When the New York State Dept. of Transportation put together a needs analysis in early 2008, it based its projections on inflation rates from prior projects. Photo: put photo credit here The New York School Construction Authority has seen the number of bids skyrocket on projects like the Mott Haven School Project in the Bronx. “We had seen rapid escalations in construction costs that were averaging about 20%,” says Stanley Gee, NYS DOT acting commissioner. But during 2008 the department started noticing a difference. “The bids were only going up 7% above our estimates last year,” Gee says. “And this

Just north from the Museum of the City of New York, Hill International is wrapping up work on a smaller, but no less prominent project: the renovation of El Museo del Barrio. The museum is one of several tenants in the 1921 Beaux Arts building on Fifth Avenue between 104th and 105th streets, and is undergoing a facelift to celebrate the Latino cultural institution's 40th anniversary. Related Links: A Museum Worthy of Its Name New York’s Gruzen Samton Architects won the competition for the renovation in 2000, but between then and 2006, the project grew in scope several times from

Twenty years ago, New York-area firms working overseas were drawing plans by hand and sending them across the world by courier. And “instant” communication was by fax and telephone, says Eugene Kohn, chairman of Kohn Pedersen Fox, a New York-based architect that first took its practice abroad in the late 1980s. Related Links: World View See the World But today, working globally is a whole new ball game. Mobile communications, Web-driven databases, e-mail, digital photography, file transferring, scanning, video conferencing, and other advancements have transformed not only how often, how fast, and how effectively professionals can communicate with colleagues, partners,

New York City’s official chronicler on Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street was originally designed in 1929 as a grand mansion suitable for its subject matter. Image: Polshek Partnership Architects At $80 million and covering three phases, the renovation and expansion of the museum will see the reworking of 90,000 sq ft and the addition of 23,000 sq ft of space. Related Links: El Museo del Barrio The city’s wealthiest residents funded the construction of the five-story Museum of the City of New York in Georgian Revival style, with a grand entrance facing the world’s most famous city park. Mayor James

Although controversy once again swirls around redevelopment of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, both the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Silverstein Properties of New York report their projects are on schedule and progressing well. Photo: Joe Woolhead During an eventful year on the World Trade Center site, crews found glacial formation at the site of Tower Four during excavation. Photo: Silverstein Properties Crews place reinforcing steel at Tower Four, which will also be known as 150 Greenwich St. Related Links: 3-D View “The public side of the World Trade Center site is clearly

The global economy is ailing, but New York contractors, architects, program managers, and engineers are still seeing traction today in the Middle East and Pacific Rim regions. Unlike the round of overseas projects from 20 years ago in Europe and Japan, most of the activity is in developing nations and wealthy and fast-growing small states. Related Links: World View Game-Changer Middle East Dubai and Abu Dhabi, two states within the United Arab Emirates, have been the construction hotbed in recent years, and remain busy by comparison even today, says Jonathan Stark, principal and executive director at Perkins Eastman, a New

The Yellow Pages in Abu Dhabi and Dubai list quite a few familiar names: New York-region contractors, developers, architects, engineers, and project managers are all hanging shingles and winning assignments in one of the world’s busiest construction marketplaces. Image: Langan International Projects like the Rion-Antirion Bridge in Patras, Greece (above) have helped Langan Engineering's international arm, Langan International, make inroads into the competitive overseas market. Related Links: See the World Game-Changer The same is true across still fast-growing China, and these New York globe-trotters are also deployed in dozens of markets globally, from industrialized Europe to developing nations in central

From its office overlooking the 16-acre World Trade Center site, the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center has a bird’s-eye view of the day-to-day progress of construction projects in and around the site. Photo: Joe Woolhead, courtesy of Silverstein Properties LMCCC is fi nding that 4D modeling is a powerful tool for communicating progress on the World Trade Center site and all of Lower Manhattan. Photo: LMCCC Still image from a 4D simulation run of planned and under construction projects in Lower Manhattan. Alternate shades of blue indicate expected construction progress at certain future dates. Photo: LMCCC Modeling showed how options

A probe into New York’s concrete testing industry has prompted city officials to launch a new program to increase the oversight and evaluation of concrete testing at construction projects throughout the city, including projects funded by the city and private developers. (Photo by Joe Woolhead) The program, announced last week by the New York City Department of Buildings, Department of Design and Construction and Department of Investigation, includes plans to build a $1 million city-owned concrete-testing laboratory scheduled to open January 2010 in the Bronx. The new laboratory, which will be operated by the DDC, will be fully equipped to

Despite having $1.57 billion in federal stimulus money approved for New York City capital transportation – with $1 billion more likely to be approved – an analysis of project data provided by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council reveals that the majority of the approved funding has yet to be spent. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been approved for a total of $1.2 billion in stimulus funds to go to projects that support New York City Transit’s work such as the Fulton Street Transit Center through the rehabilitation of the 4/5 subway line mezzanine and the A/C line mezzanine as