While the rest of the country percolated with construction activity before the recession hit, Upstate New York construction activity seemed to lag behind, but now technology companies have discovered its attributes and major state and federal projects dot the landscape. Related Links: Big Ideas “We’ve had in the last five or six years an increase in construction activity,” says Paul O. Cannon, principal and regional director for Cannon Design of Grand Island, N.Y. “I don’t think we are as susceptible to the ups and downs of the marketplace as other regions might be. We don’t see the big ups and,
The Dallas Cowboys’ Irving, Texas, practice facility collapsed on May 2, 2009, injuring 12 people, because wind-load demands exceeded the structure’s capacity to resist a thunderstorm’s 55 mph to 65 mph gusts, which were well below the 90 mph wind-speed specifications set by ASCE 7-98 and ASCE 7-05 Standards for that location, according to a draft report released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a nonregulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Photo: Courtesy NIST Buckling of the steel frame of the Dallas Cowboys practice facility is seen in the upper left of the photograph (marked
Galveston continues its clean-up efforts after Hurricane Ike hit the city in September 2008. The city, with assistance from Beck Disaster Recovery of Orlando, has removed 2 million cu yds of debris, spending about $60 million on the effort. DRC Emergency Services of Mobile, Ala., removed another 1.6 million cu yds of debris from the island. DRC has started new debris removal work in Chambers County, says spokeswoman Paula Pendarvis. In addition, the Texas General Land Office removed 100,000 cu yds of debris from the beach, and the Texas Department of Transportation picked up 400,000 cu yds of it from
While the recession has hampered new high-rise starts, several continue rising skyward, and at least one, the $180-million, 850,000-sq-ft, 35-story, mixed-use Block 21/The W Hotel in Austin, broke ground last year. Meanwhile the 54-plus-story Austonian, designed by Zielger Cooper of Houston and being built by Balfour Beatty of Dallas, nears completion and will become Austin’s tallest skyscraper. Image: Courtesy of Gensler The Hess Tower, conceptualized in the front, right, designed by Gensler and being built by Gilbane. Photo: Courtesy The Vistana Units at San Antonio's The Vistana feature high ceilings and large windows. C.F. Jordan built the 17-story brick-clad building.
While parts of the region continue to recover from Hurricane Ike, one year after the storm K-12 and university work continue to be strong building sectors in South Texas. Photo: Courtesy of Skanska USA Building Skanska USA Building has constructed the Professional Zone, a classroom and library building, for the University of Texas - Brownsville/Texas Southmost College in Brownsville. Related Links: Galveston Recovery “We’re not different here than other areas of the state,” says Perry A. Vaughn, executive director of the Rio Grande Valley chapter of the AGC in Harlingen. “We’re starting to see and experience a slowdown, particularly on
Although the number of new projects has declined due to tight financial markets and the recession, several Texas Top Design Firms finished 2008 in good shape and continue working on projects. Photo: AkerZvonkovic Photography Turner Partners designed an addition to the Village High School in Houston. The three-story project consists of 21 classrooms totaling 45,000 sq ft of new facilities. Related Links: Top Design Firms - Wrapup Feature Top Design Firms - Ranking/Chart Top Design Firms - Ranking by Industry Sector Photo: John Lindy Photography Turner Partners performed the site master planning and designed a 1,100-seat sanctuary addition to the
Even though the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has required more soil testing at the site of the future Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas, construction continues on other portions of the structure, which is part of the Trinity River Corridor Project. (Photo: Courtesy of TxDOT.) Contractors working on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge over Dallas Trinity River. (Photo: Courtesy of TxDOT.) Crews pour an arch support for the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge�s cable stay. Related Links: Intelligent Compaction Is on a Roll Midcontinent Express Expands Feeling the Recession - East Texas builders welcome work “It’s coming along,” says Rebecca
While not as slow as other places in the country, Houston and East Texas contractors are seeing a decline in new private projects. Slide Show Llewelyn-Davies Sahni designed the Houston Community College Southwest College/Stafford Campus located near Beltway 8 and U.S. 59. Related Links: Soil, Steel Issues Slow Bridge Project Intelligent Compaction Is on a Roll Midcontinent Express Expands “Construction activity in East Texas is pretty much a refl ection of what’s happening in the rest of the state,” says Raleigh Roussell, president and CEO of TEXO in Dallas, which represents East Texas. “This area has been growing and had
Zachry of San Antonio, Texas, topped Southeast Construction's design-build contractor list with $378 million in project revenue in 2008, and since then the company has added to its portfolio. Photo: FPL A recent aerial view of FPL's $2.1-billion West County Energy Center project, currently under construction in Palm Beach County. Related Links: Top Design-Builders Ranking Zachry, in a joint venture with Black and Veatch of Kansas City, Mo., began working on units one and two at the $2.1-billion West County Energy Center for Florida Power & Light of Juno in April 2007, and later it picked up the contract for
Suffolk Construction Co. in West Palm Beach is weathering South Florida’s harsh brand of economic turmoil by branching out into new markets and embracing technology to streamline operations. Photo: Suffolk Construction Suffolk Construction's Met 2 project in downtown Miami. The project's office and hotel towers are rising simultaneously. Photo: Suffolk Construction Suffolk Construction completed the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in Port St. Lucie, Fla., five months early. Related Links: South Florida Report: All Dried Up “We’re not growing, but we are staying even in our revenues,” says Rex Kirby, president and general manager of the Southeast Region for