Despite a slow start, the next five years will be a period of robust revenue growth for commercial construction companies, mainly because of the economic recovery. Falling vacancy rates mean that businesses will require more office space, while rebounding disposable incomes will raise demand for retail buildings. Further, heightened consumer spending and rising business investment will fuel growth. For these reasons, industry research firm IBISWorld has added a report on the Commercial Building Construction industry to its growing industry report collection.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) October 13, 2012

Commercial construction typically lags behind the overall economy by one to two years, due in part to the length of construction contracts and industry backlog. Industry revenue began to slow in 2008, and then plummeted 29.7% and 30.3% in 2009 and 2010, respectively. During those years, most contractors' backlogs diminished to unprecedented levels, despite the influx of stimulus dollars, causing profit to shrink. As the market for construction services declined, firms resorted to bidding on projects for a loss, just to keep their crews busy. In 2009 and 2010, profit margins dropped to less than 1.0% from a peak of 5.0% in 2007. Margins are expected to remain low in 2012, at 1.8%, showing a modest improvement as economic recovery stimulates demand for new commercial construction and as the prices of services gradually increase. After three consecutive years of revenue decline, the industry is expected to begin recovering in 2012, with revenue projected to grow 2.1%, says Alegria. Even more promising, over the five years to 2017, revenue is projected to increase at a much stronger rate. Improvements in the US economy will drive this growth, with demand for construction set to steadily rise as businesses begin to expand operations. Further, merger and acquisition activity will likely become prominent in the industry as the construction markets recover and more established firms compete for market share.

The Commercial Building Construction industry has a low level of concentration, with the four largest players accounting for about 5.7% of industry revenue. The largest industry participants are general contractors, but these firms often use subcontractors and local firms to develop projects. As a result, most participants are subcontractors that compete on a local or regional scale. Additionally, large participants operate in several construction segments outside commercial building, including civil projects, and municipal and institutional building construction, which further dilutes the concentration of industry revenue. About two-thirds of establishments employ fewer than 10 people, including about 47.0% of firms that employ fewer than five people. Only about 2.0% of industry establishments employ more than 100 people. These large-scale players are multi-establishment companies with branches that operate across many states and regions. For more information, visit IBISWorlds Commercial Building Construction report in the US industry page.

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IBISWorld industry Report Key Topics

The Commercial Building Construction industry includes firms that are primarily responsible for work on the construction (i.e. new work, additions, alterations, maintenance and repairs) of office, retail, hotel and entertainment buildings. The majority of participants are general contractors or project managers. This industry does not include municipal building construction, which comprises institutional buildings such as schools, hospitals, and churches.

Industry Performance

Executive Summary

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Commercial Building Construction in the US Industry Market Research Report Now Available from IBISWorld

Bandar Seri Begawan - Bandar Seri Begawan - The Brunei-Muara District, in its efforts to provide quality services to its stakeholders, will have a new building next year. A foundation-laying ceremony was held yesterday at the construction site at the Old Airport area in Berakas.

With the new building, the Brunei-Muara District Office hopes to better serve the public in a more comfortable and spacious area.

Construction of the B$7.4 million project began in April 2012 and is scheduled to be completed by July 2013. The project was approved under the 10th National Development Plan of 2008-2013.

Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman, the Minister of Home Affairs, officiated the foundation-laying ceremony yesterday.

The main form of the building was derived from the existing site conditions.

The building will have, among other facilities, a reception lobby, VIP lounge, surau, multi-purpose hall, conference room, meeting room and pantries.

In support of the Ministry of Development's Green Building Initiative, the building will have several features that reduce the consumption of energy, including low-E double glazed walls, which reduce the amount of heat that enters the building while allowing more daylight to enter the spaces.

The project is supervised and designed by the Technical Services Department of the Public Works Department (JKR). Other consultants for the project include

KR Kamarulzaman & Associated (Civil & Electrical), Sepakat Setia Perunding (B) Sdn Bhd (Mechanical & Electrical), Z-Arif Consultant (Quantity Surveyors) and LSL Sdn Bhd (Contractor).

Also present were the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yusof, and other senior government officers.

See the article here:
New Building For Brunei-Muara District Office

Environmental Construction and Energy Projects Require High-Accuracy Devices

CHESTERLAND OH - The green building industry is growing quickly, and successful projects benefit from assessment and evaluation from start to finish. From hospitals to industrial operations to single-family homes, measurements of conditions such as temperature, solar radiation, and energy consumption are essential to carrying out and testing your designs.

