These trying economic times require more knowledge and creativity to survive and prosper. With many trade contractors failing, general contractors and owners need to know and take actions that could reduce or eliminate losses when their contractors or subcontractors don’t pay their bills. One of those actions available in Colorado is under the Trust Fund Statute originally enacted in Colorado in 1973, largely at the behest of this columnist.While most trade contractors do business as corporations or limited liability companies intended to shield their owners against personal liability for their companies’ debts, the Trust Fund Statute may be used to
During the past several years, the green building trend has soared, with an increase in government incentives and availability of affordable supplies driving a huge growth of U.S. Green Building Council LEED-certified buildings. With the LEED program ambitiously hoping to certify one million commercial buildings by 2020, it’s no surprise that this trend has come under some scrutiny. And while most great rewards often have a price, in this case it could be at the expense of the safety of construction workers on the job (see related sidebar at the end of this story). When Matthew Hallowell, assistant professor in
The Salt Lake City School District is in the final stages of a $401-million seismic upgrade or replacement of all district facilities, with two projects to be completed this summer before the 24-year effort is finally done. Photo by Brian Fryer East High School in the Salt Lake City School District was completely rebuilt as part of a 24-year effort to make all district schools more seismically stable. East was the first of 20 schools rebuilt to meet new seismic and programming standards, while 16 schools were retrofitted. Of the 36 school buildings in the district, 22 were replaced and
The Solar Thermal Alliance of Colorado (STAC) released its “road map” report in late January after nearly a year of working with stakeholders throughout the state to spur investment and local economic growth. The report provides Colorado with a detailed guide for making the state a global leader in solar thermal research, development, manufacturing and deployment. Photo courtesy of the Denver Housing Authority In addition to its Mulroy site, DHA has been active with many renewable energy measures on various projects in recent years. The “Colorado Solar Thermal Roadmap” was presented to a group of elected officials, researchers, industry executives,
Significantly fewer construction firms are planning to layoff employees in 2012 than at any point in the past few years—including AGC-member firms in both Utah and Colorado (see sidebar at the end of this story)—according to survey results recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America and Computer Guidance Corp. The survey, conducted as part of the 2012 Construction Industry Hiring and Business Outlook, shows many firms expect key private-sector market segments to expand this year even as the overall outlook remains mixed. “While there are some promising signs, especially when it comes to construction employment, the outlook for
HITT Contracting Inc., Falls Church, Va., one of the largest U.S. general contractors, kicked off its 75th anniversary year in 2012 by opening a new office in Golden, Colo. Building upon its existing base of clients in the West, the company’s Colorado office will provide construction services for corporate interiors, mission critical, law firms, hospitality, health-care, federal and commercial mixed-use projects. Golden is the sixth U.S. office opened by HITT Contracting, which earned revenues of more than $920 million last year.“Establishing a permanent presence in the Midwest and western U.S. regions are key strategic components to our growth,” said co-president
The amount contractors pay for a range of key construction materials edged down 0.2% in December but climbed 5.3% from a year earlier, according to an analysis of producer price index figures recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Meanwhile, the amount contractors charge to construct projects remained largely flat for the month and is up only between 3.3% and 4.7% for the year, cutting into contractor earnings and adding to the challenges the hard-hit industry is facing, association officials said.“Any relief contractors might get from recent declines in materials prices is being offset by their inability 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 recently released 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 strategic master plan for the Petra region in Jordan will receive the 2012 American Planning Association’s Pierre L'Enfant International Planning Award. The plan, led in part by Aspen’s Design Workshop, balances the need to preserve the area’s important archaeological resources with increased tourism and economic growth. Photo courtesy of Design Workshop Al Khazneh, The Treasury, in Petra, Jordan A 6th century archaeological gem, Petra was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1968 and more recently, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Petra contains several important archaeological finds, including Al Khazneh, or the Treasury building, whose
The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., reached a milestone earlier in mid-January with topping out of the $135-million Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF). Courtesy of JE Dunn Construction NRELs 182,500-sq-ft Energy Systems Integration Facility is comprised of office space, a data center and a high-bay research laboratory. Denver’s JE Dunn Construction is serving as general contractor on the project, in conjunction with architecture and engineering firm, SmithGroupJJR. Officials from DOE and NREL participated in the ceremony. The 182,500-sq-ft facility is comprised of three major components: office space, a data center and a high-bay research
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