World’s first and largest multi-tenant commercial office property to achieve this designation ROCKVILLE, Md., April 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard, co-developed by The Tower Companies (www.towercompanies.com) and Lerner Enterprises (www.lernerenterprises.com) has been officially certified LEED(R) Platinum Core and Shell 2.0 — by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), making it the first and largest multi-tenant commercial office property to achieve this designation in the Washington, Maryland and Virginia area. The LEED(R) (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System(TM) is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operations of high performance green buildings. The … Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its Field Operations Manual to provide OSHA compliance officers with a single comprehensive resource of updated guidance in implementing the agency’s mission to more effectively protect employees from occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities. “The manual will be a resource for workers and employers, giving them a consolidated reference on how OSHA expects workplaces to be safe and healthful,” said OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor Donald G. Shalhoub. “This document is part of OSHA’s continuing commitment to make its standards and enforcement activities transparent … Read more

HOPEWELL, NJ — Skanska, an $18 billion international general contractor based in Stockholm, has won a $134 million contract to build a two-building, 968,760-square-foot hospital complex in Hopewell, NJ for Capital Health. Construction industry sources say it is too early to mark this contract as the beginning of a possible industry rebound. However, they note Capital Health has set aside another $117 million for expansion purposes after the new 237-bed hospital is completed in October 2011. The hospital will replace Capital Health’s 112-year-old Mercer Hospital in Trenton, NJ. The Hopewell hospital will offer services for maternal child health, cardiology, dialysis, … Read more

When “Green Construction” is discussed the focus inevitably turns to cost. How much additional will the green project cost? Some organizations are opposed to any additional first costs while others have some tolerance for additional expenditures. The most prominent standard for green buildings is the USGBC (US Green Building Council). The USGBC LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program has four levels of green certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. These levels represent increasing levels of sustainability. There have been numerous studies aimed at comparing the cost of a USGBC LEED certified building to traditional designs. The average additional … Read more