DESPITE nine months of successive expansion in house building and improvements in apartment construction, the national construction industry remained in negative territory in May.

The latest Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI) recorded 46.7 in the month - a lift of 0.8 points on April's reading (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity).

While house building was 54.4 and apartment building increased 7.0 points to 64.9, commercial construction contracted (albeit at a slower rate) at 49.7 and engineering construction fell further - registering 34.8. There were reductions in the rate of contraction in employment (up 3.8 to 47.1) and deliveries (up 3.1 to 47.0) however, wages (59.1) and input prices (66.1) remain high.

"The rebalancing of the construction sector is gathering pace with a further decline in engineering construction in May partially offset by healthy expansions in house and apartment building," said Australian Industry Group Director - Public Policy, Peter Burn.

"Encouragingly, new orders in these residential sub-sectors are also on the rise although the easing of residential building approvals in recent months may temper medium-term expectations.

"Commercial construction on the other hand is struggling to sustain momentum after some promising signs earlier in the year. The sector was still shy of growth in May and new orders for commercial construction work fell.

"Engineering construction continued its drop in the wake of the mining-investment boom leaving plenty of capacity for an expansion of other infrastructure activity."

Housing Industry Association Chief Economist, Harley Dale said industry can take some heart from the latest Australian PCI results.

"A contraction in engineering construction is hardly surprising, but commercial construction is very close to expansion mode, house building continues to expand, and apartments posted their best result in seven months," he said.

"Further growth in residential construction activity in 2014 will be important for the Australian economy given the positive flow-through such expansion has to segments of Australia's manufacturing, supplier, and retailing sectors.

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Strong growth fails to lift construction out of doldrums

FXStreet (Bali) - Australia's AIG construction PMI for the month of May improved to 46.7 vs 45.9 last.

Official release

Despite nine months of successive expansion in house building and improvements in apartment construction, the national construction industry remained in negative territory in May. The latest Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI) recorded 46.7 in the month - a lift of 0.8 points on Aprils reading (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity).

While house building was 54.4 and apartment building increased 7.0 points to 64.9, commercial construction contracted (albeit at a slower rate) at 49.7 and engineering construction fell further - registering 34.8. There were reductions in the rate of contraction in employment (up 3.8 to 47.1) and deliveries (up 3.1 to 47.0) however, wages (59.1) and input prices (66.1) remain high.

Australian Industry Group Director - Public Policy, Peter Burn, said: "The rebalancing of the construction sector is gathering pace with a further decline in engineering construction in May partially offset by healthy expansions in house and apartment building. Encouragingly, new orders in these residential sub-sectors are also on the rise although the easing of residential building approvals in recent months may temper medium-term expectations. Commercial construction on the other hand is struggling to sustain momentum after some promising signs earlier in the year. The sector was still shy of growth in May and new orders for commercial construction work fell. Engineering construction continued its drop in the wake of the mining-investment boom leaving plenty of capacity for an expansion of other infrastructure activity," Dr Burn said.

Housing Industry Association Chief Economist, Harley Dale, said: "We can take some heart from the latest Australian PCI results. A contraction in engineering construction is hardly surprising, but commercial construction is very close to expansion mode, house building continues to expand, and apartments posted their best result in seven months. Further growth in residential construction activity in 2014 will be important for the Australian economy given the positive flow-through such expansion has to segments of Australias manufacturing, supplier, and retailing sectors. The Australian PCI indicates we will get this outcome. It would be pleasing to see evidence emerge of growth in commercial construction and upcoming Australian PCI updates will provide a handy early news lead in this regard," Mr Dale said.

Link:
Australian construction PMI improves, still in contraction territory

Australia's construction industry remains in decline as weakness in engineering and commercial construction outweighs strength in home building.

The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Performance of Construction Index rose 0.8 points to 46.7 in May - below the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction.

The index has now been in the red for five straight months.

House building strengthened to 54.4 points in May and apartment building jumped to 64.9.

But commercial construction contracted and engineering construction continued to decline, to 34.8 points, on the back of the mining investment wind down.

"The rebalancing of the construction sector is gathering pace with a further decline in engineering construction in May partially offset by healthy expansions in house and apartment building," Ai Group director of public policy Peter Burn said.

"Commercial construction on the other hand is struggling to sustain momentum after some promising signs earlier in the year."

Housing Industry Association chief economist Harley Dale said there were plenty of positives in the data.

"A contraction in engineering construction is hardly surprising, but commercial construction is very close to expansion mode, house building continues to expand, and apartments posted their best result in seven months," Dr Dale said.

