During the economic recession, specialty contractors are being forced to do what they can to be more competitive and attractive to contractors. For some, that has meant upgrading skills, learning the latest about building information modeling and sustainability. For others, it has meant spreading out geographically. But all agree that surviving in this climate is about embracing change while still doggedly pursuing traditional jobs. Specialty contractors on large-scale jobs like the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. are learning valuable new technologies that will help them remain competitive in the future. Related Links: Top Specialty Contractors Top Specialty Contractors
A sustainable, mixed-use complex with an “iconic and distinctive” design gets underway in New Jersey’s capital city. The development of a 700,000-sq-ft LEED platinum Class A office tower currently in pre-construction in Trenton, N.J., is tied to the revitalization of the city, and the building’s green credentials are being achieved at a minimum of cost. The 25-story Vista Center in Trenton, N.J. will feature 12,000 sq ft of street-level retail, a 1,140-car garage and a public plaza. The 25-story Vista Center, being developed by Capital Real Estate Group of Trenton, will offer offices in increments of up to 200,000 sq
35 years after traffic was suspended, a former railroad bridge gets a major facelift. A nearly 7,000-ft-long railroad bridge is undergoing an extreme $35-million makeover over the Hudson River, thanks to hundreds of precast concrete panels, community zeal and the windblown determination of engineers and contractors. When completed by October, the revamped 121-year-old Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge may be the world�s longest pedestrian bridge at 6,768 ft, say officials. Photos courtesy of Bergman Associates Old railroad bridge will become a soaring walkway over the Hudson River when it opens later this year. The historic bridge’s 3,094-ft-long, 25-ft-wide main span consists of
The industry continues to try to wrap its arms around what BIM means for green building. While building information modeling is fostering collaboration and improving efficiencies in sustainable design and construction, most experts across the A/E/C industry say it’s still a work in progress. Interoperability and process challenges must be resolved, many say, before BIM can achieve its full promise to help deliver healthy, resource-efficient facilities with reduced carbon footprints. Photo: Oliver Schaper, Gensler The Revit model for the Beacon Institute in Beacon, N.Y. was used for daylighting analysis. The project is reusing and expanding an existing 19th Century masonry
Damaged during the attacks of Sept. 11, the demolition of Borough of Manhattan Community College building begins. Fiterman Hall is finally coming down, and for the City University of New York and the Lower Manhattan community, the resulting hole in the ground will be a most welcome site. Photo courtesy Airtek Environmental Corporation At the completion of the decontamination process in late May 2009 only the slab, walls and steel structure of the building remained. Miles and Shirley Fiterman donated the 15-story, 375,000-sq-ft building at 30 W. Broadway to the Borough of Manhattan Community College in 1993. The circa 1959
Construction crews on the massive One World Trade Center site Wednesday reached a milestone by placing the largest steel column to date for the $3.1 billion tower in Lower Manhattan. The 60-ft, 70 ton beam will serve as one of 24 perimeter columns that surround the building’s core. Once placed, the columns will allow the initial floors of the tower – including the lobby – to be built out. Each of the 24 columns was manufactured at the ArcelorMittal plant in Luxembourg. The steel plates were shipped to North America and fabricated in shops in South Plainfield, N.J. and Terrebonne,
Construction crews on the massive One World Trade Center site Wednesday reached a milestone by placing the largest steel column to date for the $3.1 billion tower in Lower Manhattan. The 60-ft, 70 ton beam will serve as one of 24 perimeter columns that surround the building’s core. Once placed, the columns will allow the initial floors of the tower – including the lobby – to be built out. Each of the 24 columns was manufactured at the ArcelorMittal plant in Luxembourg. The steel plates were shipped to North America and fabricated in shops in South Plainfield, N.J. and Terrebonne,
A grand jury last week indicted New York City’s carpenters union chief and nine other members and contractors following a sweeping investigation that resulted in allegations of fraud, racketeering and accepting bribes. Michael Forde, executive secretary-treasurer of the district council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and other key union officials are accused of helping individual contractors – which are not named in the 29-count indictment – steal “millions of dollars” from union benefit funds by allowing them to pay union member cash below union rates without benefits, employ undocumented and non-union workers and forgo contributions to the
CAGNY Celebrates 25 Years July 2009 The Contractors’ Association of Greater New York (CAGNY) recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with an annual meeting dinner for its member companies and their employees at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in Manhattan. From left: Edward J. Malloy, retiring president of the Building & Construction Trades Council and Raymond G. McGuire, Managing Director of CAGNY. Photo courtesy of The Berman Group, Inc. Students from the Bronx recently participated in ACE Team #17, part of the Architecture, Construction, Engineering Mentor Program, a program that relies on mentors and professionals from leading design and construction
Overlooking the massive jobsite at 1 World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, Dan Tishman, dressed immaculately in a navy blue suit with a red and pink striped tie, stands watching the 300-plus construction workers scurrying around below him. Photo by Michael Falco Co-owners John Vickers (L) and Dan Tishman (R) have executed a plan aimed at maintaining a presence across all sectors. Years of hard work below grade at 1 World Trade Center culminated in 2008 as Tishman Construction brought the building out of the ground. Related Links: Four Generations of Tishman He shakes his head. “Sometimes I think I
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