New construction starts in December improved 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $425.8 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. While nonresidential building and housing were essentially steady with the prior month, the nonbuilding construction sector (public works and electric utilities) strengthened in December, providing the lift to total construction. For the full year 2009, total construction starts plunged 26% to $411.6 billion, marking the third straight year of diminished contracting after declines of 7% in 2007 and 13% in 2008. The December statistics produced a reading of 90 for the Dodge Index (2000=100), up from November�s 86. The Dodge
San Ramon-based Engineering & Utility Contractors Association recently held its 40th annual installation of the Board of Directors and Officers at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, with nearly 300 people in attendance including 25 contractor companies. EUCA Board of Directors are, back row, from left, Rob Layne, Michael Ghilotti, Robert Purdy, Gregg Oxley, Christian Young, Don Cabianca, Steve Lydon, Danny Wood, Jr., and Mike McElroy; front row, from left, Andrew Vasconi, Bruce Adams, Nikki Affinito, Jerry Condon and Greg Gruendl. Rob Layne of O.C. Jones & Sons, Inc. opened with an invocation and told the group, �We are in
Rick Martellaro, president of Lathrop Construction Associates Inc., was elected as the 2010 president of the Construction Employers� Association during the group�s recent annual general membership dinner meeting held in Concord. CEA�s 2010 officers are, from left, Michael Walton, secretary; Patrick Callahan, first vice president, Hathaway Dinwiddie; Chuck Palley, past president/treasurer, Cahill Contractors; and Rick Martellaro, president, Lathrop Construction. Not pictured is Robert Hood, vice president, Clark Construction Group � California LP. Other newly elected CEA officers are Patrick Callahan, senior vice president and director of operations for Northern California of Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Co., CEA first vice president; Robert
McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.�s award-winning project, NADEV Printing Facility, recently earned LEED-silver designation by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Institute. McCarthy-Built, Kwan Henmi-Designed NADEV Printing Facility Earns LEED-Silver The 335,660-sq-ft project, located in Fremont and the winner of a Best of California award for 2009 by California Construction Magazine, is the first printing facility of its kind in the U.S. and incorporated a number of sustainable design and construction elements to meet the LEED-silver certification standards set forth by the USGBC. �At McCarthy, we are committed to building high performance facilities, and are thrilled
O.C. Jones & Sons, Inc., a Berkeley-based construction firm, partnered with KNBR 680/1050 Am Radio to select a local ballfield to be renovated, and the lucky winner is the Eastridge Little League Field in San Jose. The Eastridge Little League Field in San Jose Jerry N. Soriano, Eastridge Little League President for the 2010 Season, is amazed that Eastridge was selected as the winner. He says he feels ��a sense of real pride and appreciation underscored by a sense of disbelief and surprise.� O.C. Jones will renovate a currently substandard field that will allow Eastridge to field softball teams and
San Diego-based Carrier Johnson + CULTURE, an architectural, brand communication, and interior and urban design firm, announced a merger with prominent architectural and urban planning firm Fehlman LaBarre. Over the past 25 years, both firms have demonstrated leadership in mixed-use and sustainable innovation. The newly shaped Carrier Johnson + CULTURE will continue to merge the relationship between structures and public space, weaving the cultural experience into urban planning. “The future of modern cities centers on architectural creativity, art and social expression,” says Gordon Carrier, design principal of Carrier Johnson + CULTURE. “At a time when scarcity of resources and changing
The Transbay Transit Center project in San Francisco reached another important milestone as the Transbay Joint Powers Authority recently closed on the $171 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan for the project. SF�s Transbay Transit Center Project Receives Federal Loan The loan was made possible based on the TJPA�s sound finance plans, favorable audits and positive credit reviews�requiring an investment grade credit rating, the authority says. The loan will fund 14% of the project�s $1.2 billion Phase I capital costs to build the new Transbay Transit Center project on Mission and First streets. The project is funded
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission invites bids for the New Irvington Tunnel Project. The bid advertisement period began Jan. 13 and bids will be opened on March 11, with a contract award scheduled for April/May 2010. Construction is expected to begin in May/June 2010 with final completion by May 2014. Interested bidders are encouraged to attend a pre-bid and contractor networking conference to be held on Feb. 2 at 9 a.m., Sunol Valley Golf Club, Conference Room, 6900 Mission Road (near Andrade Road and I-680), Sunol. Prime bidders’ attendance at this conference is one of the good faith steps
A consulting team led by architectural/engineering firm PSA-Dewberry, which specializes in corrections and criminal justice facilities, has been selected by Calaveras County to design a new 240-bed jail to replace an aging and chronically overcrowded facility built in 1963. The $43-million facility in San Andreas will relieve crowding and enable the county to expand its drug treatment and educational programs. The complex consists of three buildings—a 73,000-sq-ft jail and a 14,000-sq-ft dormitory, which will be co-located with a 39,000-sq-ft sheriff’s administration facility. The new direct supervision jail will include educational, training, and counseling spaces and video visitation technology. The new
San Diego-based Reno Contracting reports the launch of Reno ESP (Efficient Sustainable Practices), a new business group providing a complete range of “green” building services to the commercial real estate market. Reno says the new group was formed to help commercial building owners enhance the energy and environmental efficiencies of their new and existing buildings while driving down operating costs. “Our mission is to make buildings more attractive to tenants and buyers, and more economic to maintain, while also protecting the environment,” says Walt Fegley, president of Reno Contracting and Reno ESP. “Increasingly, ‘building performance’ is becoming a key factor.
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