Denver architectural firms RNL and Buchanan Yonushewski Group joined forces as of November 1. BYG co-founders Brad Buchanan and John Yonushewski have been hired by RNL as principals and shareholders. Buchanan will be leading the firm’s commercial market. Yonushewski will specialize in project delivery leadership.BYG was founded in Denver in 1998. The firm’s portfolio includes a variety of project expertise in the multifamily, senior housing and mixed-use residential markets. Projects of note include One Lincoln Park, Watertower Lofts, Pinnacle Park Homes at City Park South, Silver State Lofts and 1099 Osage.“We are thrilled with this opportunity and excited about the
Construction employment rose in half the states and decreased in half in October and during the past year, closely matching the stable national employment picture, according to a recent analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. The even split between gains and losses reflects the accelerating improvement in apartment and private nonresidential construction, offset by a declining public market and a stalled single-family sector. “Construction employment gains are likely to remain spotty for months to come,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Local factors, rather than regional or industry trends, seem to dictate whether
For the past 26 years, mechanical engineering students at Colorado State University have helped small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms save an average of $50,000 a year through increased energy efficiency—a university program unlike any other in the state, CSU officials said. That work will continue for another four years because the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program has awarded Colorado State $1.2 million to help companies improve their energy efficiency and provide engineering students valuable experience with manufacturing processes. The DOE program is a national effort to improve U.S. manufacturing competitiveness.The university is one of only 24 around the
Thirty-four construction professionals recently received a first-ever national accreditation in the use of building information modeling. The new professional accreditation, which is being offered by the Associated General Contractors of America, is the first assessment-based credential to recognize construction professionals on their ability to use the BIM process. Nearly three dozen construction professionals nationwide tested successfully to receive the new professional accreditation, the Certificate of Management-Building Information Modeling (CM-BIM). Candidates first had to complete the BIM Education Program, a series of four courses the association developed to help construction professionals learn the use the construction process. To date, more than
Construction manager/general contractor Pinkard Construction Co., Lakewood, recently completed Graland Country Day School’s Commons Building and Foundation Center project. Courtesy of Pinkard Construction The new Commons Building is steel-framed with a cast-in-place basement walls, storefront and a brick exterior. The $5.6-million phased renovation and addition included razing the Gates Science Building to make room for a new Commons Building; a major renovation of Graland’s Foundation Center; and a 440-sq-ft elevator and lobby addition, plus extensive mechanical and electrical upgrades. The new Commons Building is steel-framed with cast-in-place basement walls, storefront and brick exterior, and a reclaimed-ludowici-tile roof It includes a
The U.S. Senate voted 95 to 0 on Nov. 10 to repeal the 3% withholding mandate. This follows the recent House repeal by a 405 to 16 margin. Had the 2009 federal tax withholding measure been allowed to take effect as scheduled in 2013, it could have undermined construction hiring and punished taxpayers, according to multiple industry analyses of the topic.“An overwhelming, bipartisan majority of Senators understand that repealing the 3% tax withholding mandate is essential to boosting economic growth” says Steve Sandherr, AGC of America CEO. “With construction activity down by $400 billion and the industry’s unemployment rate at
New construction starts in September receded 1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $419.5 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. Both nonresidential building and housing fell back after their improved pace in August. Meanwhile, the nonbuilding construction sector, comprised of public works and electric utilities, strengthened for the second month in a row after weakening in early summer. For the January-September period of 2011, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were reported at $314.1 billion, down 5% from the same period a year ago.The September statistics lowered the Dodge Index to 89 (2000=100),
The Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado Dept. of Transportation are reminding people that late fall is prime time for animal-vehicle collisions around the state. In Summit County alone, vehicles have collided with at least six moose this year, including a young bull moose killed near I-70. Wildlife mitigation efforts on I-70, however, have increased in recent years. CDOT and the Federal Highway Administration, collaborating with Rocky Mountain Wild, ECO-resolutions LLC and other partners, recently completed the I-70 Eco-Logical Project, a comprehensive analysis of wildlife mitigation for the I-70 Mountain Corridor from Golden to Glenwood Springs. Researchers
As most green experts know, LEED credits frequently hinge on routine construction tasks. Consider the contractor who must obtain indoor environmental quality (EQ) credit 4.2 as part of his contract with the owner but employs a subcontractor who uses high volatile-organic-compound paint for touch-up and punch-list work, dropping the project down a level of certification. If the credit was critical to achieving LEED Silver, which the owner needed to take advantage of tax credits exceeding $500,000, the contractor may be liable to the owner for significant damages.Under such circumstances, contractors must take steps to ensure subcontHere are four steps contractors
As profit margins shrink, savvy owners and construction firms are harnessing technology to match sites with their intended uses before acquiring the land. Using a type of 3D modeling software known as macro BIM [building information modeling], which produces real-time cost estimates, estimators can practice site “optioneering” to quickly evaluate the merits and costs of alternative designs. For years, developers have relied on historic square-foot averages to predict land development costs. Unanticipated site problems could substantially inflate a project’s price tag. Preconstruction pros on the developer’s side are starting to recognize that the wrong site can be fatal to a