LONDON, February 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

A surge in office construction is helping to drive growth in the construction sector, according to figures released today (20th February).

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140620/693498 )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150220/731557-INFO )

January 2015 saw a 26 per cent increase in the value of office construction projects awarded in the UK compared to the same time last year, accounting for almost three quarters (74 per cent) of the total value of all contracts awarded within the commercial and retail sector last month.

The award of major project contracts such as the 100 million development of Atlantic Square in Glasgow and the 90 million 70 St Mary's Axe scheme in London, were key contributors to the surge in activity.

The latest figures from Barbour ABI, which supplies construction data to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Cabinet Office and Treasury, also revealed the total value of commercial and retail contracts awarded in January was 823m - a 22.7 per cent increase on January 2014.

Commenting on the findings from the latest Economic Construction Market Review, Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: "The development of new office space has really gathered pace over the past 12 months and January's figures now show this dominance.

"As the UK makes its economic recovery, more and more businesses are gaining the confidence to invest in their working environments and this increasing confidence is now translating into numbers."

Other findings from the January summary include:

Originally posted here:
Commercial Office Projects Increase by a Quarter

Upper Dublin >> Life Time Fitness, a high-end fitness center geared toward families, could be coming to the Fort Washington Office Park.

A sketch plan for a 113,000-square-foot fitness center, adjacent 53,000-square-foot outdoor pool with bistro and 604 parking spaces on 14.5 acres at the corner of Commerce and Delaware drives was presented at the Feb. 17 Upper Dublin Planning Commission meeting.

The brick, stone and glass, two-story building, with a 56,474-square-foot footprint, would house a fitness floor with more than 400 pieces of equipment, an indoor pool, caf, spa and salon and lounge areas.

The proposed facility would be a first in Pennsylvania for Life Time Fitness, a luxury health and fitness company operating 114 locations in 26 states. The closest, the 115th, is currently under construction in Mount Laurel, N.J.

We feel it would be a real boon to the Fort Washington Office Park, said Marc Jonas, the attorney representing the Minnesota-based company. Its a facility unlike anything weve ever seen.

Life Time Senior Development Manager Aaron Koehler said the company focuses on young families and was the first to move to a month-to-month contract. Numerous programs and classes are offered for adults and children you name it, weve got it as well as cycling and running clubs, he said. It also sponsors athletic events for all ages and abilities.

The company has a charitable arm that has worked with some schools on nutrition education and subsidized school lunch programs, Koehler said.

Life Time Fitness is able to compete with the Y and other fitness centers, he said, as we operate at a higher price point attract a different crowd. We tend to capture more families and expect 85 percent of members to be within a 20-minute drive and 60 percent within a 12-minute drive, he said.

For a family, the first member is $99/month, the second $85, the third $75, the fourth $60 and after that its free, Koehler said. The goal is a 7,000 membership.

The company investigated quite a while before choosing the office park location to determine who is within those drive times, he said. There are residents within the area with the income to fill our facility. Continued...

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Fort Washington Office Park may get luxury fitness center

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This building at 701 Rosser Ave. seen in April 2014 changed ownership last fall. The new owners plan to renovate the building into an engineering office and construct three apartments on a second storey, which was removed under previous ownership.

A downtown eyesore that has remained vacant and boarded up for years will be given a new lease on life.

The building at the corner of Seventh Street and Rosser Avenue has changed hands, and the new owners plan to renovate the building into an engineering office and construct three apartments on a second storey.

"Its extremely important to get something going, its a high traffic corner," said city manager Scott Hildebrand. "Now that we have a new owner and a strategy and plan going forward Im excited that we can actually get that converted and move on to the next project downtown."

The small building at 701 Rosser Ave. was formerly the Chicken Corner restaurant. In 2012, it was sold to Huangpu Assiniboine Holdings Ltd. and major renovations began, including the removal of the entire second storey.

At that time, the plan was to establish a new restaurant with a rooftop patio. But the project came to a halt and the building has sat vacant ever since.

In an effort to deal with the languishing property, the City of Brandon gave the former property owners a deadline to provide detailed drawings of their plans or else face orders through a building safety and vacant/derelict building bylaw.

Hildebrand said the property ended up changing hands last fall, and is now at the permit stage.

"Work should begin immediately if these plans are approved," he said.

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Office, apartments in works for vacant building on Rosser

An outside investigation of a $11.5 million office building for sewer workers that tripled in cost recommends Portland city bureaus provide elected officials with detailed reports when the scope of a construction project changes.

City Commissioner Nick Fish asked law firm Barran Liebman to review the project, which eventually cost longtime Bureau of Development Services chief Dean Marriott his job.

On Wednesday, The Oregonian obtained records that lifted the curtain on the fractious relationship between Fish and Marriott in the aftermath of the project.

