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Read Construction Claims Advisor here.

 

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 
For years, the term Rust Belt has defined the region. If climate change persists as some anticipate, our region will instead be referred to as the Water Belt.  Read on for an article explaining why Cleveland is the nation's most resilient city when it comes to a warming planet. 

 

Because the leading indicators, both forward- and backward-looking, are pointing in the right direction, I have brought back the The Original Source, so you can check the Case/Shiller and AIA indexes yourself. Page down to find web sites containing source data for home sales, home starts, architect billings, etc.

 

In addition to other regular features, you will also find an article on carbon-negative concrete and links to interesting news from the month of October.

 

As always, thank you for taking the time to review this newsletter. 

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FutureThink: Rust Belt Out, Water Belt In
For years, the Rust Belt has lost population and jobs to the Sun Belt. According to The Nature Conservancy, because we live in what can also be called the Water Belt, that will all change. Review this article to understand why Cleveland is the nation's most climate-change resiliant city. That news also underscores why clean-water infrastructure programs such as those pursued by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District are of vital importance, as are the preservation goals of the Great Lakes Compact (New York Times, Kasich Veto of HB 231, Wikipedia).
Carbon-Negative Concrete On Its Way 
The manufacture of concrete accounts for 5% of all man-made greenhouse gasses.  A carbon-negative variety of concrete, set to roll out in two years, has recently been named the construction product of the year. 
Frantz Ward in the Media and Online

My colleagues do a lot of writing in order to keep businesses updated on legal developments.  Here are this month's publications.

 

Olivia Lin recently published an article on bioethics in the ABA magazine Family Advocate.

 

This month in the Ohio Environmental Law Blog, Joe Koncelik discusses the green infrastructure components of the Northeast Ohio Sewer District's plans, the new underground storage tank requirements, Ohio's Brownfield Grant Program, and diesel retrofits.  

 

In the Labor & Employment Law Navigator, Rebecca Bennett  and Keith Ashmus discuss the delay of the NLRB's new posting requirement, small business job creation, and union opposition to a research partnership between the University of Akron and a subsidiary of a Chinese company. 

The Original Source
 

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. 

News In Brief

If, like me, you tolerated the traffic snarls while wondering how much contractors benefited from the filming of The Avengers, now you can see all of the sets get blown up in the official trailer. 

 

Not everyone believes that the U.S. Green Building Council provides accurate information about energy savings realized by LEED-certified projects.  Now, there is a class action lawsuit that challenges the primary standard for green construction.

 

Also, congratulations are in order for Andy Natale, the Chair of our Construction Group, who was recently honored by Best Lawyers as a top construction lawyer.
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.