The Atlantic Philanthropies has been revealed as the mystery donor of $350 million for Cornell University’s newly won engineering and applied sciences project on New York City’s Roosevelt Island. The gift will be made as part of Atlantic’s Founding Chairman program, a series of grants proposed by its founding chairman, Charles F. Feeney.  The gift is the largest contribution in the university’s history and one of the largest in the history of American higher educations, says Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s office. Cornell and its partner, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, won the bid yesterday to build a $2-million-plus campus slated for completion

A federal program that allows foreign investment in U.S. construction projects, including some in New York City, in exchange for an eventual green card has begun to raise concern for the Obama Administration, according to a recent article in The New York Times. The Immigrant Investor Program, dubbed “EB-5,” was created in 1990 to stimulate the economy and create jobs through capital investment, but critics contend that the program has fostered “unsavory practices” in recent years, according to the Times, which examined the program. Under EB-5, foreigners must invest in a new commercial enterprise and create or preserve at least

New York State has passed legislation to allow design-build project delivery for certain infrastructure projects. Industry groups, including the Design-Build Institute of America, praised the measure. Under the law, several state agencies—the N.Y. State Dept. of Environmental Conservation; Dept. of Transportation; Thruway Authority; Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and Bridge Authority—are now authorized to use design-build.   The law, which creates the New York Works Infrastructure Fund, is part of a broader economic package aimed at job creation and tax reduction for the middle class. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) unveiled the program Dec. 6. The law is set

ESPN and its $100-million digital center under construction at its Bristol headquarters are in the spotlight once again after a protest this morning by about 100 Connecticut union construction workers. Among concerns for the protest organizer, the Connecticut Laborers' District Council, are that ESPN allegedly is using non-union contractors for the majority of work and that it is using out-of-state contractors. Photo by Ralph A. Inorio The district council has held protests at the 193,000-sq-ft project site since October, alleging that the general manager on the project, Associated Construction Company, Hartford, and site contractor, Mizzy Construction, Plainville, Conn., are non-union

Plans for constructing a new train station in Midtown Manhattan's Farley Post Office building progressed further this week as the Moynihan Station Development Corp. awarded a $19-million contract as part of the project's first phase. Under the contract, a joint venture of AECOM, its Tishman Construction unit, and STV will provide construction management services and rail expertise including design reviews, construction staging, and facility planning for the Moynihan Station project, which will expand Pennsylvania Station. Rendering Courtesy of Moynihan Station Development Corp. The first phase includes building a train shed through the expansion and enhancing the 33rd Street Connector between

Cruz Contractors, Holmdel, N.J., has officially broken ground on the first phase of a  $150-million, 62-acre New York City Economic Development Corp. redevelopment project at Willets Point in Queens. The $50-million first phase is for remediation and redevelopment and includes construction of a sanitary sewer main and reconstruction of a storm sewer and outfall. This phase is in line with PlaNYC’s goal of improving the quality of the city’s waterways and is the first step in the remediation of the long-contaminated Willets Point site, connecting the area to the city grid for the first time, EDC says. Rendering Courtesy of

The Mattabassett, Conn. District is scheduled to vote on December 19 on whether to approve C.H. Nickerson of Torrington, Conn., to upgrade and expand the regional sewer district’s 35-million-gallon/day wastewater treatment plant in Cromwell. Nickerson, the lowest bidder for the project, bid $93.5 million. Rendering Courtesy of Wright-Pierce Construction on the Mattabassett District's planned WTP upgrade could begin as early as March 2012. If Nickerson is approved, construction could begin as early as March 2012, says Brian Armet, the district’s executive director. If it is not approved, the district would lose a state grant covering 22.9% of project costs and

SnapShot  December 12, 2011 Submitted By: Richard M. Miller Principal Perkins+Will, Dallas Smith, a licensed architect and professional photographer (csphoto.net), aimed to showcase the extensive sunshading on the LEED-Platinum University of Texas at Dallas Student Services Building. "We waited for the long shadows to cast across the floor and the back wall," he says. "We took other shots in the building, but we kept a close eye on this spot." Smith used a Canon 1D Mark III at 24mm, f/22 and 1/5 sec. Photographer: Charles Davis Smith, AIA

On The Scene   December 12, 2011 Craig Andrade U.S. Army Specialist Craig Andrade received the keys to his new 2,645-sq-ft Marion, Texas, home on Nov. 11, thanks to the Homes for Our Troops program. The Marion project was orchestrated by Hardin Construction Co. and drew on a crew of more than 100 volunteers. The project is Hardin’s second home built in 2011 under the program. Pictured from left are Shawn Callahan, Hardin Construction project area superintendent; Craig Andrade; Andrade’s son, Christian; daughter, Isabella; wife, Danielle; and son, Donovan. Photo Courtesy Of Hardin Construction Topping out Awards At the eighth-annual Topping

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved a $7-billion preliminary budget last week that covers operating and capital expenses for 2012. The budget is subject to ongoing review and an internal audit, the agency says. Capital spending will account for $3.66 billion of the budget. This includes funding for improvements to transportation facilities including airports, bridges, tunnels, and Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) trains. It also includes a continuation of funding to the World Trade Center project.The agency’s 10-year capital budget is $25 billion with about $10.7 billion of that dedicated to its interstate transportation network, an agency