Construction Archives

New information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the number of new housing projects increased 9.3 percent in November to make for the biggest increase in 19 months. Multifamily projects saw much greater increases than other proejcts, however, having risen 23.5 percent from last year.

Our readers may be aware of the recent developments with regard to a Casino planned for South Philadelphia. The investors behind the project had their casino license revoked by the Gaming Control Board last year after repeated delays in beginning construction.

In our last post, we noted that nationwide spending on construction has increased for the third month in a row for both housing and commercial projects. Residential properties include not only single-family housing, but also apartment dwellings. Commercial projects include a number of different types of property, ranging from educational and hotel projects, to religious and manufacturing properties.

Nationwide construction spending in October reportedly rose 0.8 percent from September, marking the third month in a row of increased spending on housing and commercial project construction. Spending in August and September apparently increased by 0.2 percent each month, making the October increases significant.

NPR recently reported that a new Pennsylvania law updating the state’s old Oil and Gas Act may restrict municipalities from zoning and regulating hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” Hydraulic fracturing is a process used to release petroleum, natural gas, coal seam gas or other underground substances for extraction.

A permit granted to Occupy Philly protestors reportedly expires at the beginning of a large project to renovate the City Hall plaza. City officials reportedly posted notices on Wednesday at the site informing protesters they will need to vacate the plaza and have all their personal belongings removed. The construction project has apparently been in the works for some time.

According to a recent report by Transportation for America, about 20 percent of bridges in the Philadelphia area deficient and in need of improvement. That makes Philadelphia third in line for American cities with deficient bridges. The study noted that deficient, however, doesn’t necessarily mean unsafe, but simply that they need improvement as there has been deterioration of one or more of its major components.

Legal issues can become important in any construction or development project. From the initial permitting process, to the completion of construction, experienced real estate attorneys are familiar with the many legal issues that can arise and potentially derail a project.

New evidence has been introduced in the Harmon Tower case we initially wrote about in our Aug. 19 post. MGM Resorts is fighting the $300 million lawsuit filed by its contractor, and it has now provided thousands of pictures that allegedly show the defects in construction that were created by the Perini Building Company.

Construction industry experts believe that one of the biggest cases in U.S. history involving construction defects may never make its way into a court of law if MGM Resorts International and its general contractor, Tutor Perini, take the cautious route.