Ida Crown Jewish Academy Opens in Illinois

CHICAGO, Ill. – Lendlease recently celebrated the opening of Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie, Illinois. Lendlease successfully served as the construction manager for the new 90,000-square-foot school. Located in the former Rand McNally headquarters built in the early 1950s, the existing building was once used as a corporate headquarters and printing facility for the famous mapmaker. Working in a partnership with Ida Crown Jewish Academy, Project Management Advisors and Amstadter Architects, Lendlease implemented an adaptive reuse construction strategy that included the reuse of as much of the existing structure as possible rather than demolishing and building anew. This process … Read more

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Brasfield & Gorrie Receives Honors for Excellence in Construction

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Brasfield Brasfield & Gorrie recently was honored by the Alabama chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America. Two of the company’s projects were honored with BuildSouth Awards at a ceremony on Jan. 15, at The Club in Birmingham, Alabama. The projects honored included projects that were completed on the Airbus campus in Mobile, Alabama: a central utility plant and a construction package including the build-out of the A320 final assembly line hangar, service building and logistics center. Selected by Honeywell Building Solutions, Brasfield & Gorrie served as the design-builder for the construction of a central utility plant that feeds … Read more

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A Chat with Chris Butler, General Superintendent at C.W. Driver

A servant leader: letting go of the reins By Chris Schmidt As general superintendent at C.W. Driver, Butler provides company-wide leadership and management oversight of field operations for the greater Los Angeles, California region. Butler has been in the construction industry for the past 33 years, the last 14 of which have been at C.W. Driver. He brings a high level of experience constructing complex projects with a detailed eye toward safety, planning and logistical scheduling. Join Construction Superintendent as Butler shares his journey through the ranks, his advice to foster good subcontractor relationships and the one thing he’d change … Read more

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New Construction in U.S. Expected to Grow 6.5% This Year

ATLANTA, Ga. – Construction starts in the United States are expected to increase 6.5 percent and total more than $560 billion in the coming year, according to CMD’s latest quarterly forecast report. An overall recovering economy, including wage and employment growth, increased state and federal spending on infrastructure projects and an improved investment outlook in nonresidential construction are contributing to the forecast. The report, which combines CMD’s proprietary data with macroeconomic factors and Oxford Economics econometric expertise, shows year-end growth came in slightly below expectation. A weaker fourth quarter depressed construction activity, leading to total construction starts growth of 3.7 … Read more

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Construction Firms Add 18,000 Workers in January, Unemployment Falls to 17-Year Low

Construction firms added 18,000 workers in January, as the industry’s unemployment rate declined to a 17-year low of 8.5 percent, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the number of construction jobs added in January was down compared to the last three months of 2015 and could reflect either a slowdown in nonresidential construction activity or an inability of contractors to find qualified workers. “While the construction industry continues to add jobs, the January figures mark a significant decline in the rate of growth compared to the end … Read more

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