The Barran Liebman report, also released Feb. 18, says bureau officials violated no laws or city rules as the office project grew. But it says Marriott and other BES officials allowed the elaborate design of the building to change the project's scale and budget.

The report suggests the creation of new city memos to disclose enlarged scope.

"The Bureau should provide to the Commissioner in charge of the Bureau a detailed report of all requested additions to the scope of a project prior to undertaking the implementation of the additions," the report says. "It is recommended that those requested or necessary additions to the scope be put into a separate memorandum to the Commissioner which clearly is designated as a 'Scope Enlargement' request."

The Barran Liebman investigation follows a damning city audit into the Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant services building, which tripled in costs to $11.5 million.

Fish asked for the audit after WW and KOIN-TV reported how the city turned what was supposed to be a utilitarian office building, originally estimated at $3.2 million, into a poster-child facility for wastewater engineers in North Portland.

The audit showed bureau managers approved a design so ornate and inadequate that it required 85 change orders during construction, mostly to fix design problems like the ecoroof covered in wetland grasses.

Fish responded to WW's report by mandating that any BES and Water Bureau spending over $500,000 be discussed by City Council. He placed Marriott on leave, and the 20-year bureau chief resigned in January.

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Sewer Office Building Investigation Says City Bureaus Should Report When Projects Get Bigger

SZ SZ. MAINLY MOVE BEGINS DOWNTOWN THAT FILL ONE HISTORIC BUILDING LEAVING ANOTHER BUILDING A RIVER FRONT BUILDING VACANT. STATE ATTORNEY IS MOVING IN NEW OFFICES AT THE OLD FEDERAL COURT HOUSE. TOTAL COST TO TAXPAYERS 30 MILLION DOLLARS. THIS WILL MARK COMPLETION OF THE NEW COURTHOUSE COMPLEX BUT THIS PART OF THE PROJECT IS ALSO HAD ITS PROBLEMS. JIM IS FOLLOWING THIS SAGA AND JOINING US LIVE FROM DOWNTOWN WITH AN UPDATE. JIM? THIS IS THE NEW STATE ATTORNEY OFFICE THIS WAS TOUBT RENOVATED 2 YEARS AGO BUT BECAUSE OF CONSTRUCTION DELAY AND OTHER PROBLEMS IT'S NOT HAPPENING UNTIL RIGHT NOW. THE MOVING TRUCK ARE ON THEIR WAY. AND THEY ARE GOING TO FILL UP THIS SPOT LEAVING ANOTHER VACANCY ON THE RIVER. WE TRIED TO GET IN THE NEW STATE ATTORNEY OFFICE TODAY TO GET YOU A GOOD LOOK AT HOW THE 30 MILLION DOLLARS WAS SPENT. WE HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR SEVERAL MONTHS BUT BEEN TOLD WE HAVE TO WAIT. THERE'S STILL CONSTRUCTION GOING ON BUT THE MOVE IS SET TO BEGIN FRIDAY. WE STAYED ON BUDGET WITH THE TOTAL PROJECT AT THE TOTAL PROJECT AT THE COURTHOUSE, NEW COURTHOUSE. Reporter: THERE HAVE BEEN PROBLEMS FROM THE START. THIS WAS THE OLD FEDERAL COURT HOUSE AND POST OFFICE. IT WAS TO BE RENOVATED WHEN THE NEW COUNTY COURTHOUSE WAS BUILT. COST CONCERN WITH THE ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR AND THE JS SAT EMPTY UNTIL NOW. ANY TIME WREN 0HAVE IT AN OLD BUILDING WHERE YOU HAVE HISTORICAL REQUIREMENTS YOU HAVE TO MEET AND JUST THINGS THAT YOU DIDN'T NOWHERE THERE ARE ALWAYS CHALLENGES. Reporter: STATE ATTORNEY OFFICE IS NOW PACKING UP FROM THIS 15 STORY BUILDING OLD CITY HALL AND RIVER AND BEGIN MOVING INTO ITS NEW OFFICES. WE WANTED TO TALK TO ANGELA ABOUT THE MOVE BUT INSTEAD THE OFFICE ISSUED THIS STATEMENT. PLAN IN PLACE TO CONTINUE BUSINESS AS USUAL DURING THIS TRANSITION. STATE ATTORNEY OFFICE STAFF WILL BE WORKING FROM OFFICE SPACE WANT BALL BUILDING AND DUVALL COUNTY COURTHOUSE THIS MOVE LEAVES ANOTHER BIG HOLE IN THE NORTH BANK. 15 STORY BUILDING WILL SIT VICK ANTI-BECAUSE RATE NOW THERE'S NO PLANS TO SILT OR USE IT FOR OFFICE SPACE. IT'S RIGHT NEXT TO THE OLD COURTHOUSE WHICH HAS BEEN SIGNATURE EMPTY FOR NEARLY 2 YEARS. THIS IS ALL PART OF THE CITY PLAN TO GET GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS OFF THE RIVER AND BUSINESSES TO BOOM IN ITS PLACE BUT THAT STALLED. BUSINESSES LIKE OLD YO RESTAURANT HAVE RELAYED ON THE STATE ATTORNEY OFFICE AND EMPLOYEE TO HELP WITH THEIR BRISK BUSINESS AND THEY WILL NOTICE A DIFFERENCE STARTING TOMORROW. SAD TO SEE THEM GO BUT WE ARE APPRECIATIVE WITH SOMETHING HAPPENING WITH THE SPACES QUICKLY. Reporter: THEY HAVE A GLIMMER OF HOPE AND THAT WAS ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SHIPYARD AND IF COHN VISION FOR OUT THERE AND HOPE THE VISION WILL EXTEND ALL WAIT DOWN TO THE OFFICE BUILDING OR THE OLD CITY HALL AND THAT THAT TOO COULD BECOME RENOVATED IN THE FUTURE.