Today's data loggers are small, low-cost, rugged devices that record unattended indoor and outdoor measurements at user-specified intervals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Indoor units are already in common use by performance contractors and engineers responsible for monitoring energy efficiency and usage, air quality, and heating ventilation/air conditioning/refrigeration (HVAC/R). Weather stations are used outdoors worldwide by research scientists and farmers for collecting environmental data such as rainfall, wind speed, and solar radiation.

Whether you are an experienced data logger user or are just getting started, this guide from the Applications Specialists at CAS DataLoggers will help you to understand how data loggers fit into the green building industry, and will also give advice about several areas to consider when selecting a logger best suited for your particular needs.

How Data Loggers Fit In

The goals of green building are to increase building efficiency with regard to energy, materials, and water use; to take advantage of natural resources such as solar radiation and wind; and to lessen the environmental impact of building siting, construction, and operation. In practice, some designs address all these factors, while other buildings incorporate just a few.

Data loggers can provide valuable information for nearly every aspect and scale of green design. For example, a facilities manager can monitor temperature in a fifteen story office building over the summer to check whether the fans in the building's cooling tower need adjustment.

A homeowner considering adding passive solar hot water panels to his roof can deploy a weather station first to determine where solar radiation is most intense, and how many sunny days there are per year. Engineers can monitor energy use in a retrofitted elementary school to make sure that new lighting and appliances are actually cutting electricity costs.

In an effort to create a national industry standard, the US Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org) created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. This system serves as a guide for measuring and documenting successful green building practices at all phases of a building's lifecycle. Guidelines cover site selection, new construction, renovation, and occupancy/facilities management, and can apply from homes to entire neighborhoods. Data logging devices are valuable during the LEED Certification process because documentation is required by the USGBC every step of the way, and data loggers can provide you with valuable data, from design concept to operation.

Choosing a Data Logger for Green Design Applications

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Choosing Data Loggers for Your Green Building Project

Bolstered by an Allentown arena project that appears to be full-steam ahead, City Center Investment Corp. has decided to boost the height of its proposed downtown office complex to 11 stories.

At five floors taller than its original proposal, Two City Center will be the second tallest building in downtown Allentown, surpassed only by the PPL tower.

Major demolition started Thursday on the former First National Bank building at Seventh and Hamilton streets to make room for what will be a 181-foot tall brick, glass and limestone structure for up to 900 workers.

"When people look out across the horizon and see this building a few blocks from PPL Plaza, they're going to notice that Allentown is beginning to build a bit of a skyline," said Jim Harbaugh, chief operating officer for City Center as he watched demolition begin. "But first they have to take this building down. They've got a big ol' crane and the big boys are going to be swinging today. This is going to be fun."

With its location at one of Allentown's busiest intersections, what figures to be a delicate demolition of the six-story First National Bank building drew an audience Thursday. Swinging a wrecking ball from a more than 100-foot-tall crane, North Star Construction Management, of Allentown, has to remove the building without disturbing passing traffic or the Pennrose senior citizens high rise just a few feet away.

Employees from the nearby Lehigh County Domestic Relations office said all their scheduled breaks would be spent outside.

"It's kind of cool when they give it a good whack," said Domestic Relations employee Tami Wilson as the ball made impact. "Oh, come on, you can do better than that."

The new building will sit across Seventh Street from the city's new $272 million complex. That project is to include an 8,500-seat hockey arena where the Philadelphia Flyers' top minor league affiliate is scheduled to begin playing in October 2014, an eight-story Hamilton Street office building called One City Center and a 180-room hotel.

Two City Center was originally scheduled to be six stories and 200,000 square feet, but Harbaugh said high interest in downtown office space prompted the company to add five floors and 100,000 square feet.

"When the arena project was held up by lawsuits, everyone was sort of sitting on the sidelines," Harbaugh said. "Well, now they're in the game, and we're confident we can lease all 11 floors."

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11-story office structure to replace Allentown bank building

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12 October 2012

Construction Set to Start on New Cawthron High Tech Laboratories to Help Boost Export Earnings

Construction is set to start before Christmas on Cawthron Institutes new high technology laboratories at its Halifax Street campus in Nelson. Cawthron is New Zealands largest independent research institute specialising in environmental research and research for the food and aquaculture industries. It also has substantial testing laboratories and provides seafood safety testing for key sectors of the aquaculture industry.