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Construction sector decline continues

* Builder plans 192-unit luxury project in Lyndhurst

Artist's rendering of Station at Lyndhurst in the Meadowlands near Medieval Times.

A developer has received a $37 million loan to complete construction of a 192-unit luxury apartment building in Lyndhurst, the company's broker said Monday.

Real estate firm HFF, based in Florham Park, secured the long-term financing from Webster Bank N.A. on behalf of J.G. Petrucci Co. of Asbury in Warren County. Petrucci is building the Station at Lyndhurst, the multifamily project at 240 Chubb Ave. in the Meadowlands.

The loan from Webster is structured to complete construction of the project and to provide long-term permanent financing, according to a statement from HFF. The completion date is Nov. 1.

The building is not far from the Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament attraction and AvalonBay Community Inc.'s Avalon Lyndhurst rental property, said Greg Rogerson, a J.G. Petrucci principal.

The apartments incorporate granite and stainless steel appliances; 9-foot ceilings; hardwood floors; two common-area patios with views of the New York skyline; an exercise room; a yoga room, and a clubhouse area. The apartments are built atop a structured parking garage.

Rents for a one-bedroom will be about $1,800 a month and $2,300 for a two-bedroom, Rogerson said.

The Station at Lyndhurst is being built on what was a vacant site, in an area with many office buildings. There will be shuttle service to several area train stations, and a bus stop for Manhattan in front of the building, Rogerson said.

J.G. Petrucci owns an investment portfolio of more than 6 million square feet of industrial, retail and office space. It has units in Nutley and Maplewood and leases units at train stations in eastern Pennsylvania.

Continue reading here:
$37M in financing for apartments

The Hindu KSPCB chairman Vaman Acharya, takes a sip of the treated wastewater at TZED Apartment at Ramagondanahalli in Bangalore.

Treated wastewater is not just used for gardening by residents of an apartment building in Ramagondanahalli here.

Over 500 residents in 76 flats use treated wastewater even for drinking and cooking purposes. Of their daily requirement of 48,000 litres, 30,000 litres is being generated from multi-staged treatment units in their apartment.

Additional system

To make the water fit for human consumption, the residents of TZED Apartment have adopted an additional three-level waste water treatment system, apart from the one provided by the builder Biotech Consortium India Ltd. (BCIL).

Chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) Vaman Acharya and his team visited the apartment on May 30 and lauded the residents efforts.

After he drank the treated water, Mr. Acharya, in a statement, said: Drinking water and waste disposal problems being faced in the city will reduce substantially if all apartments adopt this technology.

For the last 18 months

According to M.B. Narayanaswamy, manager of TZED Apartment, residents have been using the treated water for drinking, cooking and other purposes for the last 18 months.

At the time of construction in 2006, a traditional wastewater treatment plant was installed to treat over 35,000 litres of sewage produced by the 76 flats every day. However, residents opted for further purification of water by adding three more treatment levels.

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These residents are serious about reduce, reuse, recycle

Joins show different consistencies of concrete, risking fractures along batch-lines could appear.

"The pictures which purport to be of [a] high rise block in North Korea are truly shocking," said Professor John Nolan, the former President of the London-based Institution of Structural Engineers.

He pointed to the building's misaligned windows and flimsy steel rebar. "Quality control appears to be an alien concept," he said. "If this is a genuine example of the general standard of high rise construction in North Korea, it is no surprise to me that the [recent] collapse occurred and there is a serious risk that it will not be an isolated incident."

Primitive hoists for transporting concrete

Slab edges being cast after main wall casting, with no reinforcing bar evident

The complex, which opened in June 2012, is made up of three 47-floor buildings and 15 buildings of between 20 and 36 floors. Its rapid construction surprised many observers, who wondered how North Korea had achieved the feat without any modern equipments and with limited access to reinforced steel.

Historical satellite images also suggest the complex was built at roughly the same time as the 23-floor building that collapsed because of "slipshod" construction.

Steelwork appears flimsy and incapable of sustaining structure, lack of caging visible. Usually steel bars should appear upright, vertical, consistent and thick

A second structural engineer, who asked not to be named, said the steel rebar used in the complex are too flimsy for such a tall structure and could endanger its structural integrity. He added that the formwork moulds used to pour the concrete walls appeared badly made and variable in quality.

He also noted that concrete was mixed at the site by hand and with limited quality control, then poured by hand into the moulds.

Excerpt from:
Photos that reveal North Korea's shocking construction methods

Bottomline

Commissioners will consider a request for financial incentives for an East Lawrence apartment project.

