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2011 has begun with more optimism, for sure. It is supported by some encouraging facts and activities involving Houston’s energy companies, the real estate community, architects and engineers, even lenders. However, as it relates to actual non-residential contract awards the facts are still sobering; the market is still significantly depressed. Data from McGraw Hill suggests that 2011 will be only slightly better for non-residential construction than 2010, well behind 2009, and light years behind the pre-recession 2008 numbers. While we expect the market to improve over the coming months, it will be gradual, and may not be truly discernible until the 4th quarter of this year.So what gives reason for optimism?There are several “front end conditions” that are significantly better than a year ago. If they continue, they will promote new commercial construction projects over time. Specifically, the overall Houston economy is better, thanks mainly to the health of the energy companies.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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In the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) process, one core idea is that there is shared risk and responsibility for the delivery of the project. This has made it difficult on the companies who insure these project teams as the normal approach is that each player on the project has their own liability insurance. That approach is based on the suspicion by team members that one of their partners might be intentionally negligent leading to a loss of life or shoddy construction.According to Green Source Magazine, “The $385 million Owensboro Medical Health Center project in Owensboro, Kentucky, is using IPD and has a single-project insurance policy that covers the entire team, in addition to the
May 24, 2011
Editor's note: Since this article was originally published, HoustonWorks has gone out of business. The new YouthBuild grant is operated by SER-Jobs for Progress.Last month YouthBuild Houston and HoustonWorks teamed up with Houston Habitat for Humanity to participate in the Hands on Housing Block Party where volunteers worked to replace a broken garage and perform other home repairs, remove debris and plant flowers for an elderly resident in Jacinto City, Texas. In honor of Earth Day, the materials used were donated recycled materials.
May 23, 2011
Construction Citizen blogger Jim Kollaer recently met up with Cristina Tzintzún, the executive director of Austin’s Workers Defense Project (WDP). For the past 8 years she...
May 19, 2011
Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc. (S&P) announced last week that they took third-place honors in the website category at the Society for Marketing Professional...
May 19, 2011
In a recent article in the Reno Gazette-Journal’s online newspaper (RGJ.com), Siobhan McAndrew writes about the design shift in recent years of retail shopping centers. The current trend is to build “lifestyle centers” which arrange retail stores, restaurants, movie cinemas and even hotels and apartments in outdoor park-like settings with fountains, landscaping, walkways and sculptures. Some host weekend farmers’ markets or outdoor concerts. McAndrew writes:“Alamo Quarry Marketplace in San Antonio, Texas: Opened in 1997 the 585,000-square-foot center has eight restaurants and a 16-screen cinema. Located on the site of closed cement plant, the original smokestacks are still at the center. Developed by Trammell Crow, a commercial real estate firm.”This is one of 10 examples of these centers the article lists. It includes details such as
May 17, 2011
A draft executive order was released from the White House that will require contractors bidding for federal work to disclose every political contribution that the directors, owners and officers have made before they would be considered for the projects.Let’s see, does that smell a little fishy to you? Well, it does to me.We already know that the White House can issue executive orders that can turn our industry upside down. We saw it in the executive order on PLAs that favored the labor unions on Federal projects. This one is even more political and holds the possibility that if you didn’t contribute to a certain party or candidate, you would not be considered
May 13, 2011
Houston based Linbeck Group, LLC won an Associated General Contractors (AGC) Aon Build America Award for the 2010 best building under $10 million for the Mary Wright Admission Center on the campus of Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth. The AGC awarded Aon awards to 20 firms from around the country. According to a recent press release:“The Mary Wright Admission Center, which won for best new building project under $10 million, is a 13,000 square foot facility that serves as an undergraduate recruiting center. The project was completed 23 days early, despite record-breaking heat and rain and mid-project changes to the design.
May 11, 2011
Build a Better Texas is a collaborative effort of honest construction businesses, faith leaders, and advocates of fairness and safety who want to improve the construction industry in Texas through research and through the development of ideas which will “reward good business practices, invest in workforce development, and level the playing field in the industry” for honest contractors and subs. Their website posts reports and videos highlighting the issues faced by the industry which employs around 600,000 workers, making construction one of the top ten industries in Texas.One of the handicaps which honest contractors face is having to bid for jobs against dishonest employers who misclassify their employees
May 10, 2011
Editor’s note: In our final post relating to the workforce development meeting held at Marek Brothers Systems in Houston this year, Jim Kollaer writes about the process he used as facilitator of the meeting.My approach to this session was based on these premises:Do no harm – I know that it is corny, but it is important to the work that I do to make the sessions as productive as possible.Positive actionable results – The session is not an end into itself. It was designed to leverage their current state and help them develop a direction towards the future state.It’s their company – The key reason to bring in an outside facilitator to lead these sessions is that we can ask the hard questions, drill down on the uncomfortable areas, put the owners or leaders on the spot without worrying about our jobs, poke the box and generally get it done.
May 10, 2011
