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During the 97th Annual AGC Convention in San Antonio, TX, the Building Division showcased two excellent sessions for members including a Building Division meeting and a session entitled “Lean Construction for Executives”. The Building Division meeting had two parts with the first presented by Ashley Phelps, Lean Practices Manager with Gilbane Building Company. The session reviewed Ashley’s transition as a scheduler to a Lean Champion where she launched the Last Planner system in under a year on projects in various stages of construction across Connecticut.

Without leadership and effective policy from lawmakers, the nation will continue to fall short of meeting the growing demand for affordable multifamily housing. This was the key takeaway from today’s congressional testimony by Clyde Holland, chairman and CEO of Holland Partner Group, on behalf of the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association.

Habitat for Humanity and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced the third consecutive year of their global corporate social responsibility partnership. In 2016, the partnership will support housing, water, sanitation and education building projects for communities in seven countries where Habitat operates.

U.S. wind farms now pay $222 million dollars a year to farming families and other rural landowners, according to new data released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) today, with more than $156 million dollars going to landowners in counties with below average incomes

Winners of the 2015 AGC Outstanding Student Chapter Contest were recognized at the 97th Annual AGC Convention, during the Student Chapter Meeting, Wed., March 9.  The winners demonstrated dedication to their community and public service through their winning projects. Three applications in particular stood out from the others and AGC of America was happy to honor the following winners of the 2015 AGC Outstanding Student Chapter Contest during the Annual Convention

David H. Stevens, CMB, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), issued the following statement in response to the House passage of S.2393, the Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act of 2015.

According to a set of commercial/multifamily real estate finance league tables prepared by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Wells Fargo; Eastdil Secured, JP Morgan Chase & Company; HFF, L.P.; Meridian Capital Group, LLC; Bank of America Merrill Lynch; CBRE Capital Markets, Inc.; PNC Real Estate; Key Bank; and Capital One Financial Corp. were the top commercial/multifamily mortgage originators in 2015.

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) today presented its Legislator of the Year Award to Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) for his work on Energy Efficiency issues. In particular, the Association is appreciative of Senator Portman’s work, along with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) on S. 720, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2015.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) on Tuesday filed comments in a Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) rule-making proceeding, supporting in concept the establishment of a disaster deductible for states and local governments in lieu of raising the threshold for disaster declarations

NeighborWorks America today announced that more than 2 million homeowners facing foreclosure have received much-needed counseling thanks to the Congressionally-funded National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program.

One of HDC’s important services is to help affordable housing providers plan for the long-term capital needs of their properties. Last fall, we had the opportunity to work with Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare to address a challenging, yet common, capital needs planning problem: how to translate point-in-time data about individual properties into a dynamic projection of portfolio-wide capital needs costs. Assisted by database developer Doug Glancy, we helped Cascadia create an Excel tool that’s as powerful as anything we’ve seen for bridging that information gap.

As plans for the redevelopment of Lathrop move forward, it is important to remember that these plans were crafted with full input from the community, who were part of the decision making process and worked with CHA, the alderman, advocates, longtime affordable housing developers and other stakeholders to make decisions about the shared vision for the future of their community.

The American Institute of Architects Foundation, (AIAF) along with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), today announced three new members of the National Resilience Initiative, creating a nationwide network of six resilient design studios geared toward helping local communities become better prepared to bounce forward from the impacts of natural disasters and climate change

Volunteers Flip Flapjacks, Serve Refreshments and Help with Demonstrations. About 40 volunteers from Consumers Energy joined with the Fenner Nature Center Saturday to give visitors a taste of how real maple syrup is made and used.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today announced that it has signed on as charter members of “Parity for Main Street Employers” (PMSE), a coalition pushing for comprehensive tax reform that treats small business fairly

Mortgage rates are very low and home prices are stable or rising in most communities across the United States, and a recent poll by NeighborWorks America, national nonprofit corporation that creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities, found that nearly nine-of-ten consumers say that homeownership is at least somewhat important.

Consumers Energy’s seven oldest coal plants are shutting down by April 15 after serving Michigan for more than 60 years. Collectively, the plants – affectionately nicknamed the “Classic Seven” – are capable of generating nearly 1,000 megawatts of electricity. Only one other utility in the U.S. is retiring a higher percentage of its coal generation than Consumers Ene

The city of Paris is commemorating World Water Day by becoming the largest city in the world so far to become a Blue Community. This morning, Council of Canadians National Chairperson Maude Barlow presented Celia Blauel, the deputy mayor of Paris, with a certificate recognizing Paris for this achievement.

The Cost of Doing Business Study, 2016 Edition, a national study of single-family builders' financial performance, was recently released by BuilderBooks, the publishing arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The Cost of Doing Business Study gives builders the opportunity to see industry averages for profit margins, asset levels and equity positions

San Mateo County and East Palo Alto City leaders celebrate the groundbreaking for University Avenue Senior Housing, a partnership between MidPen Housing and EPA CAN DO. On March 17th East Palo Alto Mayor Donna Rutherford and San Mateo County Supervisor Warren Slocum joined other city and county leaders to celebrate the groundbreaking of University Avenue Senior Housing , an affordable rental community being jointly developed by EPA CAN DO and MidPen Housing. The ceremony begins at 11:00 a.m. at 2358 University Avenue in East Palo Alto.<