New government data show the uneven nature of the construction industry’s recovery, as the sector added 22,000 jobs in July but suffered a pullback in spending in June, according to a recent analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. “Construction employment and spending are both rising at a moderate year-over-year clip, but there have been some setbacks,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “While prospects for private construction remain largely favorable, inadequate public investment still threatens to keep too many workers idle.”Construction employment totaled 6,041,000 in July, the highest total since May 2009, while the industry’s unemployment rate
The Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) from the National Association of Credit Management (NACM) improved to 56.8 from 56.1 in July. The readings for the favorable and unfavorable factor indices improved, from 62.4 to 63.7 for the favorable factor index, marking the highest point in over four years, and from 52.0 to 52.2 for the unfavorable factor index. The latter is below marks set earlier in the year but is trending in direction. “The overall sense is that real progress in economic recovery is being made and the future looks brighter,” said NACM Economist Chris Kuehl, about the July CMI report.
The Aspen Art Museum reopened to the public on August 9 in a 24-hour-long celebration in its new building located downtown at Spring Street and Hyman Avenue. The museum, which attracts 35,000 visitors a year from around the world, had outgrown its old facility. Rendering by Shigeru Ban Architects/Cottle, Carr and Yaw Architects The museum features an iconic woven-wood exterior. Rendering by Shigeru Ban Architects/Cottle, Carr and Yaw Architects The museum's sweeping interior grand staircase. The $45-million, 33,000-sq-ft building, funded entirely by private donations, features a striking glass exterior screened in criss-crossed wooden strips to resemble a giant woven basket.
Nonresidential fixed investment expanded 5.5% and residential fixed investment expanded 7.5% during the second quarter of 2014, according to a July 30 release by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Overall, real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 4% (seasonally adjusted annual rate) during the second quarter of 2014 following a 2.1% decrease (revised from -2.9%) in the first quarter.“The robust second quarter growth was primarily driven by higher consumer and business spending,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The 4% reading on second quarter GDP blew away consensus expectations of 3%, and the first quarter wasn’t quite as
Nonresidential construction spending fell during June after posting significant gains the previous two months, but remains 4.6% higher than a year ago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Spending for June totaled $588.8 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, a 2.8% drop from the upwardly revised $605.6 billion in nonresidential construction spending from the previous report. “The monthly decline in spending should not be cause for significant alarm,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The impact of a brutal winter continues to manifest itself in the data. A considerable volume of construction was postponed during the
The outlook remains positive for landscape architecture firms, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects’ second quarter 2014 “Business Quarterly” survey. The survey revealed a marked rise in billable hours and inquiries for new work. Hiring plans rose slightly from the last quarter. More than 84% of respondents reported stable to significantly higher inquiries for new work, an increase from 80.2% last quarter. In addition, 82.42% indicated stable to significantly higher billable hours, compared to 72.2% last quarter.Year to year, 85.17% noted stable to significantly higher second-quarter inquiries for new work, higher than the second quarter of 2013 (83.4%).
A team of Colorado State University students who designed an energy renovation of a campus health clinic is one of only three teams selected to compete in a national green energy contest being held in September. Rendering courtesy of CSU The CSU teams proposal for the Hartshorn building includes an LED lighting design, a new solar photovoltaic system to reduce consumption from local utilities and a building monitoring system to display real-time energy consumption. The project focused on CSU’s Hartshorn Health Services building as part of the Green Energy Challenge sponsored by ELECTRI International and the National Electrical Contractors Association
The Design-Build Institute of America recently announced its 19th annual Design-Build Project/Team Award Winners. Four Mountain States projects made the winners’ list: the Wayne N. Aspinall Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Grand Junction, Colo.; the Kittredge West and Kittredge Central Residence Halls in Boulder, Colo.; the rehab of Denver Union Station into a transit hub and the Utah Transit Authority’s $96-million Draper Light Rail Extension, which extends from the end of the existing North-South TRAX Line in Sandy, Utah. Recognized for exemplary collaboration and integration in design-build project delivery, the award winners were evaluated by a distinguished panel of industry experts.
The interior of Denver’s renovated Union Station officially reopened to the public on July 26. The historic train station was closed for extensive renovations on December 2, 2012. The $54-million project was focused on preserving significant features of the 1914 Beaux-Arts building. Photo by Ellen Jaskol The upper floors of the north and south wings of the station house the 112-room Crawford Hotel, named for Colorado preservationist Dana Crawford. Photo by Ellen Jaskol The $54-million interior renovation was focused on preserving significant features of the 1914 Beaux-Arts building. It has now returned to its origins as a multi-modal transit hub and
Planning to work out of state? Here are some tips to avoid surprises when you perform a construction or design contract outside your home state. 1. Become authorized to do business. Whether you want to do business in another state as an existing construction or design firm or create a new entity to do business in the other state, you need to get a certificate of authority from the state agency that regulates business entities—usually the secretary of state or the department of commerce.One reason for registering in each state where you do business is that many states prohibit an
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