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You might want to take along some gloves or hand sanitizer

U.S. Bank building to open this summer

February 19, 2015 | 7:00 pm

CEDAR RAPIDS Construction has begun on a U.S. Bank branch at Westdale, the first new building in the $90 million Cedar Rapids redevelopment project.

Lisa Rowe, vice president/retail at Frew Development Group and Westdale general manager, on Thursday said additional construction during the next few months will include a 5,000-square-foot stand-alone Chick-fil-A restaurant, interior and exterior renovations to the JCPenney building, and a 12,000-square-foot multi-tenant building.

The construction of the first new building at Westdale is a significant milestone, Rowe said. Vertical construction is what people in the community have been longing to see since we started this project.

Construction of the U.S. Bank building began on Feb. 9 and the office, which will be located on the second pad site north of the south Edgewood Road SW entrance, is expected to open this summer.

U.S. Bank is relocating because the building housing its branch at 2350 Edgewood Rd. SW was acquired in October 2010 by F&M Bank of Manchester, which has offices in northeast and downtown Cedar Rapids. F&M expects to open a branch at Westdale in November.

Chick-fil-A hopes to start construction April 6 on its new free-standing restaurant, Rowe said. It will be located on the first pad site north of the south entrance off Edgewood Road SW.

Rowe said the recently completed initial phase of site work created eight development pads along Edgewood Road SW, All the sites are under contract and include new utilities, construction of a new Edgewood Road entrance and a portion of the new ring road that will provide access to future development.

The 12,000-square-foot multi-tenant building will be constructed just south of the existing U.S. Bank building, Rowe said.

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New construction work starts at Westdale

Peter Whitmore from Wates Construction and Rorie Henderson, Salmon Harvester

THE first speculative office to be built in Bristol since the recession has now been completed by Wates Construction.

Two Glass Wharf, a 40-million office building at Temple Quay, has been officially handed over to Salmon Harvester Properties, a joint venture between Salmon Developments and NFU Mutual.

Wates began work on the 100,000 sq ft office building in October 2013, which provides six floors of grade A office space with retail and restaurant accommodation on the ground floor.

Designed by Atkins, the building is within the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, one of the UK's largest urban regeneration areas.

Accountancy firm PwC is to be the first tenant taking 28,275 sq ft across the top three floors.

Peter Whitmore, business unit director at Wates in the South West, said: "Bristol city centre is undergoing a major transformation and we are proud of the significant contribution the completion of 2 Glass Wharf makes to the landscape of the city.

"Salmon Harvester's decision to develop the first speculative office in Bristol for many years shows that Bristol is a city of growth and a great place to invest."

Rorie Henderson, development director at Salmon Harvester Properties added: "We have always had every confidence in the Bristol market and this is the first of our three development projects planned at Temple Quay.

"We have also received planning permission for the adjacent site 3 Glass Wharf, which incorporates 109,255 sq ft (10,150 sq m) of offices with retail and leisure on the ground floor, plus basement car parking. "

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The Bristol Post published 40m Two Glass Wharf development shows Bristol's a city of...

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Vancouver business and political boosters took turns declaring that Wednesday was a big day for the city's slowly blossoming downtown. It was, they said, a day that would be remembered as the kickoff for construction of the city's first new office building in many years.

The kickoff was an afternoon groundbreaking for the 101 Building, a three-story brick and glass structure that will occupy a vacant block on Main Street at West Sixth Street that once housed the notorious Frontier cardroom. A project of Vancouver-based Killian Pacific, the 45,000-square-foot building will offer what Lance Killian describes as "21st century office space" that is in short supply in Clark County.

