The historic restoration of Miami’s Freedom Tower marked the iconic structure’s first-ever top-to-bottom exterior renovation.  Originally completed in 1925, the 14-story tower became a community icon after the U.S. government’s use of the building during the 1960s and 1970s to process, document and provide health-care services for Cuban immigrants. It was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2008.

To meet the owner’s demand for faster completion, the general contractor re-sequenced the building’s erection plan.

Construction contract activity in the Southeast will likely parallel national trends with certain markets during 2013, while at the same time showing significant deviations from the bigger picture.

15th annual awards competition honors exceptional design and construction in the Southwest.  ENR Southwest’s Best Projects competition honors an impressive group of winners. Despite the lingering slowdown in construction work caused by the recession, this year’s entries—spanning work completed between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012—were some of the best ever received, according to industry judges, some of whom have served in previous years.

The value of new construction starts retreated 14% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $434.9 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. Much of the decline was due to a sharp pullback by the electric power and gas plant category after a robust September.

Health insurance helps protect you from high medical care costs.  Health insurance provides many things: a safety net, should you get sick or injured; the means to maintain your well being with tests, screenings and vaccinations; and peace of mind, knowing your family can get the cheap health care it deserves.

Health insurance is important in the event that you, or any member of your family is ever sick or injured.  Health insurance plans come in a range or premiums, deductible and health eligibility requirements  families have widely differing needs too.  By comparing different insurance companies that have similar Health Insurance plans, you will be able to see at a glance which Health Insurance planmay better benefit you as far as money paid and services to be rendered.

Utilities relocated from underside of bridge.  Before replacing its only bridge, the city of Tomahawk, Wis., was tasked with relocating dozens of utility cables and lines secured to the bridge’s underside.

Contractor has only a small window to execute a large refinery repair.  Structural repairs to a sponge coker unit at this CITGO petroleum refinery required years of planning because of a narrow window of just 30 days to execute the $9.4-million project, which involved modifications to coke chutes, coke pit walls and floors, and head decks as well as supporting columns and beams.

Senior facility seeks to strengthen community ties. The latest addition to Saint John’s on the Lake, a Milwaukee-based retirement community, seeks to strengthen connections between residents and surrounding amenities while melding seamlessly within the existing campus.

Team members aimed to imbue the space with a sense of discovery and learning.   The 51,000-sq-ft Early Learning Center opens a window to the world by positioning glazing and other elements at heights compatible with the three- to five-year-olds who attend school there.

In 1976 the Police Department moved back to 2121 West Lake Street. It was decided that it would be better if the Police Department was located in the same building as the Village Hall.  This police facility had a total of 19,960 square feet and was built for a police department of approximately 40 employee’s.  Over time the police department expanded to 99 employee’s.

Recognizing that it was time to expand, work began on designing new police facilities for the village.  The new headquarters building was designed by PSA Dewberry (now Dewberry) and construction was by Leopardo Construction Company.

Mausoleum is a monument to the many uses of stone.  A homeland security center, a mausoleum, a public park and a harbor are among the developments that captured top honors in this year’s ENR Midwest Best Projects competition, an annual program recognizing outstanding design and construction in a variety of categories.

Constructed wetlands an economic solution to sewer overflows.  Washington, Indiana, didn’t have the cash to upgrade five combined sewer overflows (CSO) discharging into Hawkins Creek, a frequent occurrence due to limited storage capacity and the age of the CSO collection system.

Washington executed a more affordable alternative: It launched a $23.8-million project involving the capture of the CSO first flush in a 5-million-gallon storage tank—or less than the 1-year/1-hour storm event. From there, it is pumped to an existing waste water treatment plant to receive conventional treatment.

Winners honored on the basis of quality, innovation and safety. A homeland security center, a mausoleum, a public park and a harbor are among the developments that captured top honors in this year’s ENR Midwest Best Projects competition, an annual program recognizing outstanding design and construction in a variety of categories.

Coldham & Hartman capitalizes on ideal orientation in the green modernization of an house built in 1890.    Untreated vertical pine represents a dramatic change from the multiple materials that had clad the 1890 house, and expansive LVL beams replace the walls that had partitioned the kitchen from the living and dining rooms.

With Coldham & Hartman on board, the client wanted to capitalize on these essential qualities and launched into a green modernization of the 3,270-square-foot (with attic) house

Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. are proceeding with the construction of the previously announced BridgeTex Pipeline.

According to the companies, the BridgeTex Pipeline will be capable of transporting up to 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil, with access to Houston Ship Channel refineries, Texas City refineries and other refineries throughout the Gulf Coast via third-party pipelines.

Michael Payne Ed DeLisl will be presenting at the National 8(a) Association 2013 Winter Conference in Orlando, FL on February 5th. They will be speaking on the topic How to Win Federal Contracts and Make a Profit. The conference is being held at the Disney World Yacht Club Resort and tickets are still available.

For more information, or to register, please visit the National 8(a) Association

NCCR’s Build Your Future Campaign recently teamed up with the Construction Education Foundation of North Texas and North Lake College to host the second annual Construction Career Day.

This was one of several events held in Houston, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida, that offered students the chance to meet with construction professionals.

More than 800 high school juniors and seniors attended the Dallas event, representing 35 north Texas high schools. The event featured equipment and welding demonstrations, opportunities to speak with local employers in the construction industry, and visit booths that showcased various construction industry professions.

Crews give an updated look and layout to San Diego State University’s broadcast facility. The $1.86-million project, completed in August 2011, included reconfiguring 1,075 sq ft of the first floor as a conference room/workspace and two offices. It also transformed the 24,000-sq-ft second floor into a multidisciplinary facility exemplifying “convergence”—a collaborative, open-space environment for radio, TV and Web teams.

Preeti Talwai, an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, has had a front-row seat as two of Berkeley’s newest buildings have arisen within sight of her downtown apartment. Here she reports on the impact watching the emergence of the two structures has had on her, not least in the way the sites became an extension of her classroom.

Caesars will spend $185 million to renovate Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall along the Las Vegas Strip. Caesars Entertainment Corp. in Las Vegas has secured financing to convert Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon, located along the Las Vegas Strip at Flamingo Road, into a boutique lifestyle hotel and casino. The $185-million renovation includes the addition of a rooftop pool as well as a nightclub to be managed by Drai Management Group.

In designing a new Palo Alto car dealership for Fisker Automotive, Valerio Dewalt Train Associates sought to mirror the manufacturer’s environmentally friendly approach to auto-making.

For the first time, New Jersey nabbed the top spot this year in terms of installing photovoltaic (PV) capacity, surpassing California, the country’s longtime solar energy leader. Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G), New Jersey’s largest utility, has already built a hefty portion of that capacity and, by early 2013, will wrap up a four-year program to install 40 megawatts of power via telephone pole-mounted solar units. The distributed solar program, which will provide enough energy to power 6,500 homes, is the largest of its type worldwide.

Superstorm Sandy put a lot of work on the street, but the industry’s long-term forecast is still in need of rescue. Now that Superstorm Sandy’s floodwaters have receded and power is restored to most of the millions it affected, industry executives in the tristate region are warily eying the sudden surge in construction activity and spending. The storm’s boost to industry may last till around mid-2013, they say. But, unlike Sandy, that boost is not powerful enough to affect the industry’s long-term economic outlook dramatically.

Besides the many residences and businesses damaged or destroyed in Superstorm Sandy’s wake, several projects that ENR New York covered earlier this year were also affected. These include projects in or near the hardest-hit regions, including Long Beach, N.Y.; New York City; and the New Jersey coast.