One of the harshest construction markets in decades is reminding contractors why it’s great to be a specialist, but even better to have many specialties. Contractors across the New York region are reaching into new markets to find business, but they’re taking many different paths. Related Links: Fit for Survival Crystal Ball Blues For Structure Tone, a decision to pursue work in the health care sector started several years ago, says Robert Mullen, the CEO. To establish a foothold, the $2 billion construction manager started modestly. “We were able to get some small projects with major health care institutions just
Construction industry faithful who thought 2009 was painful should stop thumbing through this year's calendar. Most observers say the region's market is going to get worse. At least in 2009, many contractors had backlogs to finish, even if they were lighter than normal, says Mike Kolakowski, CEO of KBE Building of Farmington, Conn. “I think 2010 will be a challenging year for a lot of companies,” he adds. “I believe that we’ll start to see some positive signs in 2011 but not feel the effects until the middle to end of that year and into 2012.” Related Links: Fit for
As the demand for information technology has exploded, so, too, has the need for data centers housing servers, storage devices and networking gear. And though the financial crisis and ensuing credit crunch severely constrained data center construction with many projects put on hold or canceled, the sector is still seeing plenty of activity and is expected to surge as the recovery gains strength. Photo: Gilbane Building Work underway on an HVAC system for a recently completed data center project. Related Links: Buffalo Roost Despite the slowdown, 2 million-sq.-ft. of data center development is underway in New Jersey, says Michael Pembroke,
The storm clouds over the New York region’s construction industry had formed in late fall 2009 as project backlogs emptied and new jobs were few on the horizon. But that bleak juncture is when some general contractors and construction managers geared up for investments – even some that escaped them during the dizzying market boom of recent years. Related Links: Contractors Stretch for New Markets Crystal Ball Blues Top Contractors For Structure Tone, a decision to diversify its expertise was part of a long-term strategy – one the market bust didn’t deter, says Robert Mullen, CEO of the New York-based
Since their inception in 1996, the New York Red Bulls soccer club has been a team without a real home. The Major League Soccer franchise has been forced to play at Giants Stadium, a sprawling, cavernous facility built for American football that never gave off that “home field” advantage you look for in a permanent home. Photo: New York Red Bulls After nearly 15 years playing on turf at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, the New York Red Bulls’ new $200 million facility in nearby Harrison will allow them to play on natural turf - Kentucky Blue Grass. Photo: New
The construction market in North Jersey is not unlike most in the Tri-State region. Private jobs are hard to come by – and even harder to find – and most firms, large and small, find themselves pitted against steep competition for every small health care, education and transportation project that goes out to bid. Photo: Turner Construction Co. Turner Construction Co. is building the $447 million University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro. Photo: Turner Construction Co. Turner will finish the 630,000-sq-f, 237-room Princeton medical facility in 2011 Related Links: New Home “There’s a fairly significant amount of work on
There is an old engineering adage that says you can’t have faster, better and cheaper all at the same time. Yahoo is out to prove this adage wrong with its new data center under construction in upstate New York. The facility, located 30 miles northeast of Buffalo in Lockport, N.Y., is being billed by the company as one of the greenest and most energy efficient building of its kind in the country. Powered by renewable energy from Niagara Falls, the data center’s design takes advantage of the region’s climate to cool the facility using 100 percent outside air. Photo courtesy
With new legislation passed in New York City late last year, all of New York's buildings totaling more than 50,000 sq ft are required to submit to benchmarking and retro-commissioning, essentially putting those buildings' efficiency ratings up against other buildings across the country. Photo courtesy of Hines Property Management Engineers working on building management systems at a Morgan Stanley building in New York. Related Links: Greening an Icon: The Empire State Building Retrofitting Residential Benchmarking essentially ranks a building’s energy and water efficiency against similar buildings. The legislation specifies the use of the U.S. EPA’s Portfolio Benchmarking tool as the
Open windows in January are a just one sign of the energy inefficiencies that plague many multifamily buildings in urban areas. Studies of multi-family structures show wide variations in energy consumption per square foot with the least efficient buildings using seven times more energy than the most efficient. “These wide fluctuations mean many buildings are candidates for energy efficiency upgrades that can reduce costs and improve cash flow,” explains Andrew Padian, vice president for energy initiatives, The Community Preservation Corporation, New York. Photo courtesy of Steven Winter Associates At Jennings Hall at 260 Powers Street in Brooklyn, a steam boiler
Rockefeller University in New York has undertaken multiple projects to enhance its research facilities and modernize its historic campus to attract distinguished faculty. Slide Show Photo courtesy The Rockefeller University The Collaborative Research Center includes a new glass bridge building and renovation of the two existing laboratory buildings. Related Links: Selected Higher Education Projects Under Construction or in Design Back to Schools Green Crescent The school selected Turner Construction Co. of New York as construction manager for the Collaborative Research Center (CRC), the recently completed the Comparative Biosciences Center and the Welch Hall renovation. Turner has worked with the university