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The national Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) fails to encourage developers to include affordable housing in new developments. Nicola Szibbo, PhD, a planner with the City and County of Honolulu, reports her recent findings in the Winter 2016 (Vol. 82, No.1) issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association (JAPA)

Improvements to the city of Grand Rapids’ Lake Michigan water filtration plant have earned the city a nearly $48,000 incentive payment from Consumers Energy.

Energy-efficient building designs for two new Grand Valley State University facilities have earned the school a nearly $100,000 incentive payment from Consumers Energy.

With colder weather blanketing Michigan this week, Consumers Energy is reminding people that help is available if they have any concerns managing heating bills.

Mother Nature’s recent delivery of freezing rain, snow and ice to Michigan has Consumers Energy asking people to keep safety in mind by making sure their gas and electric meters and gas furnace fresh air intake pipes are free of snow and ice

The U.S. building industry is under increasing pressure to deliver high-performance buildings to meet the needs of owners, occupants and the government. Owners and contractors are looking for opportunities to improve certainty in schedule, performance and cost while managing risks. At the same time, there is an increasing concern from multiple segments of the industry on the availability of a skilled workforce, as well as the productivity of the buildings workforce today and into the future.

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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced that in November and December of 2015 it welcomed 25 new regular members to its ranks, which currently numbers more than 2,200 member companies

Alice C. Hill, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Resilience Policy on the White House National Security Council, will deliver the opening keynote address Wednesday, January 13, during Building Innovation 2016 – the National Institute of Building Sciences Fourth Annual Conference & Expo.

Construction firms added 45,000 workers in December as the industry's unemployment rate declined to 7.5 percent from 8.3 a year ago, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the robust job gains come as a new industry outlook shows most firms expect to expand their headcount in 2016 amid growing private and public sector demand

Commercial and multifamily mortgage lending is expected to increase in 2016, as lenders' and borrowers' appetites for new loans remain strong, according to a new Mortgage Bankers Association survey of the top commercial and multifamily mortgage origination firms.

Mortgage credit availability decreased in December according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) which analyzes data from Ellie Mae's AllRegs® Market Clarity® business information tool.

Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest utility and the fourth-largest U.S. combination utility, announced today several leadership moves that build on its customer-first focus and commitment to serving Michigan.

The National Real Estate Investors Association announced that Anna Mills has been elected association president for 2016. Mills is currently president of the Toledo REIA and has been a realtor in Ohio & Michigan for over 38 years. She holds top designations in VIP Relocation, Investor Specialist, Property Tax Reduction and Court Appraisals. Previously, she served as NREIA’s president in 2002 and is a past president of Ohio Real Estate Investors Association.

A coalition of consumer groups are calling on Acting Illinois Insurance Director Anne Melissa Dowling to reverse her “do-nothing” position and start protecting Illinois consumers from the unfair use of certain information unrelated to insurance risk – such as personal consumer shopping data – to set auto and homeowners insurance prices. 

Roughly two months after Progress Michigan called on Michigan’s federal investigators to look into the Flint Water Crisis, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today it would be conducting an investigation.

Higher education students will receive 50 percent discount to support future sustainability careersWashington, D.C. – (Jan. 5, 2015) – Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced for the first time that students will be able to take the LEED Green Associate exam for a reduced fee of $100. The regular exam price is $200 for USGBC members and $250 for non-members

Pending home sales in November slightly declined for the third time in four months as buyers continue to battle both rising home prices and limited homes available for sale, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Modest gains in the Midwest and South were offset by larger declines in the Northeast and West.