The Dodge Momentum Index rose in December, increasing 4.0% from a revised 123.8 in November to 128.7 in December, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The Momentum Index is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year.The Index is currently at its highest reading since February 2009 and is 17% higher than one year ago. The increases seen in the index in 2014 are a signal that the construction recovery will continue into 2015.The December rise in the

A year full of new programming and record attendances, 2014 defined and expanded the mission of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Colorado chapter. Two new events, the Commercial Real Estate Forum and the Holiday Awards Gala, nurtured commercial real estate’s commitment to green building. The chapter’s signature Rocky Mountain Green and Green Schools Summit events saw record attendances. “There is enormous support behind green building in Colorado,” said Sharon Alton, executive director, USGBC Colorado. “People in both urban centers and rural communities want to grow the state sustainably. This starts with the spaces we build and re-imagine.”USGBC Colorado predicts the

The Alliance Center in Denver will begin using the LEED Dynamic Plaque, a revolutionary building performance monitoring and scoring platform from the U.S. Green Building Council that helps change human behavior through dynamic data. It will be one of the first buildings in Colorado to utilize this technology. The LEED Dynamic Plaque empowers landlords, tenants and guests to view energy, water, waste, transportation and human experience on an ongoing basis through electronic display screens located in buildings.In collaboration with USGBC, data from The Alliance Center will upload to an online system that generates an up-to-the minute LEED performance score. The score will enable building users to see how their actions affect the

Kent Denver’s new gymnasium, the $2-million, 16,500-sq-ft Yates Pavilion, is a highly visible tribute to the school’s passion for sports. hoto by David Lauer Photography The new gym enhances Kent Denvers athletic program by allowing more teams to practice while eliminating early-morning and late-night scheduling. The new addition includes a competition court with a higher seat count capacity than the adjacent gym, two full-sized practice cross courts, locker rooms, a lobby space and concessions area. Expected to earn LEED-Gold certification, the new gym enhances Kent Denver’s athletic program by allowing more teams to practice while eliminating early-morning and late-night scheduling.The

Denver's upscale Cherry Creek North neighborhood is experiencing its biggest construction boom since the 1980s, with more than $500 million in commercial and residential projects going up, recently completed or planned. Demand from businesses and residents is driving the development. Related Links: Redesigned Fillmore Plaza Sderves Mutiple Purposes Haselden Named 2014 Colorado Contractor of Year But the growth has changed the historical profile of the neighborhood, bringing with it taller buildings and increased density. The city and county of Denver passed new form-based zoning for Cherry Creek North this fall that didn't affect current construction projects but will figure into

Using prefabricated elements in building the new Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, which opened in mid-December, cut 72 workdays off the construction schedule and resulted in $4.3 million in savings, according to a new study by University of Colorado Boulder engineers. Courtesy of Mortenson Mortenson chose to prefabricate the exterior wall panels, the bathroom pods, the headwalls in patient rooms and the utilities that run above hospital corridors by bundling them into prebuilt racks. The study, by professor Matthew Morris and doctoral student Eric Antillon, both of the Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, is one of the first

Most specialty firms see good things ahead for the region in 2015, but availability of labor and an aging workforce remain the industry’s most critical issues. Photo by Jackie Shumaker, courtesy of Sturgeon Electric Ongoing work at Denver International Airport's new hotel and transit center has kept hundreds of specialty contractors busy, including Denver's Sturgeon Electric. “We’re seeing (construction) workers go to higher paying jobs in other states, like Texas and North Dakota, and to other industries, like oil and gas,” said Kelly Brough, CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, in a Dec. 8 outlook for Colorado hosted

Specialty contractor Douglass Colony Group Inc. of Colorado has a penchant for tackling tough, often one-of-a-kind roofing jobs—from the historic Colorado State Capitol dome in downtown Denver to a health care company's skyscraper headquarters. Related Links: Douglass Colony Wins 2014 AGC ACE Award Douglass Colony Wins 2013 AGC ACE Award "We do the basic box buildings, but really our niche is difficult work that takes more thought and engineering," says Steve Bechtholdt, Douglass Colony executive vice president and head of its metals division. "We do a lot of fabrication. We have a craft mentality when it's demanded and when someone

Members and guests of the Idaho Associated General Contractors met in Boise Dec. 10-11 to commemorate the association’s 80th anniversary. Courtesy of Idaho AGC The convention included an expo and was capped by the AGC annual awards gala. The event featured a keynote address by legendary Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden. He shared lessons on life and leadership learned during his five decades of coaching. Bowden holds the NCAA record for most career wins and bowl wins by a Division I FBS coach. He coached the Seminoles from the 1976 to 2009 seasons.Also addressing the meeting were Idaho Governor

The U.S. transportation construction market will grow 3.1% from $185.9 billion in 2014 to $191.7 billion in 2015, according to a new forecast released Dec. 3 by American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) Chief Economist Dr. Alison Premo Black.  That figure is slightly above anticipated growth in the overall economy, Black says. U.S. Gross Domestic Product is expected to grow between 2.6% and 3%, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve.The ARTBA forecast for the largest segment of this market—highway, street and related work—is tempered by two key factors: uncertainty over long-term federal funding, which represents 52% of state department