Construction Trends - Page 9 of 17 - Beyond the Build

Getting the Most for Your Construction Dollar

Like many experienced construction companies, our team is well practiced in both Lump Sum and Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) construction contracts. Adding to these, we are now involved with projects requiring a different delivery method, the Agency Construction Management agreement. In most cases, this is a good choice when there are multiple entities at the …

Construction Trends

The Federal Funds Rate…Up or Down

At the various real estate conventions I attend throughout the year, it seems one question is always being discussed: “When will the Feds raise rates?” This week, I had lunch with a friend from the Federal Reserve, and as I understand, the question is now hinging between “When do we raise rates? ” and “Why …

Construction Trends

Children At Play

Last week, I drove through Birmingham’s Avondale neighborhood on 39th Street, a route I’ve traveled many times before. I always knew it as straight as an arrow, but not any longer. I later discovered that residents had asked the city to slow down traffic, and engineers responded with “chicanes.” These landscaped islands form a hopscotch pattern …

Construction Trends

3Ps for Urban Connectivity

Several of our more recent projects have been driven by consumer desire for socially connectivity, an idea traditionally limited to large cities. While the suburbs are not going away anytime soon, we’re seeing increased emphasis on places that create an experience and a sense of place. This means finding everything you need for daily living …

Construction Trends

Laser Survey to Produce As-Built Plans

While all of our projects are special, a handful standout for one reason or another. The Thomas Jefferson, a 20-story structure completed circa 1929, was once considered among the finest Southern hotels. After closing about 3 decades ago, this beautiful Florentine building sat empty. Through the efforts of many, we are now repurposing the space …

Construction Trends

Micropiles at the Lyric

We have been restoring The Lyric Theatre for about 9 months now, with a completion date scheduled at year’s end. To create a state of the art rigging system at the stage fly, we recently installed micropiles. They carry the load of four 65’ columns that are supporting about 25 tons of load individually. Our drilling ranged …

Construction Trends

Illuminating Sustainable Light Systems

This past week, I attended ICSC ReCon in Las Vegas, where I always enjoy visiting with longtime friends and meeting new ones. I had the pleasure of being introduced to Clark Johnson of Johnson Light Studio and EVOKE on the last day of the conference. He and his team have designed lighting for an impressive …

Construction Trends

Foreign Investment Close to Home

We are currently constructing an urban redevelopment project that will have a value of about $120 million when completed. Approximately 40% of the dollars required are coming from a little-known federal visa program known as EB-5. EB-5, which was designed to promote investment and employment in the US, has gained popularity in the real estate development …

Construction Trends

VRF for Multi-Story Buildings

We’re just starting on an apartment project where we decided to go with variable refrigerant flow (VRF) technology for the heating and cooling needs. Instead of each unit having its own HVAC system, these VRF systems use a central condensing unit. Each space is linked digitally to a central controller which manages conditions and monitors usage. Each …

Construction Trends

Is the White Elephant Nearing Extinction?

Recently, someone told me that as a country, we are not over “mall-ed,” we are just under-demolished. There is still a place for shopping malls on good real estate, just not as many. Patterns are changing. I traveled to New England this week to visit a couple of our projects. Driving through smaller towns like …

Construction Trends

Trust & Intellectual Property Go Hand in Hand

We are finishing a project that features a technology element so proprietary that there are no drawings. Instead, the system manufacturer sent employees to direct which components go where for our “rough in.” This served to protect the intellectual property. Our team took a number of steps to minimize confusion and maximize productivity on this …

Construction Trends

110 Inches. Really?

In planning our projects, we always look at average weather conditions. Average is a thing of the past, and it seems we are now surprised by reality more often. We had a project in Wisconsin last winter, and we were told it was the coldest in memory. I guess they did not know about this …

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Getting the Most for Your Construction Dollar

The Federal Funds Rate…Up or Down

Children At Play

3Ps for Urban Connectivity

Laser Survey to Produce As-Built Plans

Micropiles at the Lyric

Illuminating Sustainable Light Systems

Foreign Investment Close to Home

VRF for Multi-Story Buildings

Is the White Elephant Nearing Extinction?

Trust & Intellectual Property Go Hand in Hand

110 Inches. Really?