On The Scene February 28, 2011 Our editors are everywhere�at all the industry events that matter most. When They're not speaking on panels, they're busy taking notes�and snapping photos�so they can inform their readers about what was said and who was there. U.S. General Services Administration�s Federal Center Redevelopment Lisa Wild, a project manager with the U.S. General Services Administration�s Federal Center Redevelopment team, told guests at a Society for Marketing Professional Services luncheon in Denver in mid- January about key elements of the center�s plan to green its operations and create mixed-use opportunities. Those include transit-oriented development near the
Chris Hoag, the chief electrician at Invesco Field at Mile High, was looking to add eye-catching lights to the west side of the stadium. The east side already had fluorescent strip lights and metal halide floodlights, so the intent was to even out the lighting and add to the aesthetic appeal of the fa�ade. Photo courtesy of American Lighting The new LEDs contributed to a 72% reduction in energy consumption, with more than $5,000 in annual cost savings. After Conserve-A-Watt, a lighting distributor used by Mile High, heard a presentation from American Lighting on LEDs, they wanted to team up
The recently completed Canopy Airport Parking project at Denver International Airport is the first of its kind to receive LEED-Gold designation from the U.S. Green Building Council. Construction took just under two years from the design-build phase to completion. Photos courtesy of dcb Construction The structure can hold more than 4,200 cars, with more than 1,000 spaces for covered self-parking and around 2,700 spaces for open-air parking. The parking facility incorporates a 16.9 kW solar array, 9.6 kW wind turbine farm and approximately 210 LED lighting fixtures inside the garage and 68 LED light poles throughout the parking lot. The
In Colorado�s resorts, where land values are often as steep as some of the building sites, terra firma can literally be a moving target and provide builders and developers with some special challenges. Photo courtesy of Warner Developments Denver-based geotechnical-repair firm Hayward Baker used state-of-the-art micropile technology to shore up luxury homes in McCoy Springs near Arrowhead. Soils in the Rockies can range from solid rock to glacial debris, and can be anything but firm. Building a building or home on them can be a challenge as veteran resort builder Bob Warner of Warner Developments in Avon discovered when two
The presence of the U.S. Dept. of Energy�s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., is a $714-million annual boost to the state�s economy, according to data compiled in a soon-to-be-released analysis by the University of Colorado. That’s more than three times what it was just three years ago, when the economic impact was $192 million. NREL is the nation’s primary research and development laboratory for the advancement of clean and renewable energy and for maximizing energy efficiency. NREL’s full-time work force grew from 917 in 2007 to 2,300 today. That many people working at a lab induces more jobs
In a recent statement, Thomas J. Balkin, vice chair of the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), stated: �Studies show fatigue creates long-lasting changes to one�s ability to think and function well during the work day.� According to the same study, prolonged workdays are causing many workers to fall asleep or feel sleepy at work. The report points out that Americans are working more hours and trying to cope with the resulting sleepiness. Astonishingly, 63% of those polled stated they simply accept this sleepiness, and just keep going. Unfortunately, where many of these workers are going is to the emergency room. The
When a job opens up in today’s economy, it receives a lot of attention. And no wonder: More than 15 million Americans need work. And if you’re a hiring manager, you may have found that the best way to shrink that pile of résumés on your desk is to weed out the seemingly “overqualified” workers first. After all, you reason, those candidates will want too much money and will jump ship the minute they find a better offer. Right? Not necessarily. Saying someone is overqualified is basically saying he or she is too skilled or too experienced. The truth is,
The Colorado Transportation Commission has awarded $15 million of FASTER (Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation & Economic Recovery) funds to governments and agencies statewide for local transit projects. Over the next three years, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation’s Division of Transit and Rail will distribute grants to 62 projects. FASTER is funding 80% of each project, with the local entity supplying the remaining 20%. “Since the requests exceeded the available funding, we needed to make sure each project was properly prioritized, requiring a collaborative effort between our six regions, the transportation planning regions and metropolitan planning organizations,” said CDOT Division
Thirty-six states lost construction jobs in 2010, as the industry shrank by 93,000 employees nationally, the Associated General Contractors of America reported in an analysis of state employment data released this week by the Labor Department. “While it is nice to see the industry adding jobs in the most states since February 2008, the challenges facing this industry are still very severe,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Despite slight improvements in the construction employment picture, the industry is coping with weak demand, declining stimulus activity and a growing political aversion to investing in aging infrastructure.” Simonson noted that
New construction starts in December climbed 19% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $450.2 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. Nonresidential building rebounded after a weak November, and nonbuilding construction was lifted by the start of several large electric utility projects. Meanwhile, residential building in December showed slight growth, continuing the gradual upward trend of recent months. For 2010 as a whole, total construction starts dropped 2% to $412.5 billion, a less severe decline than the 24% plunge for 2009. Courtesy of McGraw-Hill Analytics “This won't be an easy year for most firms, but