demolishing the former March Air Force Base Hospital in Riverside’s Moreno
Twenty developments from the Americas have been selected as finalists in this year�s Urban Land Institute�s Awards for Excellence: The Americas competition, including five projects from the San Francisco Bay Area. From this group, up to 10 will be selected as winners of the competition, which will be announced May 20 in Phoenix during ULI’s Real Estate Summit at the Spring Council Forum. Each of the finalists, selected from 148 entries throughout North and South America, have “succeeded in raising the bar in demonstrating creativity and best practices in land use and property development,” says jury chair Marty Jones,
Designed by T.Y. Lin International and, at 550 ft long, one of the longest self-anchored, suspension bridges in the world, the new landmark signature $26.8-million Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge now serves as a southern gateway to downtown San Diego and fulfills the city’s 100-year vision to link two of its important regional assets: Balboa Park and San Diego Bay. Joe Tognoli, TYLI vice president and lead bridge designer, says TYLI worked closely with the Centre City Development Corp. (CCDC), owned by the Redevelopment Agency of the city of San Diego on the project, which created a grade-separated pedestrian crossing of six
OSTROY Engineering and consulting company Mazzetti Nash Lipsey Burch (M+NLB), San Francisco, reports that principal Albert Ostroy is a winner of the 2010 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Excellence in Engineering Technology Award. M+NLB says Ostroy was given the award in recognition for his achievement in the energy efficient design of the Kaiser San Leandro Medical Center. The ASHRAE Technology Awards recognize outstanding achievements by members who have successfully applied innovative building design in the areas of occupant comfort, indoor air quality and energy conservation. Their designs incorporate ASHRAE standards for effective energy management and
For the first time, in the nine quarters that ENR has been conducting the Construction Industry Confidence Index survey, executives at the nation�s largest construction and design firms see the light at the end of the tunnel. Industry Optimism Finally Improves The seemingly boundless optimism of the construction industry has been sorely tested over the past two and a half years. The market recession that hit nearly every market in every region of the U.S. has cast a pall over the industry, which has seen projects and opportunities dry up, firms large and small fall by the wayside and unemployment
Two San Diego firms, Reno Contracting and Envision Solar, have entered into a strategic alliance to deliver a chain of solar-powered charging stations for electric vehicles in the southwest. Envision Solar, a sustainable infrastructure designer and developer headed by former Tucker Sadler Architects CEO Robert Noble, will supply its Solar Tree integrated solar parking arrays, which include EnvisionTrak tracking technology and CleanCharge system-integrated charging stations. General contractor Reno Contracting will construct the stations. Plans call for a first project during the second quarter of 2011, followed by an accelerated multi-location rollout at corporate and commercial campuses through this year and
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