Construction was among the industries that reported increased employment levels in September, according to the latest employment statistics from the Dept. of Labor — released nearly three weeks after originally scheduled thanks to the federal government shutdown. But due to the delay, regional reporting for most states and regions has not yet been compiled. The U.S. Department of Labor’s monthly employment report for September, released Oct. 22, found that overall, total non-farm payroll employment rose by 148,000 in September, and the unemployment rate was virtually unchanged at 7.2%.The entire Southwest region including Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico were eagerly awaiting
Spring training ballparks are great places to take in the national pastime in sunny Arizona. Until recently, these parks have been relatively straightforward to design and construct—most with seating for less than 10,000 fans. Related Links: Salt River Fields At Talking Stick Wins Best Project Award Aces Stadium in Reno, Nev., Is A Community Jewel But a new ballpark under construction in Mesa, Ariz., for the Chicago Cubs, is not only larger than other Arizona spring training facilities—with a 15,000-seat stadium, practice fields, locker rooms, offices and integration of a public park and lake—but it was built within a challenging
Bob Kain has been named director of health care for Balfour Beatty Construction, where he will lead market endeavors in Phoenix and Southern California. Kain comes to the company from HMC Architects, where he was the primary owner, president and CEO. He was principal-in-charge for several large replacement facilities including the $370-million Kaiser Permanente Replacement Hospital in Fontana, Calif. Related Links: Upload Your Firm's People Announcements to ENR Southwest's People Gallery View Past ENR Southwest People Articles Leary Jones also joined Balfour Beatty as senior director of safety, health and environmental for the Southwest. Jones previously served as Turner Construction's
After years of weakness, construction levels across the Southwest appear to have established a new baseline and are entering the beginning of an extended period of growth. Eight of the top 10 firms on this year's Top Specialty Contractors ranking had increased revenue in 2012. Related Links: View All ENR Southwest Lists See last year's winners ENR Southwest's Specialty Contractor of the Year, Suntec Concrete, Phoenix, saw its revenue jump 67% over the past year, to $125 million. The Las Vegas office of Helix Electric reported a $10-million increase in revenue in 2012, helping the company climb up a notch
The construction industry certainly got walloped in the Great Recession. In 2010, unemployment in the industry neared 25%, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor. The impact was especially pronounced in the Southwest, primarily because of the booms that had marked the region's growth for more than 50 years. Related Links: Suntec Contributes To Mesa, Ariz., facility Architectural Record During the downturn, Suntec Concrete, Phoenix, saw its work force trimmed to nearly 250—about a 60% decrease from pre-recession boom times.But while no one wants to see a downturn, the initiatives and decisions that Suntec management made during those difficult times
Two upcoming hot tickets in Las Vegas both will feature the Harmon Hotel—once the planned showstopper of the huge CityCenter development, but now unfinished and unopened. Image: ENR The abandoned Harmon Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. Related Links: Court Drama Over Harmon Hotel Defects to Continue into 2014 MGM Aims To Bulldoze Unfinished Harmon Tower in Vegas The $279-million hotel soon faces court-approved demolition and also is the subject of a construction-defect trial set for next February that pits co-owner MGM Resorts International against general contractor Tutor Perini Building Corp. Both events will be closely watched.Still unclear, however, is what
Saturation divers, working one at a time, are nearing the end of a repair project on a pumped-storage hydroelectric system at Horse Mesa Dam on the Salt River in central Arizona. The repair will reestablish 97 megawatts of peak-load generating capacity that was lost 13 months ago, when failure of a guide vane sent about 50 tons of concrete shooting down the penstock serving the turbines. Related Links: Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge Dedicated “It is our largest hydro-generation asset on the Salt River,” says Roger Baker, principal engineer for hydro-generation at the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Salt River Project,
On Friday, August 23, Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez approved CityCenter's motion to raze the 26-story, $275 million Harmon Hotel tower following a fourth round of destructive testing. Officials will immediately start planning for the demolition, which could happen within a year, despite a pending February 2014 lawsuit filed by Tutor Perini Building Corp. over $191 million in disputed unpaid bills.Harmon Hotel was part of the $8.5-billion, 18-million-sq-ft CityCenter complex, which opened in Dec. 2009 on the Las Vegas Strip.In the past, Tutor Perini has blamed problems in the building on a faulty design. The firm has also fought
According to data recently released by the Associated General Contractors, Phoenix leads Southwest metropolitan areas in construction hiring, followed by Albuquerque and Las Vegas. The momentum created by the Phoenix metro area’s construction job growth pushed the state of Arizona to 9 percent construction-job growth from June 2012 to June 2013.Other states that also saw 9 percent growth year-over-year are Mississippi, Louisiana and Wyoming. Nevada and New Mexico both saw increases of 3 percent.Link to June 2013 AGC Construction Employment By Southwest State ranked by growth“Although construction activity remains extremely spotty, with strong residential activity offsetting lackluster private nonresidential investment
The largest highway interchange in Arizona—a five-tiered structure soaring more than 90 ft into the desert sky—is being constructed by Pulice Construction along the fringe of the Phoenix metropolitan area between Interstate 10 and the Loop 303. Related Links: Wide Load: Highway Contractors Go to Great Lengths on I-17 Widening New Loop 303 Freeway Over Virgin Land a Once in a Lifetime Opportunity But the height isn't the primary reason that the project is considered to be big. In fact, the height of the columns is comparable to most other five-tier traffic interchanges. It's the project's footprint, including frontage roads,
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