The new $5 million facility on its Halifax Street site will provide nearly 400 square metres of high specification laboratory space, to replace some of its present facilities built in the 1970s. In addition to laboratories the building will also include office space, meeting rooms and staff facilities.

Cawthron Chairman Ian Kearney, says the new building is a key part of Cawthrons drive and focus on continuing innovation in scientific research and development.

A lot of New Zealands economic growth and future direction is reliant on innovative science and original thinking which Cawthron Institute is renowned for. This building is stage one of a four stage project to replace the facilities and laboratories in the Rigg building on the Halifax Street campus. Many of the facilities in the Rigg building are outdated and an orderly programme to replace them is now starting.

Cawthron is now setting the stage to build on its contributions to New Zealands economic development of the past 90 years. Earlier this year Cawthron sold its environmental testing business to R. J. Hill Laboratories to refocus on high-value research and development and the new building underpins this strategy. Cawthron is expanding specialist analytical services in challenging areas of new method development and health claim validations for foods and nutraceuticals.

Mr Kearney says, Some great science has come out of our existing laboratories in Halifax Street which were built in the 1970s. We are now going to be providing 21st century tools and facilities for our scientists. This can only add to the value of the science we will be progressing.

For example, Cawthron recently announced the development of very high-value algae compounds, CNCs, which it is selling to overseas laboratories for hundreds of thousands of dollars a gram.

Cawthron has always focused on using science to provide solutions to problems and these new facilities will assist, Mr Kearney says.

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Construction to Start on New Cawthron High Tech Laboratories

RJM Construction, a St. Louis Park-based general contractor, and North Suburban Eye Specialists have announced they will begin construction of a 32,000 square-foot health care office building in Coon Rapids this month.

A groundbreaking event Oct. 16 will kick off the new building project. It is scheduled to be complete in June 2013.

Located at 3777 Coon Rapids Blvd., North Suburban Eye Specialists will occupy 22,000 square feet; the investment partnership of North Suburban Eye Specialists and United Properties will lease out the remaining space.

The medical group will move from its 13,000 square-foot location across the street on completion of the project.

The building is in one of four areas of Coon Rapids the city has targeted for revitalization and development.

Along with general contractor RJM Construction, North Suburban Eye Specialists and investor United Properties, the project team includes architect Sperides Reiners Architects, Inc. and consulting firm Schlottman & Associates.

RJM Construction and Sperides Reiners Architects began work with North Suburban Eye Specialists in April to collaborate on the plans, budget and project schedule.

The health care building will feature a barreled vault entryway and architectural materials such as metal panels, cultured stone and stucco.

The exterior of the building will be made of pre-cast limestone to complement other nearby medical buildings.

RJM Construction has been providing general contracting services since 1981.

Go here to see the original:
Construction to state on eye clinic project

Rendering from Colliers International Construction has started on Waterloo Crossing, a 66,000-square-foot, two-building medical office project in Columbia, with delivery expected next summer.

This story was corrected on Oc.t 12, 2012. An explanation follows the story.

Willco Cos. has scrapped plans for an office building in favor of residential space in downtown Silver Spring, marking the latest delay to add commercial space to the Georgia Avenue corridor.

The Potomac developer has filed an amendment application with the Montgomery County Planning Board to build a 292-unit residential building at 8621 Georgia Ave. The 1-acre site currently a surface parking lot has a long history of commercial use, including 34 years as the first home of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which moved to Howard County in 1976.

Willco won approval for a 190,000-square-foot office building in 2009 and had planned to begin construction once it lined up a major tenant. But faced with weak demand for new office space in downtown Silver Spring, the company applied this month for a residential amendment to its project and site plans.

Its basically the same building envelope being used as the office building, said Brian Donnelly, an engineer with Macris, Hendricks, & Glascock, a civil engineering and land planning firm working for Willco.

Willcos change of plans marks the latest in a series of delays of filling in development gaps in downtown Silver Spring north of Colesville Road.

The property is 75 feet north of Colesville Road, next to land owned by Lee Development Group, which won approval in 2008 for a class A office building and hotel adjacent to the Fillmore music hall the company completed last year.

