The expansion of Ohio State University (OSU) Medical Center in Columbus is not only one of the largest health-care projects ever undertaken in the state, but also changing the way public projects are being built there. The $1.1-billion, multi-year development is among the first to be delivered via construction management (CM) at risk. Photo Courtesy of Turner Construction Co. The $1.4-billion Ohio State University Medical Center, currently under construction in Columbus, is one of the first projects in the state to utilize construction management at risk. Until recently, state law required public entities to employ multiple prime contracting to manage

Although the past few years have been crushing for many enterprises working in and around the construction industry, some firms have managed to stand tall by reinventing and reinvigorating themselves, even as the recession continued to bear down on sector after sector.

Magellan Development Group broke ground on March 1 for a 105,000-sq-ft retail center at the Lakeshore East master planned community in downtown Chicago. 

Although 2009 was grim overall for the construction industry, not all numbers were negative. Several niche project categories saw significant increases in the four metropolitan statistical areas within Midwest Construction’s coverage: Milwaukee, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Chicago. Photo: Rendering courtesy of Opus North Marquette University, Milwaukee, plans to break ground for a $35-million, 100,000-sq-ft, five-story building for its engineering school this spring. A second, 155,000-sq-ft, $65-million building is planned for the future to complete the new engineering facility. According to research compiled by McGraw-Hill Construction Analytics (which, like Midwest Construction, is part of the McGraw-Hill Cos.), the category faring the

After lying fallow since 1989, this undeveloped block in Chicago’s Loop had begun showing promise of growing active in 2005—until the developer’s financial woes left much of it dormant once again. Since taking over as the new developer in 2007, Freed has revived many of the block’s building projects, and the nearly completed Phase 1 developments are bringing new life to the block bordered by State, Washington, Dearborn and Randolph streets. Photo courtesy of Gensler Construction of the retail and entertainment mall used �up-down� construction in which the basement was excavated as the building rose overhead. Trucks hauling the excavated

It is a race to the finish for “Block 37,” the beleaguered construction site in the Chicago Loop. Just as the first retail tenants ready for their opening day this fall, a consortium of lenders headed by Bank of America Corp. initiated foreclosure proceedings against developer Joseph Freed and Associates LLC. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton / ENR Block 37 shopping mall’s opening is threatened by a last-minute lawsuit. Image: Freed & Assoc. LLC Chicago’s Times Square Situated in the heart of State Street, the project was decades in the making. Photo: Gensler Trucks Fill-ups were timed to the Loop’s traffic

With one former governor in federal prison and another possibly on his way, prosecutors have argued that Illinois is perhaps the most corrupt state in the nation. Fed up with the scandals, lawmakers are promising changes in the way contractors do business with the Land of Lincoln. Photo: AP/Wideworld Ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) has pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges. In the wake of scandal and the economic stimulus act, proposals for reform measures are flowing through both chambers of the statehouse in Springfield, Ill. “We haven’t seen the final package yet, but indications are they are comprehensive

Your assignment: Make a tool to separate a tray of golf balls and wood blocks into two piles without touching them. Transfer the piles across an obstacle course of orange cones, and drop them into designated boxes. Hurry up! Don’t step outside the boundary lines, or you’ll lose points. Photo: DI/JON Morgan Some students fashioned a container to load wooden blocks, then carried it over the obstacles. Related Links: Learn More About Destination ImagiNation See Videos of the Chicago Regional Rally: Challenge 1 See Videos of the Chicago Regional Rally: Challenge 2 See Videos of the Chicago Regional Rally: Challenge