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 Read Engineering News-Record 

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Read Construction Claims Advisor here.


 

Review Joe

Koncelik's Environmental Law

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Review Green Builder magazine here.


 

Learn About the Greater Cleveland Green Building Coalition here.


 

Read Builders Exchange Magazine on-line here. 

 

Find valuable construction industry research from McGraw-Hill Construction here.
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Reasons to Read 
If you would like a tour of how infrastructure redevelopment can hasten and complement other redevelopment projects, catch the HealthLine bus at Public Square and ride it to East 118th Street.  Along the way, you will see a transformed corridor.  And, at its center, where you may think things still look bleak, keep your eyes open for the MidTown Tech Park, at East 67th.  That project is featured below, along with an update on impacts expected from Ohio's Budget Bill and a green product that will soon displace common vinyl siding.   
  
Since we recently marked the death of Osama Bin Laden, and we will soon mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11, here is an article from the New York Times summarizing the status of construction at Ground Zero, with helpful photographs and graphics.  
  
Finally, the Passive House built by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, which I featured last month, continues to get more publicity, this time in Green Builder Magazine.
  
As always, thank you for taking the time to review this newsletter.

Jim Dixon
216-515-1642
Green Product Focus: HardiPlank Cement Siding

Finally, an alternative to vinyl siding that is green, durable, and nice to look at.  HardiPlank, manufactured by JamesHardie, received a nice plug in this article in Green Builder Magazine (page 53 of the May issue), which discussed a bungalo remodel in Salt Lake City.

Project Focus: Cleveland's MidTown Tech Park

The Euclid Corridor, between University Circle and Public Square, is the hottest corridor for development in the city.  The buzz of East Fourth Street has spread toward Public Square and East 9th. Playhouse Square is an established destination spot.  Cleveland State University has transformed the section from Playhouse Square to East 30th. Big projects championed by University Hospitals, CWRU, the Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Clinic, among others, have imrpoved the section from East 79th to East 118th. RTA's Health Line connects them all. Two focal points remain: the few blocks between East 9th and Playhouse Square, where the County has to sort out the future of the Ameritrust Tower; and, the Midtown area.  An anchor is now in place for the latter section in the form of the Midtown Tech Park at 6700 Euclid Avenue. On May 23, Fred Geis, Greg Geis, and Jim Doyle of Hemingway Development Co. gave the new 128,000 square-foot building its debut.  They also identified companies already under lease, such as JumpStart, and suggested that big news will follow.

Budget Bill Will Allow Public Entities to Utilize Different Project Delivery Methods
All eyes are on Ohio's budget bill, and not just because of its impact on funding for local governments and schools. That bill will also allow Ohio's public entities to depart from the traditional design-bid-build method of project delivery and use design-build and construction manager at-risk models. The House has approved one version, and the Senate will vote on its version next week.   Click here for a detailed report from the Surety Association of Ohio on that organization's concerns, which are shared by others, regarding bonding and job size.

The Original Source

Here are links to primary sources of industry and economic data so you can form your own opinions about market trends.

 

Growth in Green Energy

The Solar Energy Industries Association ("SEIA") publishes a quarterly update, with a free Executive Summary available here. The American Wind Energy Assocaiation ("AWEA") publishes its quarterly updates here.

 

Residential Construction and Sales 

Data from the Census Bureau on housing permits, starts, and completions is available here. The NAHB's web site provides a wealth of other data from its research here. The monthly S&P/Case Shiller Housing Price Indices are available here.  And, the National Association of Realtor's Pending Home Sales Index is here.

 

Industry-wide Construction Data

Data from the Census Bureau on construction spending is available here. It will cost you a few bucks, but McGraw Hill's forward-looking market research is available here. It will not cost you a penny to review the Associated Builders & Contractors' forward-looking Construction Backlog Indicator, here, which measures non-residential work under contract but not yet under construction.

 

The American Institute of Architects' Leading Indicator

Ask architects if their non-residential construction billings are improving, and you get a pretty good idea of where non-residential construction spending will go in nine to twelve months.  The AIA publishes frequent press releases summarizing its subscriber-based Architecture Billings Index here. 
Disclaimer
This document is intended to provide general information about legal developments, not legal advice. Receipt of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship.