ASLA Announces Commitment to Industry Statement on Resilience

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the first time, leaders of America’s design and construction industry, along with building owners and operators, have agreed to promote resilience in contemporary planning, building materials, design, construction and operational techniques to help make the nation’s aging infrastructure more safe and secure. CEOs of almost two dozen leading design and construction industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, used the occasion of “Building Safety Month” to issue a joint statement on resilience, which can be found here. The statement was unveiled at a press conference at the National Building Museum, … Read more

Filed under: News, Organizations

Nonresidential Construction Index Continues to Grow

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NRCI = 65.8 RALEIGH, N.C. — FMI announces the release of the 2014 Second Quarter Nonresidential Construction Index report. The NRCI shows slight improvement of a 0.9 point increase from Q1 and a 5.7 point increase from Q2 2013. Although growth continues, it is beginning to slow indicating that the economy still holds a lingering recession mentality. The largest repercussion of this mindset is that it keeps companies from investing, banks from lending and consumers from spending. Thus, the pressure to keep prices low continues along with the need for greater profitability, leading to two key challenges: How to improve … Read more

Filed under: Economic News, News

Gilbane's Spring 2014 Construction Economics Report Confirms Industry Job Growth Improvement

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Gilbane Building Company announced the spring 2014 edition of its in-house economics report, Construction Economics—Market Conditions in Construction, confirms that while construction jobs grew less than anticipated in 2013, they grew by 156,000 last year with hours worked increasing by 3 percent—the equivalent of an additional 150,000 jobs. Year to date, the industry has gained 88,000 jobs in 2014 with job growth exceeding 25,000 per month over the last three months. “I am pleased to see that job growth has improved industrywide, however, the construction workforce is still near a 15-year low, about 20 percent below the … Read more

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Connecticut Summer Camp Appoints KBE Building Corp. President to BOD

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ANDOVER, Conn. — Connecticut’s Channel 3 Kids Camp has appointed KBE Building Corporation’s Mike Kolakowski to its board of directors. Kolakowski is the president and principal owner of KBE Building Corporation. Kolakowski and KBE Building Corporation’s involvement with the Kids Camp began in 2011, with the renovation of the Jennifer L. Hawke-Petit Health Lodge. KBE provided both a financial donation and construction management services to support the 1,000-square-foot renovation project. The firm also engaged a select group of trade contractors who donated their time and portion of the construction costs to the project. KBE is now donating its construction management … Read more

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B.R. Fries Completes Pandora Media New York Headquarters

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NEW YORK, N.Y. — B.R. Fries & Associates announced the completion of the East Coast headquarters of Pandora Media, for which it provided construction management services, craft-oriented creative solutions and overall project leadership. The 55,000-square-foot, two-floor office interiors, which opened in February, are seen as further evidence of B.R. Fries" leadership in the fast-growing electronic media workplace market where the company has a growing client roster. “We"re pleased to be involved in projects like the Pandora Media New York office where cutting-edge workplace concepts merge with a focus on high-quality construction,” says Barry Fries, CEO and founder of B.R. Fries, … Read more

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