In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s first 77 days on the books, only $28.5 billion of the law’s $787.2-billion total has turned into actual outlays. Few of those hard dollars have flowed into construction programs. ARRA outlays by the Dept. of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency and General Services Administration for buildings totaled only $42.5 million as of May 12. Sources: Congressional Budget Office, Office of The Vice President, Quarterly Report On ARRA The Obama administration’s first quarterly report on the economic stimulus, released on May 13, says obligations—binding spending agreements—totaled more than $88 billion as of May 5, which
People age 55 and over, who as a group have taken the hardest hit to their net worth in the slumping economy, are waiting out the recession. When they return as homebuyers, they will not be looking for the same kind of house they would have been a year ago, say housing experts. The value of baby boomers’ homes currently is equivalent to 2003 prices. That has softened the formerly solid baby-boomer and senior market and has homebuilders scrambling to figure out what boomers and seniors will want and how to deliver it. That market’s numbers are significant: More than
The Dept. of Housing and Urban Development has announced plans for $995 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act discretionary grants to upgrade public housing units and the National Science Foundation is seeking applicants for $200 million in ARRA aid to rehabilitate academic research facilities at colleges and universities. Related Links: HUD's Notice of Funding Availability HUD on May 11 said it will award a total $995 billion in ARRA Public Housing Capital Funds in four categories: $600 million for energy-efficiency improvements; $200 million for projects delayed for lack of funding; $100 millin to "transform" old public housing projects through
Construction of a new, $107-million United States District Courthouse building on a long-dormant block in rapidly redeveloping downtown Austin will soon get under way thanks to federal stimulus funds. Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also allowed the project’s original construction timetable to be moved up. Rendering courtesy of White Construction Co. U.S. Courthouse site in downtown Austin was abandoned by Intel in 2001. White Construction Co. of Austin signed on in March 2004 as construction-manager-as-constructor for the design and preconstruction phase on the seven-story, 211,590-sq-ft structure (with one level of underground parking). “We were told at the
Federal agencies are disclosing more American Recovery and Reinvestment Act construction plans. The Housing and Urban Development Dept. on May 5 outlined how it will allot $980 million in Community Development Block Grants, some of which is expected to go for infrastructure. The Dept. of Transportation on May 7 announced it will divide $743 million in stimulus aid among 11 transit projects. On May 8, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $111.9 million for brownfield cleanups, including $37.3 million from the stimulus. HUD’s stimulus CDBGs will be split among some 1,200 states, cities and counties by a formula that includes
With President Obama’s May 7 release of his detailed budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, the tussle over 2010 federal funding will intensify. Taking a tougher line on spending, Obama highlighted a plan to terminate or trim 121 programs, aiming to save $16.7 billion. Cuts would include about $1.5 billion from construction accounts. The Democratic Congress is likely to defer to Obama’s first budget request, but only to a degree. Lawmakers are not expected to rubber-stamp every line. Photo: AP/Wideworld OMB Director Orszag and Obama spell out cuts in some federal programs. Jeffrey D. Shoaf, Associated General Contractors’ senior
Faced with political opposition and inconsistent rules from state to state, public-private partnerships used to finance public transportation projects lag in the U.S., compared to Europe and Australia, says a new survey by McGraw-Hill Construction, the parent of ENR. The analysis is based on detailed interviews of 75 state and municipal public-works officials with varying levels of PPP experience. About one-third of survey respondents were currently involved with the approach or used it in the last decade. According to the survey, the biggest PPP obstacle is respondents’ perception of “unacceptable profits” by private developers. Other negative perceptions cited are tolling
In the first 77 days after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law, only about $28.5 billion of the statute's $787-billion total has turned into actual outlays, according to the Obama administration's first quarterly report on the stimulus measure. Related Links: Complete ARRA Report It also appears that relatively little of those outlays have been for construction programs. Vice President Joe Biden, who issued the report on May 13, says that there has been "significant progress" in implementing the massive stimulus package. In a letter to President Obama that accompanies the report, Biden added, "We remain ahead
Faced with political opposition and inconsistent rules from state to state, partnerships that channel private investment into public works have lagged badly in the U.S. compared to Europe and Australia. A new survey report suggests that public officials that have experience in building via public-private partnerships consider the method an important and useful development tool, but that there is a long way to go in gaining broader acceptance. Photo: Missouri DOT Can PPPs fund special truck lanes, such as the ones shown in this experiment in Missiouri? Related Links: Experienced Officials Support PPPs McGraw-Hill Construction’s PPP SmartMarket Report Released at
The Dept. of Housing and Urban Development on May 5 announced how it will divide $980 million that the economic-stimulus legislation--the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act--provided for Community Development Block Grants. The CDBG aid will be split among about 1,200 state, city and county governments. Related Links: Notice of HUD Program Requirements CDBGs, established in 1974, can be used for many different purposes. Over the program's history, the most popular uses have been affordable-housing rehabilitation and upgrades to infrastructure such as streets, sewers and community centers. But for the stimulus CDBGs, HUD says in a May 5 technical guidance document
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