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July 2, 2009
Financing a go for Bank of America tower in New York
Developers of one of the city’s tallest new skyscrapers says they have lined up a nearly US$1.3 billion loan, sealing what experts called one of the biggest real estate financing deals since the economic crisis began last fall.
June 11, 2009
Ontario hospital unions warn of rising P3 financing costs
The cost penalty paid by governments for financing hospitals and other public infrastructure projects through public private partnerships (P3s) has jumped substantially since the onset of the financial crisis, warns a report released by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE).
May 11, 2009
Hillier brings spark to Ontario PC leadership race
In Randy Hillier’s Ontario, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board would have private-sector competition, union card-based certification would end and all apprenticeship ratios would be one-to-one.
May 6, 2009
Alberta plans savings bonds to fund infrastructure projects
Details on a savings bond program for Albertans to fund infrastructure projects will be coming in the next few weeks, Premier Ed Stelmach says.
April 23, 2009
Ecojustice sues Ottawa over plans to amend environmental assessment regulations
Environmentalists are suing the federal government over what they say are regulations that sidestep the Environmental Assessment Act.
April 22, 2009
Halifax sewage plant faces year of downtime after spill
Mayor Peter Kelly is confident the city’s damaged sewage treatment plant will be back online better than ever next year.
April 21, 2009
Port Authority of New York proposes postponing construction of two towers
The owners of Ground Zero, locked in a new round of heated talks with a private developer about how and when to build office towers at the World Trade Center site, have proposed indefinitely putting off two of three planned skyscrapers until the real estate market recovers, officials familiar with the negotiations said.
April 16, 2009
EDC strikes deal with Canadian sureties to add construction bond market capacity
Export Development Canada’s (EDC) announcement last week that it will facilitate up to $1 billion in domestic surety credit in 2009 through an agreement with Canada’s surety industry adds “extra capacity” to the construction bonding market, industry sources say.
April 13, 2009
Canada loses 61,000 jobs in March 2009, many in construction
Employment in Canada declined by 61,000 jobs in March 2009, all in full-time work. This decrease pushed the unemployment rate up 0.3 percentage points to 8.0%, its highest rate in seven years. Employment declines were concentrated not only in the construction sector, but also in manufacturing and natural resources.
April 7, 2009
Ex-NFLer Michael Vick plans to work construction
A lawyer for suspended NFL star Michael Vick told a bankruptcy court last Thursday the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback has lined up a US$10-an-hour construction job for when he gets out of prison.
January 19, 2007
Simple steps to maximizing your surety credit
Surety is a form of credit, much like banking. Having spent the past 20 years in both the surety and banking industries, I have developed an appreciation of the characteristics demonstrated by the most successful contractors. Many of these traits happen to be the key areas surety underwriters focus on, and if put into practice, should result in greater credit being made available.
January 19, 2007
Accountability Act casts wide net around work
Depending on how meetings are arranged and their purpose, under changes to Canada’s Federal Accountability Act engineers, construction company employees and members of other professional organizations may find they’re now considered lobbyists — with heavy penalties for failing to identify themselves and their interactions with government.
January 19, 2007
Non-compliance a sticking point in legal battles
In 1981, the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Ontario v. Ron Engineering changed the legal landscape of invitations to tender.
January 19, 2007
Digital documents raise legitimacy, storage concerns
In some construction industry contracts, a letter is not deemed to be an official communication if it is sent via email.
January 19, 2007
Study raises questions about actual costs
Public-private partnerships in British Columbia have sparked $4.7 billion in construction projects since 2002, but critics say taxpayers may end up paying more than they bargained for in the long run.
January 19, 2007
Keep those old liability policies
Ever dispose of something one day only to find out the very next day that you could have used it? The construction project has been over for a few years or your annual general liability policy has been renewed several times so there is no need to keep the old policy, right? Wrong!
January 19, 2007
University research takes aim at efficiency
In the overheated Calgary construction market, the last thing one would expect from competing companies is collaboration. In a bid to improve industry efficiency, several construction powerhouses are collaborating for a unique research project.
January 19, 2007
Interior environment requires careful consideration
As the link between adverse health effects and mould exposure grows, liability for insurance and other industry groups – including those in the building sector – are likely to increase.
| MOST POPULAR STORIES |
| TODAY’S TOP CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS |
These projects have been selected from 315 projects with a total value of $1,397,361,898 that Reed Construction Data Building Reports reported on yesterday.
$160,000,000 Toronto ON Negotiated
CONDOMINIUM APARTMENT BLDG, RETAIL
$90,000,000 Etobicoke ON Negotiated
$48,000,000 Cramahe Twp ON Tenders
| CURRENT STORIES |
- Decision to delay Darlington nuclear power plant carries job cost
- Boutique building takes shape in Toronto
- Algonquin College’s new Ottawa facility will have trades working together
- Project phasing keeps Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario industry near full employment
- Solaris @ Metrogate Phases I and II shaping up in Toronto
- Stantec to rehabilitate major Boston sewer tunnel
- U.S. non-residential construction rises as general industry spending drops
- Developers order Vancouver 2010 Olympic village review
- Romanian Bishop calls office building ‘hideous’ and ‘illegal’
- U.S. manufacturing in ‘slow recovery’ mode
- PTI Group lands field accommodation job for 2010 Vancouver Olympics
- Malaysia bans high-rises on resort island
- Deere’s salaried workers in U.S. line up for buyout program
- Union highlights deficiencies in construction of Vancouver 2010 Olympic village
- Engineers advocate Qualifications Based Selection for public construction projects
- Construction restarts at stalled oilsands project in Fort McMurray, Alberta
- Competition produces new visions of seniors’ housing
- Worker fatally crushed in Edmonton
- Wolfe Island, Ontario wind farm in operation
| ALEX’S ECONOMICS BLOG |

Reed Construction Data Chief Economist Alex Carrick discusses current developments in the North American economic environment with emphasis on the construction industry.
| PROJECT NEWS BRIEFS |
Updates on Canadian construction projects from Reed Construction Data’s research team. More 
- Orillia Market Square aims for LEED Silver certification (Jun 25, 2009)
- Designs for new York Region District School Board building features energy efficiency (Jun 23, 2009)
- Vancouver Convention Centre expansion sets new standards for environmental design (May 22, 2009)
- Waterloo partnership seeks LEED Silver for West Side Family YMCA and District Library (May 22, 2009)
- IPC Energy considers Milford location for future wind farm (May 22, 2009)



