At the intersection of San Francisco’s SOMA, Potrero Hill and Showplace Square districts, a first-of-its-kind building offers an example of the potential widespread success of mass timber construction in the United States. 1 De Haro, a 134,000-square-foot, 4-story office and light industrial project built by Bay Area developer SKS Partners is not only the first cross-laminated timber (CLT) building in the San Francisco, it is also the first multistory mass timber building of its type to be fully executed in California and the first CLT project in the United States to be delivered via railways. We recently sat down with Yvonne Fisher and Lee Ishida of SKS to discuss the unique design process, marketing success and overall industry buzz surrounding one of their latest projects.
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (09/12/23) – Airbnb’s Future in New York City, MGM Resorts Suffer Cybersecurity Incident, and Insurance Costs Hitting Commercial Real Estate
In our latest roundup, the FDIC handles the portfolio from Signature Bank, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funds a new center at Illinois, the Athletics take their next steps in their move to Las Vegas, and more!
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (09/06/23) – Nonprofit Helping Marginalized Groups, Life Sciences Taking over Office Space, and Housing Affordability Hits New Low
In our latest roundup, Walmart adds their own generative AI, major airlines reduce their capacity at regional airports, autoworkers prepare for a strike as negotiations continue, and more!
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (08/30/23) – AI Predicts Home Prices, Construction’s Effect on the Economy, and Could Streamline Communications for Developers
In our latest roundup, SV invests in a new green “mega-city” outside San Francisco, refunds are given to investors in fraudulent real estate deal, homebuyers are losing purchasing power, and more!
A Court-Side Seat: SCOTUS Rulings, the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the October 2023 Calendar
The Supreme Court issued 58 opinions in the October 2022 Term. Rulings in several cases will affect the practice of regulatory and administrative law either directly or indirectly, as is recounted below. Before the Court adjourned, it released its calendar of cases to be argued in October 2023, and of course, more cases will be scheduled after the Court returns.
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (08/15/23) – Manufacturing Soars with CHIPS Act, New Threats to U.S. Infrastructure and AI Innovation for One Company
In our latest roundup, wildfires wreak havoc in Maui, JLL unveils an AI specifically for commercial real estate, the lasting effects of the CHIPS ACT, and more!
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (08/08/23) – Buy and Sell With AI, Urban Real Estate Demand and Increasing Energy Costs
In our latest roundup, we look at AI’s ability to buy and sell real estate, good news from the Labor Department for federally contracted construction workers, the continued promise of proptech, and more!
Foreign Entry into the United States Construction, Infrastructure and PPP Markets
Two major forces are combining to create extraordinary opportunities for infrastructure project participants in the United States. One is the long pent-up demand for overhaul of the nation’s roads, ports, dams and other civil works. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) routinely awards “C-” or worse grades for the status and safety of the country’s backbone facilities. The lack of prior investment is apparent to anyone who uses public transit in the U.S. and then uses similar conveniences in major cities around the globe.
Summarizing Changes to NEPA in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (P.L. 118-5)
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was signed into law on January 1, 1970, and it has rarely been amended or revised since then. NEPA is basically a procedural statute which requires Federal permitting authorities, before a major federal project is approved, to carefully consider the significant environmental consequences of the proposed federal action. NEPA has been employed to conduct a probing review of wide variety of federal projects and actions, and the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has promulgated a comprehensive set of rules and guidance documents that must be followed or consulted. (See 40 CFR Section 1500 et seq.) The first set of NEPA rules was issued in 1978, and very little was done to bring the rules up to date until 2020. The first phase of this review has been completed, and a second and final phase will soon be underway. The NEPA review process includes the use of “categorical exclusions,” environmental assessments and environmental impact statements to measure the environmental impact of a proposed project. Over time, the rules and their implementation and judicial interpretation have become ever more complex, and an enormous body of NEPA case law has resulted.
A Survey of New Texas Environmental and Regulatory Laws Enacted in the 88th Session (Updated)
This is a brief survey of many of the environmental and regulatory laws passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by the Governor in the 88th Regular Session of the Legislature, which ended in May 2023, although a special session has been called to address lingering matters. Altogether, more than 1,000 laws were enacted in this session, including a surprising number of water-related environmental bills.