Background

A development group led by Tony Krsnich is asking several street and utility improvements to assist in the construction of a four-story, 43-unit apartment building at the southeast corner of Ninth and Delaware Streets. Much like the Poehler Lofts building that Krsnich renovated, the new apartment building would be rent-controlled. Commissioners are being asked to approve $270,967 in in street, waterline and sewer improvements, plus the waiver of several fees. City staff is recommending that the requested amount be reduced by about $100,000 due to city budget constraints. Krsnich has indicated he also plans to file for another incentive request on the project, which will involve using the Neighborhood Revitalization Act to rebate new property taxes generated by the project.

Recognition

Proclaim the week of June 8-14, 2014, as Relay For Life Week.

Consent agenda

Receive minutes from various boards and commissions:

Approve all claims. The list of approved claims will be posted to the agenda the day after the City Commission meeting.

Approve licenses as recommended by the City Clerks Office.

See more here:
Lawrence City Commission agenda for June 2 meeting

By Daniel MillerUpdated: Wednesday, May 28, 2014, 8:43 amPublished: Tuesday, May 27, 2014, 9:06 pm

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) A cause for an explosion that heavily damaged an apartment building on May 15 has been determined.

Late Tuesday afternoon Indianapolis fire investigators said it was accidental, but thats little comfort to the people who live in the complex.

Construction crews have put a fence up around the damaged building to keep people out. People who live here said since the explosion, theyve been worried it could happen again.

I was in the kitchen getting ready to cook dinner; I always keep my blinds where I can see outside and I saw the apartment when it blew up, said Michelle Hayes of Indianapolis.

Two weeks after the explosion destroyed the apartment building, people who live at Pangea Apartments are just now learning how it all happened.

I was really nervous because all I knew at the time was that the explosion had happened in the front. Which I live in the very front, said Jessica Phillippe of Indianapolis.

IFD blamed it on an unintentional, accidental opening of a gas line, but thats all they would say. That left residents wondering what line was open and how it got that way.

Its a little concerning having a 9 month old baby, Phillippe said.

Days after the explosion, Hayes said she contacted management to get answers. She wanted to know if a blast could happen again.

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Apartment tenants have concerns after explosion

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) It seems like everywhere you look downtown, a new condo or apartment building is popping up. But now, the vacancy rate is going up, too.

Minneapolis-based Marquette Advisors reported the vacancy rate for apartments in downtown Minneapolis at 5 percent at the end of March. Thats up from the 2.2 percent vacancy rate at the end of March from last year.

Even if you dont live downtown, the apartment building boom could affect you.

Downtown Minneapolis North Loop is the new hot place to live. Thats why several new luxury apartments, like Elses Warehouse, opened there in the last year.

Theres definitely been a lot of places in the past two years, which has been really exciting, Brent Webb, managing director of leasing for Greco Real Estate Development, said.

However, according to the new report, renters arent keeping up with the number of apartment projects being built downtown. The vacancy rate for the area doubled in the last year.

Minneapolis city council member Jacob Frey says the uptick in vacancy is temporary, as the number of renters has to catch up with the original demand for higher end apartments.

Any time you get an increase in demand you will also get increase in construction and with the increased construction comes increase in vacancy rate for a certain period of time, Frey said.

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As New Apartments Pop Up In Mpls., Vacancy Rate Doubles

Four design and construction engineers are believed to have been shot by firing squad following the deaths of around 500 people

North Korean officials responsible for the construction of a 23-storey apartment block which collapsed have reportedly been executed by firing squad.

Hundreds of people were feared dead when the structure fell to the ground, sparking a rare public apology and with Kim Jong Un being described as 'upset' and unable to sleep.

High-ranking party officials, police and intelligence analysts were among the 500 people killed in the incident in Pyongyang that was described as "serious" by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Four design and construction engineers were shot by a firing squad, according to Japan's Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, while a military official is believed to have been sent to a prison camp.

Pyongyang's expression of "profound consolation and apology" was the first official news of the disaster, which happened in the Phyongchon district of the North Korean capital.

"The construction of an apartment house was not done properly and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner," said the statement from KCNA, which is better known for its strident attacks against South Korea and the United States.

The KCNA statement also said the collapse of the apartment building "claimed casualties" but did not give any indication of how many may have been killed or injured. It said a rescue operation ended on Saturday.

An official from South Korea's unification ministry confirmed on Sunday that a 23-storey apartment building had collapsed in Pyongyang last Tuesday, although he would not say from where the information had been obtained.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said the building was presumed to have held 92 families and that it was common for North Koreans to move into new buildings before construction was completed.

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North Korean officials "executed by firing squad" following 23-storey building collapse