There is no market right now for more office space, Bruce H. Lee, president of Lee Development, said in a recent interview.

Lee can afford to wait for tenants to come calling because the company lined up an unprecedented and controversial 15-year development window when the Montgomery County Council approved the Fillmore project in 2008.

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Gazette.Net: Willco drops Silver Spring office plan for residences

October 10, 2012 19:59 PM

Green Building Expo - Bex Kicks Off In Singapore Today

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

SINGAPORE, Oct 10 (Bernama) -- Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia, Southeast Asia's premier event and exhibition for green building and construction industry, kicked off Wednesday at Singapore's Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Grace Fu, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, who is Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, graced the official opening ceremony as the Guest-of-Honour.

The three-day regional event -- an industry platform for networking opportunities, insight sharing and business propositions -- has returned this year.

A total of 282 companies from over 29 countries are participating in BEX Asia 2012, more than double since its inception five years ago.

Its rapid growth shows the regional building and construction sector is becoming more eco-friendly and is keen on adopting sustainable technologies, products and work practices.

The green building rush is also creating business opportunities. Last year, a total of 7,693 people from 37 countries, including 3,086 key executives and decision makers, visited BEX Asia.

A staggering US$81 million was generated in sales, up 11 per cent from US$73 million in 2010. This year, BEX Asia is expecting over 8,000 visitors and US$90 million in sales.

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Green Building Expo - Bex Kicks Off In Singapore Today

A pensioner's plea to give a new lease of life to the office he had once worked in has been heard.

Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation (BPBCC) has taken steps to repair the historic Pirbahore police station in the capital. The corporation has charted out a detailed plan and deputed a team of officials to monitor the repair work.

Four days after The Telegraph published a report on the dilapidated condition of the police station building and its first officer in-charge Uma Nath Verma donating Rs 5,001 from his pension account for the repair work, a band of labourers started removing debris and garbage from the premises on Wednesday.

Sources in the police headquarters said a copy of Verma's letter was sent to the BPBCC chairman last week.

A senior IPS officer said the letter addressed to chief minister Nitish Kumar created ripples in the police circles. "It was an eye-opener for the senior police officers responsible for proper upkeep of the buildings. It also depicts the picture of the sorry state of affairs at the police stations. It throws light on the poor working conditions of policemen," he said.

The BPBCC chairman-cum-managing director, Ashok Kumar Gupta, said the renovation work would be completed within four months. Around Rs 10.57 lakh has been sanctioned for the repair work. The chairman added that the repair estimate was prepared on the basis of the report of the officials of the technical cell of the corporation. Executive engineer B.P. Chaurasia headed the team.

A decision to get the building renovated was taken at a meeting with the officials of the BPBCC, which decides on construction and repair work of police stations in Bihar. "A detailed report was submitted by a team of technical experts, who visited the Pirbahore police station three days ago," he said.

The corporation was also mulling over a proposal to construct a seven-storeyed building on the land of the police station. "The thana is located at a prime locality and is adjacent to Ashok Rajpath. It could be developed into a multi-storeyed building. The corporation has to seek an approval from the police headquarters and also from the government," Gupta said.

Happy over the decision, Verma, who took the pain to bring the issue into the limelight, said: "It gives me immense pleasure to know that the renovation work has been started. It will be a great pleasure if the police station is developed into a tower police station to control all sorts of crime on the patterns of those in US, Canada and UK."

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State answers former cop's prayer for building upgrade

DAVAO CITY A new building costing about P30 million for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Davao City Extension Office is in the works.

SEC-Davao head lawyer Javey Paul Francisco said bidding process for the agencys new building is now undergoing.

The two-level new building will stand at the over 1,000 square meters property owned by SEC at Juna Subdivision, Davao City.

SECs old building now standing at the property in Juna Subdivision is in four levels. Since the building is now dilapidated, SEC will construct a new one, Francisco said.

Construction of the new building will start early next year and be completed in 10 to 12 months, he said.

To improve SEC-Davaos operation, it has requested a P4-million budget to go into full computerization, Francisco said.

At present, SEC-Davao is still partially computerized.

By the time the new building is ready, SEC-Davao will also roll out its online database which will provide prepaid cards to the public in order to have easy access to SEC information and programs, he added.(PNA)

LDV/JGQ/LDP/PJN

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P30-M SEC new regional office building soon to rise in Davao City