The Glen Oaks Branch of the Queens Library is getting a facelift that will render the building almost unrecognizable. A modern $13-million glass structure is replacing the drab two-story brick building housing the library at the corner of Union Turnpike and 256th Street. Related Links: Playing Small Ball The old structure, now demolished, was too small and in a state of disrepair, according to Frank Connor, program director, the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC). The new three-level facility, slated for completion in June 2011, is twice the size of the old library and includes reading rooms
The Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) of Newark, N.J., has embarked on a $515 million, 80-megawatt Solar 4 All program in its quest to obtain 30% of its energy supply from renewable sources by 2020. Related Links: Playing Small Ball “PSE&G has a pretty robust program in place,” says Dan Urban, business manager with J. Fletcher Creamer & Son of Hackensack, N.J., which received a $10.08 million contract last October to build a solar farm in Edison, N.J. PSE&G expects to start construction on this and three other solar farms in 2010, representing a $50 million investment in
Despite, or perhaps because of, the city’s density and relative proximity to a public park, walking is an almost extinct pastime in New York City. In certain enclaves, elderly immigrants do spend their evenings strolling in pairs with hands clasped behind their backs. Transplants from more scenic U.S. states escape the city altogether for some fresh air upstate. Some fortunates walk to work. But with a metropolitan obsession with fitness and competition, most of the city’s citizens enjoy parks in an uber-active manner, be it training for marathons in Central Park or cycling faster than the adjacent car traffic along
Construction of the $14.9 million 360 Smith Street apartment building, sitting above the Carroll Street Subway Station in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, created some structural challenges for engineers and contractors. Related Links: Playing Small Ball “It was very complicated and very complex,” says Lance Franklin, a partner and CEO of Triton Construction of Garden City, N.Y., which expects to complete the project in June. The site’s unique location in relation to the subway scared many developers away, but the location was ripe for development with the right structural system. “There’s not a lot of multi-unit housing in the area, and since
For the past 75 years the former Marine Commandant’s Residence at the Brooklyn Navy Yard sat empty, sinking into an extreme state of disrepair. Now a $16.5 million project will restore the 153-year-old, four-story brick structure and add a striking 23,500-sq.-ft. glass extension. Related Links: Playing Small Ball When completed in May 2011 the restored 9,500-sq-ft structure, known as Building 92, will house the Navy Yard’s visitor and exhibition center showcasing its 200-year history and its rebirth as a modern sustainable urban industrial park. The modern addition will contain classrooms, a café, event space and leasable space for non-profits. The
In a roaring development cycle, size is an edge. The construction company with a monster lineup of staff, resources, equipment, and experience nearly always has a jump snaring attractive projects – benefiting from economies of scale and fatter profit potential. Smaller players generally have to find niches and exploit them rather than compete against larger contractors. Photo: BKSK Architects ICS Builders recently broke ground for the new $4.1 million Community of the Holy Spirit building in Manhattan. Photo: Lauren Mancuso A $30-million, 176,000-sq-ft expansion and renovation project for the Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, N.Y., includes a new
Part of a statewide initiative to increase and provide for affordable housing for working people in New Jersey, the $18.7 million Horizon Heights will add 52 workforce apartments in Hudson County. Related Links: Playing Small Ball “The need for affordable housing in northern New Jersey is acute, because the area is so built up and dense,” says Larry Regan, president of Regan Development Corp. of Ardsley, N.Y. “People are being pushed out, unless you knock down and build modern structures.” Architect Jose Carballo, president and founder of Jose Carballo Architecture of Hackensack, N.J., says the site as the last developable
Just a decade ago green building was still on the fringes of the A/E/C communities. Some had bought into it, but, for the most part, “sustainability” and all of its surrounding buzzwords had yet to enter the industry’s regional lexicon. Now as it moves further and further into the mainstream, green building has markedly changed the industry as a whole and is forcing most firms to reconsider how they do business. “In only a very few years green building has gone from a new concept that was seen as difficult and expensive to become standard and best practice,” says Michael
As construction managers build new strategies – or otherwise scramble to respond to the development market slowdown – their moves often have significant repercussions for subcontractors. Related Links: Playing Small Ball Among the prime concerns for subcontractors are the dirt-cheap rates that some general contractors and construction managers are bidding for new work. That in turn has surety companies that bond subcontractors in similar distress, says Jay Price, executive v.p. of business development for the Conti Group, a contractor based in South Plainfield, N.J. “[Surety companies] are very nervous that the subcontractor default rates are going to be skyrocketing because
Corgan Assoc. in Dallas named Bob Morris, a managing principal in the firm, as president and chief executive officer. He is succeeding David Lind who has been named chairman of the board. Jon Holzheimer will retain the position of chief operating officer. Also, Matt Mooney, Brian George, and Steve Hulsey were named to the firm’s management committee. Rosecrans Interests LLC in Houston has new ownership. The management trio of Roy G. DiPasquale, CEO; Jeffrey A. Stocks, president; and Gary Jorden, senior vice president, will oversee the daily operations of the firm. Linbeck announced the promotion of two tenured employees in