Green Building. You hear it everywhere, but what does it really mean, and how can it help your business? Green is a broad concept that represents a design philosophy of constructing buildings that efficiently use resources. Efficient building and use of natural resources should lead to a healthier environment for us and to lower costs for our clients (owners, builders, and operators). It can include everything from manufacturing location to VOC content, and much more. HEATHER MARTIN Green building is a concept that is also continually evolving. Experts from architects and engineers, designers, contractors, construction managers and even agencies will

General contracting and construction management firm, E.W. Howell of Woodbury, New York recently broke ground on its ninth construction project for the giant do-it-yourself retailer; Lowe’s located at 661 Veterans Road West in Staten Island. Related Links: PB Names New CEO Phase One of Norwalk Wastewater Treatment Plant Breaks Ground NY Building Congress: Industry May Be Stabilizing SUNY Maritime College Gets New Research Facilities NYCEDC Issues RFQs for Potential Willets Point Developers 23 New School Buildings to Open Skanksa to Rebuild Manhattan Bridge The new building will feature 117,000sq ft of retail space with an additional 22,000-sq-ft garden center. In

Construction employment in New York City is expected to drop by 8.3% this year, but, according to a report from the New York Building Congress released in late-October, that number represents a significant shift from last year’s doomsday prediction.The Building Congress’ annual Construction Outlook predicts that despite a 20% drop in construction spending for 2009 – down to $25.8 billion from $32.4 billion in 2008 – the number of jobs lost this year will top out around 11,000. A year ago, the same report anticipated the industry would lose 30,000 in 2009. Related Links: PB Names New CEO Phase One

The New York City Economic Development Corporation recently released a Request for Qualifications to identify developers for the first stage of the Willets Point District, a 62-acre district in northeastern Queens which is proposed to become one of the city’s first green communities, with housing, retail, community space and other uses. NYCEDC will then issue one or more Targeted Requests for Proposals to selected firms responding to this RFQ. Related Links: PB Names New CEO Phase One of Norwalk Wastewater Treatment Plant Breaks Ground NY Building Congress: Industry May Be Stabilizing Newest Lowe’s Home Improvement Store Underway SUNY Maritime College

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein have announced that 23 new school buildings with more than 13,000 seats will open at the start of the 2009-10 school year. This new construction, along with the 18 new buildings that opened last year, represents the most-ever new classroom seats to come on line in a two-year period since the School Construction Authority was created in 1988. Related Links: PB Names New CEO Phase One of Norwalk Wastewater Treatment Plant Breaks Ground NY Building Congress: Industry May Be Stabilizing Newest Lowe’s Home Improvement Store Underway SUNY Maritime College Gets

The first phase of the $37 million Wastewater Treatment Plant in Norwalk, Connecticut which includes main lift pumping and grit and screens removal in order to treat a peak flow of up to 90 million gallons per day recently broke ground. Related Links: PB Names New CEO NY Building Congress: Industry May Be Stabilizing Newest Lowe’s Home Improvement Store Underway SUNY Maritime College Gets New Research Facilities NYCEDC Issues RFQs for Potential Willets Point Developers 23 New School Buildings to Open Skanksa to Rebuild Manhattan Bridge The new facility will also provide improved treatment for the extraneous flow the plant

Three months after being acquired by U.K.-based construction giant Balfour Beatty, Parsons Brinckerhoff looked inside the organization for its new leader. George J. Pierson, a three-year veteran with PB, was named the company’s Chief Executive Officer in early December. He will assume the role after the first of the year. Related Links: Phase One of Norwalk Wastewater Treatment Plant Breaks Ground NY Building Congress: Industry May Be Stabilizing Newest Lowe’s Home Improvement Store Underway SUNY Maritime College Gets New Research Facilities NYCEDC Issues RFQs for Potential Willets Point Developers 23 New School Buildings to Open Skanksa to Rebuild Manhattan Bridge

Skanska has secured a $150 million contract from the New York City Department of Transportation to rebuild the Manhattan Bridge. The project will include the replacement of the bridge’s suspension structures. More than 600 suspender cables will be replaced and the four main cables will be re-wrapped. The bearings for the eight main trusses will also be replaced. In addition, inspection platforms will be installed under the bridge and the so-called neckline lighting on the bridge’s two exterior suspender cables will be replaced. Related Links: PB Names New CEO Phase One of Norwalk Wastewater Treatment Plant Breaks Ground NY Building

The State University of New York’s Maritime College is currently in the process of renovating its research facilities called Tode Hall Engineering Laboratories located on the college’s 55-acre campus on the Throg’s Neck peninsula in the Bronx. Photo: The Berman Group, Inc. A separation was created by Architects Landow and Landow between the school’s existing testing space and the new electronics laboratory so as to allow for desk space with electronics equipment and computer hook-ups at each station. Related Links: PB Names New CEO Phase One of Norwalk Wastewater Treatment Plant Breaks Ground NY Building Congress: Industry May Be Stabilizing

When people talk about green building, construction waste management is rarely given top billing. But for contractors, it is a priority. According to McGraw-Hill’s SmartMarket Report, “Sustainable Construction Waste Management: Creating Value in the Built Environment,” 61 percent of contractors rate sustainable waste management as the second most important aspect of a green building, just behind energy efficiency. Related Links: Tracking Trash : Construction teams place higher importance on construction waste management “People do not see the immediate link to reducing your carbon footprint and wastes,” says Michele Russo, director of Green Content & Research Communications at New York-based McGraw-Hill