a Better Bubble™

ConstructionForum 🕸

US Manufacturing Boom Unlocks ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Opportunity

1 year 1 month ago
From Construction Dive:  The push to bring manufacturing back to the United States is unlike anything Didi Caldwell has seen in her career. Private companies have spent more than half a trillion dollars since 2021 to onshore facilities back to the U.S., according to the White House. As long as labor shortages don’t derail that […]
Kacey Crawley

Manchester Loses Its Annexation Bid

1 year 1 month ago
From West Newsmagazine:  The residents of Manchester and those in a two-square-mile area of unincorporated St. Louis County voted Nov. 7 on whether or not to allow the city to annex that portion of the county. A simple majority vote was required by both groups of residents. But while 79% of voters in Manchester were […]
Kacey Crawley

Development Startup Brings Modular Solution to Hospital Industry

1 year 1 month ago
From Building Design + Construction:  The hotel industry has long been dominated by major global corporations, making it difficult for newcomers to break into the field without significant financial resources and industry connections. However, building startup Tomu Inc. wants to change the landscape by offering an innovative and accessible solution: modular hotel units. Tomu Inc., […]
Kacey Crawley

Biden Announces $6B for Climate Resilience

1 year 1 month ago
From Construction Dive:  The White House today released its preeminent climate change report. The Fifth National Climate Assessment finds that even though annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions dropped 12% between 2005 and 2019, climate change-fueled extreme weather events are rapidly intensifying, becoming costlier and disproportionately harming underserved, overburdened communities. In conjunction with the report, the Biden administration announced more than $6 […]
Kacey Crawley

After 120 Years Spiegelglass Continues to Evolve

1 year 1 month ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  When officials from Spiegelglass Construction tell new clients the year the Maryland Heights-based construction firm was founded, they know the reaction will usually be an interesting one. It’s understandable — since it can be unusual to hear that a company has been operating continuously since 1904. “You can see it […]
Kacey Crawley

St. Louis Wants Your Help in Shaping Future Development

1 year 1 month ago
Want to share your input and get involved with the update to the Strategic Land Use Plan (SLUP) of the St. Louis Comprehensive Plan? The Strategic Land Use Plan sets out a vision for how we can best use the land in our city, block by block, to guide future development. The SLUP is important […]
Dede Hance

Streetcar, More Housing May Help the Country Club Plaza in KC

1 year 1 month ago
From Flatland KC:  More people on the Country Club Plaza, whether arriving on the new streetcar extension or walking from big apartment projects in the works, are considered critical to the district’s future. “We think we’ll be driving thousands of people to that district on a daily basis and someday maybe tens of thousands,” said […]
Dede Hance

Worker Wellness Blog: Misconduct in Our Nation’s Capital

1 year 1 month ago
by Dr. John Gaal Editor’s Note: Each week, Dr. John Gaal, director of worker wellness for the Missouri Works Initiative, a non-profit workforce formed by the Missouri AFL-CIO, collects and comments on news and trends in workforce wellness and life balance. Construction Forum carries the Worker Wellness & Well-Being Blog as a regular feature. The […]
Dede Hance

Contech Surpasses $30B in Total Venture Funding

1 year 1 month ago
From Construction Dive:  The construction technology sector has surpassed $30 billion in cumulative venture funding since 2014, continuing its streak of major growth, according to one investment firm. Foundamental, a Berlin-based investor focused on the AEC industry that invests in companies around the world, published its analysis of data from Tracxn, a platform that tracks […]
Kacey Crawley

IDOT Crews to Begin Major Area Road Project by Spring

1 year 1 month ago
From The Intelligencer:  In one of its more ambitious road projects recently, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) will commence work in April or May 2024 on the complete revamping of the current zigzag intersection where Illinois Routes 157 and 162 meet west of downtown Glen Carbon. The village held a public meeting on the […]
Kacey Crawley

How Climate Change Is Affecting Construction Jobs

1 year 1 month ago
From BigRentz:  As more investments are put into sustainable and renewable energy, new jobs are being created in a variety of industries, especially in the construction field. Currently, the construction industry is adapting, creating new jobs in renewable energy, and building new and sustainable infrastructure. Governments and communities are also drafting legislation to help fight […]
Kacey Crawley

Construction Input Prices Fall Amid Declining Inflation

1 year 1 month ago
From Construction Dive:  Construction input prices decreased 1.2% in October due to declining inflation, according to a new Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data released Wednesday. Overall construction costs remain 1.1% lower than a year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices dropped 0.7% since last year, […]
Kacey Crawley

A New Concept for Multistory Warehouses Focuses on Efficiency

1 year 1 month ago
From Building Design + Construction:  Demand for multistory logistics centers is increasing in cities around the country that are looking to provide “last mile” ecommerce delivery to urban populations while using the least amount of costly land possible. But vertical logistics centers have their own operational complexities that include inventory and fleet management, vehicular parking, […]
Kacey Crawley

Lawrence Group CEO Honored With Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award from KU

1 year 1 month ago
From ReJournals:  Since establishing St. Louis’ Lawrence Group as a co-founder in 1983, chief executive officer Stephen A. Smith has embarked upon a truly visionary career motivated by a passion for his hometown of St. Louis, revitalizing communities and greatly expanding the scope of what an architectural practice can be. In honor of Smith’s impact […]
Kacey Crawley

VIDEO: “Mind-Set” Worker Mental Health Video Series on Loss and Making a Difference

1 year 1 month ago
During September’s focus on suicide prevention in the construction industry, Construction Forum videotaped an interview with Dr. John Gaal, director for the MO AFL-CIO’s Missouri Works Initiative’s Worker Wellness Program. What was to be a short video segment morphed into a 45-minute, wide-ranging discussion with Gaal. We decided to edit it into short segments for […]
Tom Finan

Painting and Decorating Foundation Presents 30th Annual “Finishing Touch Awards”

1 year 1 month ago
The Painting and Decorating Foundation presented its annual Finishing Touch Awards at the Missouri Athletic Club on Nov. 7. Don Thomas, recipient of William M. Smith Distinguished Service Award The event marked the 30th year that the industry promotion and education organization has presented the awards, which are jointly sponsored by PDF and Construction Forum. […]
Tom Finan

2 Years in, Infrastructure Law Has Funded 40,000 Projects

1 year 1 month ago
From Construction Dive:  Two years after President Joe Biden signed it into law, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is fueling thousands of projects around the country and has helped boost construction employment, according to a White House progress update. The five-year, $1.2 trillion federal IIJA includes $550 billion in new funding. The update came with state-by-state […]
Dede Hance

Alton Works Announces Feasibility Study for New Downtown Hotel

1 year 1 month ago
From Riverbender:  John Simmons, President and CEO of AltonWorks today announced the start of a hotel feasibility study for a proposed new hotel in downtown Alton. The study will be conducted by HVS, a leading hotel consulting firm with offices in St. Louis and around the United States. The study will assess the demand for […]
Kacey Crawley

One Project Out, Another to be Reconsidered in Wildwood Town Center

1 year 1 month ago
From West Newsmagazine:  McBride Berra Land Company has decided to pull its Crestview development project planned for Town Center in Wildwood. McBride had proposed to build 91 detached single-family homes with full basements and two-car garages on 17.3 acres on the north side of Crestview Drive between Market Drive and Eatherton Road. Although the residents […]
Kacey Crawley