Construction Underway on New Westin Jackson Hotel

JACKSON, Miss. — A groundbreaking ceremony recently marked the start of construction on a new Westin Jackson hotel in Jackson, Mississippi.   Slated to open in January 2017, the 169,000-square-foot structure will be the first luxury global hotel brand in Jackson. The nine-story hotel will feature 205 guest rooms.   Participants in the development include Capital Hotel Associates, Hinds County, Jackson Redevelopment Authority, the State of Mississippi and Wischermann Partners. Brasfield & Gorrie is serving as general contractor and Elness Swenson Graham Architects Inc. is the project architect.   This will be the second Westin hotel constructed by Brasfield & … Read more

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Lend Lease Chicago Completes Hyatt Place Chicago/Downtown

CHICAGO, Ill. — The Lend Lease Chicago office completed the construction of the Hyatt Place Chicago/Downtown — The Loop, a brand new sustainable hotel located at 28 North Franklin, in the heart of Chicago, Illinois" Downtown Loop Area. Working in collaboration with Palmetto Hospitality Group of Chicago, LLC, OTO Development and VOA Architects, Lend Lease provided construction management services for the new 18-story, 143,000-square-foot hotel featuring 206 guest rooms ranging from king, king studio, queen and ADA room types. The hotel offers guests a wide range of amenities including a more than 1,500-square-foot exercise facility on the third floor, an … Read more

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Difficulty in Finding Skilled Construction Workers Evident in Jobs Report

U.S. construction industry employment rose 0.1 percent in July and added 6,000 net new jobs, while the construction unemployment rate shed 0.8 percentage points and now stands at 5.5 percent. Nonresidential construction employment fell by 4,600 jobs in July after losing 800 jobs in June. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors lost 3,700 jobs for the month, while the nonresidential building sector declined by 900 jobs. Residential construction and the heavy and civil engineering segment added 8,200 and 2,900 net new jobs in July, respectively. “The slump in energy sector investment continues to lead to job loss in the nonresidential construction industry,” … Read more

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Revitalizing Las Vegas with Robots

A bustling center filled with robotics, drones and startups could become a new economic powerhouse in Las Vegas, Nevada. And, The Korte Company could be a big part of it. With efforts led by The Korte Company’s Sallie Doebler, the firm partnered with Focus Development, Joseph Beare & Company and SH Architecture to form Build a Better Las Vegas, the team that won first prize in the Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Las Vegas Challenge. The Korte Company team won $500,000 for a proposal to repurpose the existing Cashman Center into the Las Vegas Unmanned Aerial and Robotics Resource Center. … Read more

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Strong Conditions Persist for Architecture Billings Index

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Architecture Billings Index is reflecting healthy and sustained demand for design services in nearly all nonresidential project types. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9-12 month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects reported the July ABI score was 54.7, down a point from a mark of 55.7 in June. This score still reflects an increase in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 63.7, up slightly from a reading of 63.4 the … Read more

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