Wikimedia Commons The 12-story addition to the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton had been hailed for its advances in modular construction. Related Links: ENR's feature story on the Miami Valley Hospital addition An industry publication celebrates modular hospital construction A 12-story hospital addition in Dayton, Ohio that was hailed in 2010 as an advance in modular construction has turned into a major legal headache and source of costly losses to the construction team, its insurers and the project architect.The trouble emerged after an outbreak of Legionella in the addition at Miami Valley Hospital in 2011 led to several illnesses and
Related Links: Commerce Dept./U.S Census Bureau report on January 2015 construction put in place ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's comments and analysis AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments and analysis Construction spending climbed 1.8% in January on a year-over-year basis, to an annual rate of $971.4 billion, but it was down 1.1% from December's total, the Commerce Dept. has reported.The latest monthly report on the value of finished construction projects, which Commerce's U.S. Census Bureau released on March 2, also showed that January’s private construction rose 0.5% from its year-earlier level, to a $697.6-billion annual rate, but slipped 0.5% from
Related Links: Commerce Dept./Census Bureau release and data tables for December construction AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments and analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's comments and analysis The construction industry posted a healthy 2014, as total spending rose 5.6% to $961.4 billion the Commerce Dept. has reported. The total was the highest in six years, a construction economist said.In its latest monthly construction spending report, released on Feb. 2, Commerce’s U.S. Census Bureau also said that the seasonally adjusted value of completed work edged up 0.4% in December compared with the previous month, to an annualized rate of $982.1
Robert Trudell's Youtube Channel Image from local resident's video shows part of the Mesa, Ariz., plant whose furnaces must be sold to pay back creditors. After a bankruptcy judge in December approved a settlement with primary creditor Apple Inc., GT Advanced Technologies has started dismantling a Mesa, Ariz., factory that was once touted as a symbol of Apple’s commitment to bring manufacturing jobs back to America. The means of funding the settlement are unusual and have created skepticism. GTAT will give Apple $439 million through the sale of more than 2,000 furnaces it intended to use to make sapphire glass
Photo by Tudor Van Hampton/ENR The prices should fall for drone insurance as more standardized endorsements are prepared. Related Links: Construction Industry Drones Fly in Rules Vacuum Some Firms Are Not Waiting For Regulations On Commercial Drone Operations Contractors and engineers that are using drones soon may be able to buy more types of insurance coverage from a greater number of insurers. The Insurance Services Office (ISO), which among many other services provides policy language to the industry, has recently announced that it will have up to three different endorsements adding business use drone coverage to commercial General Liability Policies by
A Tennessee contractor that the bricklayers' union says owes more than $6 million to a union pension fund has filed for bankruptcy protection.Nashville-based masonry contractor Wasco Inc. and its Columbia, Tenn., subsidiary, Lovell’s Masonry Inc., filed Jan. 6th in the Middle District Court of Tennessee.A press release from the company implies that the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was triggered by an October judgment against Wasco and Lovell connected to litigation against the company a bricklayers' union pension fund.The suit involves liability payments from the masonry firms’ withdrawal from a plan agreement with a local of the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
Wikimedia Commons Restoration of the Statue of Liberty was one of Swanke Hayden Connell's most prominent New York City-area projects. Swanke Hayden Connell, the New York City-based architectural practice, filed for protection from its creditors Jan. 9 in federal court in Manhattan.With a glittering portfolio of projects that included restoration of the centennial Statue of Liberty, New York City's Trump Tower and offices of some of the most prestigious corporations in the world, Swanke Hayden had dwindled in recent years to a small practice.The final blow to the company apparently came with a $2.297 million dispute over payments due from
Tony Illia The never-finished Harmon Hotel was to be the centerpiece of the multi-billion-dollar CityCenter complex in the gambling resort. Related Links: Hotel's Razing and Defects Trial Could Be Best Shows in Las Vegas Dueling Las Vegas Hotel Engineering Reports Cloud Conflict Between Perini and MGM A last-minute deal has effectively ended the long-running CityCenter/Harmon Hotel construction-defect legal saga in Las Vegas—with owner MGM Resorts, contractor Tutor Perini and all but one of the litigants in the case agreed to a Dec. 16 settlement.Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez announced the agreement a few hours before the start of an anticipated one-year-long jury
Photo by Tudor Van Hampton/ENR Contractors may opt for accelerated payments in exchange for a small fee to improve cash flow. Related Links: A New Age of Pay Abuse of Subcontractors Specialty Contractors See Opportunities Rising Responding to a persistent problem in the construction industry—the burden on subcontractors to float the cost of labor, equipment, materials and other expenses until the general contractor gets paid—Turner Construction is rolling out a supply-chain financing program aimed at speeding up payments to subs.“It’s a win for the subcontractor,” Mark Boyle, Turner’s chief procurement officer, tells ENR. “They know, date-certain, when they will receive
Related Links: Statement by Australian prime minister and treasurer on G-20 infrastructure actions G-20 backgrounder on infrastructure initiative and hub In another sign of increased global interest in infrastructure funding, a group of world leaders plan to start a worldwide program to draw more private financing for highways, bridges, water facilities and other projects.The Global Infrastructure Initiative, launched during the G-20 Summit on Nov. 15-16 in Brisbane, Australia, also will include a new Global Infrastructure Hub to facilitate and coordinate the effort.The Group of 20, or G-20, includes 19 countries and the European Union.The hub, announced at the summit, is
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