While the top 25 construction starts of 2012 totaled just $3.7 billion—a drop from the previous year’s $10.4 billion, which included Intel’s $5 billion Fab 42 project that topped that year’s list—industry analysts say the decline isn’t an indication of weakness. On the contrary, many are seeing renewed activity in sectors that were hardest hit by the recession.

First Solar Inc. is lighting up the renewable energy market. The Tempe, Ariz.-based company recorded $3.4 billion in net sales in 2012, up $600 million from the prior year. The 14-year-old, 5,600-employee photovoltaic (PV) solar firm is uniquely diversified, doing everything from development, manufacturing and engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) to maintenance, operation and financing.

OSHA proposed fines totaling $38,360 for five firms involved with a Miami parking garage project that collapsed last October, killing four.  A lack of inspections and improper erection—including double-tee beams that lacked welds and columns that were not grouted—were factors in the Oct. 10 collapse of a parking garage under construction at Miami Dade College in Doral, Fla., that killed four workers, according to citations issued April 8 by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is building an 11,400-ft-long wall along the A Line in Broad Channel, Queens to protect the track right-of-way from washouts should another Sandy-like storm hit the area. The A Line suffered signal, switch, and cable damage when the Oct. 29, 2012 storm hit the region.

Sandhogs have decided that no more major blasting is needed under Grand Central Terminal where they are working on the East Side Access (ESA) project, says a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) spokeman. Since March 2007, joint venture contractors Dragado USA and Judlau Contracting have headed up a team of about 1,000 workers who toiled round the clock five days a week to complete more than 2,400 controlled blasts, MTA says.

Birdsall Services Group, Inc., Eatontown, N.J., furloughed 300 employees on April 10 after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order in favor of the State of New Jersey’s efforts to block the embattled engineering firm’s bankruptcy filing. Birdsall is also in talks with a potential buyer, according to court filings. Birdsall and seven of its former executives were indicted on corruption charges on March 26, and the firm filed for bankruptcy on March 29.

Broker:  A broker is an individual or brokerage firm that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller, and gets a commission when the deal is executed.  The broker is a salesperson that searches the marketplace in the interest of clients, not insurance companies

Tappan Zee Constructors, the Fluor-led joint venture team working on the $3.9-billion Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project, will face fines of $1,500 per lane per minute if it fails to keep a minimum of four lanes open during rush hour throughout construction, according to an agreement between the team and the New York State Thruway Authority.

Benefit Period:  A benefit period is a length of time during which a benefit is paid. In health insurance, the number of days for which benefits are paid to the named insured and his or her dependents.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has awarded more than $2 billion worth of contracts for long-anticipated work on three bridges spanning Staten Island and New Jersey—including the region’s first major public-private partnership (P3) to replace the Goethals Bridge, at $1.5 billion.

Liability Insurance, is one of the fundamental forms of coverage addressed in most automobile insurance policies. It provides coverage if an insured is legally liable for bodily injury or property damage caused by an automobile.

Auto insurance can include liability insurance coverage for accidents involving bodily injury and/or property damage for which the policyholder is legally liable. In other words, liability protection is the coverage that pays for injuries and damage sustained by a third party and/or their property for which you are responsible.

If there is a bellwether for the region’s commercial development market, it is Gensler. With activity trending upward toward pre-recession levels, Gensler’s recent pipeline of projects has helped it move up three notches to fifth place on ENR New York’s Top Design Firms ranking. Through a tough economic environment, Gensler stuck to its strengths, maintained close client relationships and positioned itself to capitalize on a commercial rebound

Aggregate limit usually refers to liability insurance and indicates the amount of coverage that the insured has under the contract for a specific period of time, usually the contract period, no matter how many separate accidents might occur.

Private sector construction employment in New York City rose 2.4% last year to an average of 114,875, but wages remained flat, according to a recent New York Building Congress (NYBC) study based on New York State Dept. of Labor employment statistics.

An insurance agent  is an individual who sells and services insurance policies in either of two classifications:

1)  An Independent Insurance Agent:    Independent agent represents at least two or more insurance companies and  services clients by searching the market for the most advantageous price for the most coverage. The agent’s commission is a percentage of each premium paid and includes a fee for servicing the insured’s policy.

2) A Direct Insurance Agent:  A direct or career agent represents only one company and sells only its policies. This agent is paid on a commission basis in much the same manner as the independent agent.

A new residential building in Glendale features a huge active roof with spas, fire pits and even a dog park.  The new $34-million Eleve Lofts & Skydeck is big on ideas and luxury, yet compact and efficient. When opened next month, the 170,000-sq-ft mixed-use project will feature one of the country’s largest active roof and six levels of unique “micro-apartments” targeted at the emerging 20 to 34-yr-old Generation Y crowd of young professionals.

An insurance adjuster is a representative of the insurer who seeks to determine the extent of the insurer’s liability for loss when a claim is submitted.  Adjusters may handle “property claims” involving damage to buildings and structures, or “liability claims” involving personal injuries or third-person property damage from liability situations, such as motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, or alleged negligent behavior.

The team behind a new central utilities plant at LAX must keep the old facility running smoothly while building its replacement next door. Los Angeles World Airports, the owner of Los Angeles International Airport, is in the middle of a $4.1-billion capital improvement plan, one of the largest public works programs in California. A key element of the capital plan is a $438-million replacement for the airport’s central utilities plant. The massive new facility has the complexity, scale and scope to present plenty of challenges for the project team.

Adjustable Rate – An interest rate that changes, based on changes in a published market-rate index.

Condos have staged a comeback. The multifamily and hospitality sector achieved a major turnaround in 2012, placing 10 projects, totaling nearly $2.4 billion, on ENR California’s Top Starts list. In 2011, only two $100-million-plus projects in that segment got under way. In 2010, there were none.

Actual Cash Value is the cost of replacing damaged or destroyed property with comparable new property, minus depreciation and obsolescence. For example, a 10-year-old Ford Truck will not be replaced at current full value because of a decade of depreciation.

The 2011 Christchurch earthquake offers lessons on how recovery efforts can be streamlined. Demolition experts say one of the lessons learned in the ongoing recovery efforts after the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, is that contractors should have more involvement in emergency preparedness.

In a life insurance policy, benefit in addition to the death benefit paid to the beneficiary, should death occur due to an accident. There can be certain exclusions as well as time and age limits.

The VA Palo Alto Health Care System is seeing a lot more than patients these days. With roughly 17 projects totaling nearly $1 billion under way or currently in planning, the hospital’s 92-acre campus in Palo Alto is booming like a gold rush town.

The part of a contract that says when a loan may be declared due and payable.  An sample of acceleration clause can read like this:  In the event of default in the payment of any of the said installments or said interest when due as herein provided, time being of the essence hereof, the holder of this note may, without notice or demand, declare the entire principal sum then unpaid immediately due and payable.