photo courtesy California Dept. of water resources California, facing historic drought, will build new dams, stormwater recovery and water storage projects with voter approval of a $7.5-billion bond initiative. MGM Corp. Rendering of planned $800-million casino resort in Springfield, Mass. approved by the state after voters rejected repeal of a 2011 expanded casino initiative. Related Links: State Voters Will Weigh Water, Transport Bond Measures Initiative and Referendum Institute, University of Southern California Association of California Water Agencies--Proposition 1 Water Bond California Drought and Climate Fears Spur Approval of Prop. 1 With voter approval of nearly all bond finance issues on
Related Links: Complete 2015 Economic Forecast (subscription required) The construction recovery in 2014 had two major players: A non-residential building market that outperformed expectations and a homebuilding market that fell below expectations. The combined effect will be an estimated 5% increase in the dollar value of construction starts this year, according to McGraw Hill Construction's Dodge Data & Analytics. A year ago, Dodge expected the total construction market to grow 9% in 2014.Dodge predicts that the recovery will regain momentum in 2015, when construction starts are expected to increase 9%. Dodge announced its 2015 forecast during the Outlook Executive Conference
After steady growth in 2014, the construction industry could see a strong uptick in construction starts in 2015, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Dodge forecasts that the total value of construction starts could reach $612 billion next year—up 9% from 2014.The residential, commercial and institutional sectors, in particular, are expected to boost activity.Dodge estimates that 2014 will close out with $563.9 billion in starts—a 5% increase over 2013. That tally is well above the $550 billion total that Dodge initially forecast for the year.Total construction starts have made solid gains since 2012, led by the residential sectors. However, a
City of Kilgore Kilgore, Texas bills itself as the city of stars. City of Kilgore Kilgore's minor league team plays at Driller Park. A change of heart about whether to require surety guarantees on a small project shows how one small east Texas city weighed the costs and benefits — and may reflect similar decisions about surety made every day around the country.The city of Kilgore, population roughly 13,000, is a community of oil and industrial workers. It bills itself as the city of stars, referring to the stars that top sixty oil derricks throughout the city and are lighted
Related Links: Commerce Dept. Census Bureau's release on September construction spending with data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments and analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's comments and analysis Construction spending in September declined slightly from August's level but was up from its year-earlier total, the Commerce Dept. has reported.Commerce’s latest monthly construction report, released on Nov. 3, said the value of projects put in place in September was an estimated $950.9 billion, down 0.4% from August’s revised level, but a 2.9% increase from September 2013's rate.September's estimated spending for residential building was $354.8 billion, an 0.4% gain compared
Photo by Joanne S. Lawton / Washington Business Journal The Trulands and surety XL altered the surety indemnity terms eight months prior to news reports of trouble on a big federal data-center project. Enlarge Photo by Joanne S. Lawton / Washington Business Journal Related Links: Creditors: Truland Group Owes Us $30 million Of all the decisions Robert W. Truland, chief executive of bankrupt Truland Group, and Truland's main surety, XL Specialty Insurance Co., made during the company's growth spurt, none may have been so wise as when XL, Truland and his wife, Mary, altered the terms of a surety agreement
Related Links: Did the Sad Truland Group Bankruptcy Start with the Utah Data Center Project? Truland Group Units File for Bankruptcy Protection (subscription required) Creditors say they are owed $30 million by Truland Group, the Reston, Va., based electrical contractor, and its subsidiaries, which shut down July 31 and filed for protection in federal bankruptcy court.The total amount owed was contained in a list of claims against the company that Truland's attorneys submitted to a bankruptcy court judge in Alexandria Oct. 22. The company made the filing after numerous delays.Both Truland's main lender, BMO Harris Bank, and its surety, XL
Related Links: National Conference of State Legislatures Ballot-Measures Database With Week to Go, NJ Open-Space Ballot Question Continues to Be Divisive Initiative & Referendum Institute Ballotwatch Report Voters on Nov. 4 will decide the fate of nearly $10 billion in statewide construction-related bond issues, led by a $7.5-billion water-projects measure in California, which has been suffering from a major drought. Also on some states' ballots are measures to fortify their transportation funds.By far the largest bond proposal is California's Proposition 1. If approved, it would include $2.7 billion for water storage projects, $1 billion for watershed protection and ecosystem restoration,
Related Links: U.S. Opposing Chinas Answer to World Bank Pushback Against Chinese Workers Escalates in Africa China's Construction Tycoon Takes On the Competition Last year when China unveiled a grandiose plan for creating a Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Asian powerhouse seemed to be reading from the script that Japan followed back in the 1960s when that country helped create the Asian Development Bank. Other Asian finance ministries and central bankers were divided, some asking if another multilateral institution were necessary, and others wondering if it was safe to say ‘no’ to their biggest trade partner. Two quick and somewhat surprising
Related Links: Commerce Dept report on August 2014 construction put in place AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's statement ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's statement McGraw Hill Construction report on August construction Construction spending rose 5% in August on a year-over-year basis, to a $961-billion annual rate, the Commerce Dept. has reported.But Commerce’s latest monthly report on construction put in place, released on Oct. 1, also showed that August’s construction volume declined 0.8% from July's rate.The report, from Commerce's Bureau of the Census, said that August’s private construction spending increased 6.3% from August 2013 and public construction was up 1.9%.The strongest
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