Enlarge New construction starts in June dropped 15% from the previous month, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.Despite the monthly decline, construction starts through the first six months of the year are 23% above 2014’s level. The June monthly decline followed a strong May, which benefited from a $9-billion liquefied natural gas terminal that entered the planning stage.Nonbuilding construction in June fell 38%, while residential building in June posted a slight 2% gain, helped by strength for multifamily housing.During the first half of 2015, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $336 billion. “The 23% year-to-date increase overstates the
Enlarge Construction Momentum SlowsThe Dodge Momentum Index fell 1.3% in June, according to Dodge Data & An- alytics. The Momentum Index is a monthly measure of the first report for non-residential building projects in plan- ning, which have been shown to lead con- struction spending for non-residential buildings by a full year. With the June decline, the Index continued its lackluster performance thus far in 2015, and is now up just 2.2% compared to June 2014. Commercial building posted the biggest loss of momentum, sliding 2.6% in June. At the same time, real estate mar- ket fundamentals remain favorable and
Developer Seeks Back Pay From China Construction AmericaBaha Mar Ltd., a developer building a $3.5-billion nearly complete Bahamas resort, will participate in talks in China over money owed to the project’s contractor as well as future financing from the China Ex-Im Bank.The announcement came two weeks after the developer and its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, where the group blamed a subsidiary of China Construction America (CCA) for the construction delays. CCA Bahamas, which claims to be owed $72 million for unpaid work, says Baha Mar’s bankruptcy filing is “the direct result
If all goes as planned, the growing season for lettuce and herbs will begin before year-end in a 69,000-sq-ft converted steel plant in Newark, N.J.Crews are transforming the plant into a $30-million vertical farm. The team includes the grower AeroFarms, which will be headquartered there, and the building owner-developer, RBH Group.When completed, AeroFarms will have the capacity to grow up to 2 million lb per year of baby leaf greens and herbs in an environmentally controlled, safe and sanitary facility, says AeroFarms, which hopes to create a model for sustainable indoor farming.Annual production per sq ft will be 75 times
