he Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved in February, declined in March. The index now stands at 59.7 (1985=100), down from 68.0 in February. The Present Situation Index decreased to 57.9 from 61.4. The Expectations Index declined to 60.9 from 72.4 last month. Consumers’ appraisal of current conditions declined in March. Those saying business conditions are “good” decreased to 16.0% from 17.6%, while those stating business conditions are “bad” increased to 29.3% from 28.2%. Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was mixed. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” decreased to 9.4% from 10.1%, but those claiming jobs are “hard
Associated Builders and Contractors recently presented Aurora’s Adolfson & Peterson Construction with a national award for its work on the Garden City High School and District Stadium in Garden City, Kan. The project earned the contractor a Pyramid Award in the Institutional ($25 - $100 million) category of ABC’s National Excellence in Construction Awards. A&P representatives accepted the award on February 20 during the 23rd annual Excellence in Construction Awards celebration at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Photo courtesy of Adolfson Peterson The $90-million Garden City High School, Garden City, Kan., which is more like a
The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded the joint venture team of St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. and Mortenson Construction, Minneapolis and Denver, an $80-million contract for the Central Utility Plant for the future National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. Construction of the 87,000-sq-ft, freestanding Central Utility Plant is expected to begin immediately and complete in October 2015.The plant will house the primary heating and cooling systems for the adjacent laboratory as well as diesel generators for supplying emergency power to the facility.McCarthy/Mortenson was awarded the preconstruction services contract in
A team of Colorado businesses joined local officials in late March to break ground on a new $125-million water treatment plant in El Paso County as part of the Southern Delivery System (SDS) water project. Courtesy of SDS A team of Colorado firms recently broke ground on a new $125-million water treatment plant in El Paso County as part of the Southern Delivery System water project. Construction of the new plant is providing significant work for area businesses that participated in a shovel ceremony to mark the start of construction on the single largest SDS component. The water treatment plant
With increasing demand for design services, the Architecture Billings Index is continuing to strengthen. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects reported the February ABI score was 54.9, up slightly from a mark of 54.2 in January. This score reflects a strong increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 64.8, higher than the reading of 63.2 the previous month – and its highest mark
At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $435.4 billion, new construction starts in February dropped 7% from the previous month, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. The loss of momentum was present in two of construction’s three main sectors – nonresidential building and nonbuilding construction (public works and electric utilities). Meanwhile, the housing sector in February continued to strengthen. For the first two months of 2013, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis came in at $62.4 billion, up 5% from the same period a year ago. The February statistics lowered the Dodge Index to 92
In mid-March, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation marked the 40th anniversary of the dedication and opening of the westbound bore of the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnel west of Denver. It is the highest vehicle tunnel in the world, at 11,155 ft. Photo courtesy of CDOT The Eisenhower Tunnel was the first of two bores to open to help facilitate easier transportation between Colorados eastern and western slop Photo courtesy of CDOT The Eisenhower Tunnel proved popular with motorists who previously had utilized Loveland Pass on U.S. Hwy 6 or Berthoud Pass on U.S. 40 to cross the Continental Divide west of
In 1910, when partners in the Granite Furniture Co. built their first store in the Sugar House area of southeast Salt Lake City, the neighborhood was poised to grow into a vibrant part of the city. Named for a processing facility built by Mormon pioneers who hoped to make sugar from sugar beets grown in the Salt Lake Valley, the neighborhood also was served by a new rail spur that delivered goods to its growing commercial center. Three large furniture stores made up "furniture row" near the intersection of key arteries. Related Links: ENR Mountain States: Highway Expansion in Salt
Denver's landmark Union Station forms the core of a massive regional transit redevelopment project, and when the interior of the 1881 building is refurbished in a separate $50-million job, it will also become the heart of a new neighborhood. Related Links: ENR Mountain States: Alta City House Apts. The 150,000-sq-ft, three-story stone structure is being converted into a 112-room boutique hotel. The station's Great Hall, with its 67-ft-high ceiling and white marble walls, will become "Denver's new living room," according to developers. A granite plaza in front of the station, connecting it to the street, will include extensive landscaping. Work
Construction is well along on the third and final phase of the sprawling $500-million effort to transform Denver Union Station into a multimodal transportation hub for the Mountain West region. Contractors expect to finish the project in about a year. Related Links: ENR Mountain States: Kiewit & I-225 Light Rail The Union Station design-build project, which stretches over 40 acres in downtown Denver's Central Platte Valley, is being done under the aegis of the Denver Union Station Project Authority as owner. The redevelopment is part of metro Denver's multibillion-dollar FasTracks transit project, one of the largest and most complex U.S.
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