"We will deliver a project that the community can be proud of," said Killian, president of Killian Pacific.

The building, which will have no on-site parking, will house offices for Killian Pacific and Mackenzie, the architecture and design firm that is a partner in the building's construction. It will also house the downtown branch of Pacific Continental Bank. All three of the anchor tenants will relocate from other downtown sites. Some space is still available for lease. Construction should be completed by the end of this year.

The building will have an historic feel with a brick facade, expansive glass entrances, and exposed timbers that evoke a "contemporary industrial feel," Mackenzie said in a news release. The developers have a goal of achieving a LEED Silver certification for environmentally friendly design. The construction cost was not immediately available from Turner Construction, the project's general contractor.

The project had plenty of boosters at the groundbreaking. The 101 Building "is the first of many great projects coming into downtown Vancouver," said Mayor Tim Leavitt. "Vancouver is going to be a world-class urban city. We're going to be the best on the West Coast."

Lee Rafferty, executive director of Vancouver's Downtown Association, praised the Killian family, reminding the crowd of business and political leaders that the last crane on the downtown skyline was for Killian's construction of the Vancouver Community Library. The 101 Building, on Main Street's southernmost block, will be "an anchor for Main Street," she said.

Roger Busse, president of Eugene, Ore.-based Pacific Continental Bank, said the new location will serve as a model for his bank's future branch offices. The bank's space will include a community room with seating for 50 guests, he said.

Mostly, though, the prospect of a new building drove the enthusiasm of those who listened to speeches and watched the developers and Leavitt toss the first shovelfuls of dirt into the air.

Original post:
New building for downtown thrills leaders

Excelsior Orthopaedics is planning a more than $9 million expansion on its Amherst campus to build a new, larger home for its growing Buffalo Surgery Center.

The new building at 3915 Sheridan Drive, just west of Harlem Road, would house clinical and surgical services in orthopedics, pain management and ophthalmology. The space in the new medical office building is three times the size of the ambulatory surgery centers current home in the practices main building at 3925 Sheridan.

The surgery center would grow from 30 to about 50 employees and would add gastroenterology services as part of its move from 8,000 square feet in the existing building to the 27,960-square-foot, one-story structure planned for the site, David J. Uba, Excelsiors CEO, said Monday.

Moving the surgery center to the new facility frees up space for exam rooms and other clinical services for Excelsior Orthopaedics in the existing building, he said.

Theyve got nowhere to grow inside the building, said John R. Yurtchuk, president of Matrix Development, the developer for the project.

The new Buffalo Surgery Center would be built on the southwest corner of the Excelsior Orthopaedics property. The site is owned by Preferred Equity Partners, a limited liability company controlled by Excelsior and Matrix, which are working together on the expansion.

The partners still are figuring out the final price tag for the project but they expect it to cost between $9 million and $9.5 million, Uba said. Silvestri Architects of Amherst is the architect for the project.

The state Health Department has signed off on the project, Uba said, but the expansion must obtain approval from several agencies in the town. That process begins Thursday, when the project is the subject of a public hearing at the Amherst Planning Board meeting.

The developers are asking the Planning Board to rezone 1.1 acres of the property at 3925 and 3915 Sheridan from residential to office building district and to grant relief from conditions put in place during the approval of the original Excelsior project.

The developers in 2003 agreed to the requirements for green space and minimum setbacks from neighboring homes, and they need the changes to make way for the 165 parking spaces they would add to the 418 spaces already on the property, Uba said. An application filed by the developers with the town argues that the project wont harm neighboring residential properties on Getzville Road, Campus Drive and Campus Drive West.

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Excelsior planning $9 million expansion

Published: Monday, February 16, 2015 at 1:00 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 10:59 p.m.

Nobody was building office headquarters anymore, retail contracts had pretty much dried up and once-promising corporate expansions statewide had been put on hold.

But the commercial construction manager found a way to offset the painful slide in private-sector spending.

The firm began bidding on more government work -- including road projects for the first time -- to help it withstand the prolonged slump that forced many of its competitors to close down.

That diversification has Halfacre poised to reap the benefits of an ongoing real estate recovery that could soon lift the lagging commercial sector.

"Businesses don't just buy a second building because they want to; it's very strongly tied to the economic environment," said Andrew Stultz, a Halfacre vice president. "Today, we are much more optimistic about our opportunities."

40 years of change

A family-owned business for more than 40 years, the company was founded in 1970 by Bill Halfacre.

The company moved three times, settling on its current location on Professional Parkway, in Lakewood Ranch, in 1999. Today, the firm has 25 employees.

In the 1980s, the company did a lot of its own building and site work. But now, Halfacre focuses solely on construction management, which allows it to operate with more consistent staffing and keep costs low through subcontracting.

Original post:
Halfacre construction: Breaking out of its mold