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April 4, 2015 • Vol. IX • No. 7 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215/885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910
Inside
Utah Performing Arts Center Making Headway By Dorinda Anderson CEG CORRESPONDENT
After close to six months of demolition, construction of the new Utah Performing Arts Center, which will now be called the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater due to a $15 million donation from the Eccles Foundation, in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, is well under way. The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater is expected to open during the spring of 2016 and will feature a 10,223 sq. ft. (950 sq m) main stage for the 2,500seat theater, and a black
World of Asphalt Sl ams Attendance Records.. .10
ROMCO Welcomes U.S. Rep Shuster ...28
box theater with 200 seats for the experimental performances. The goal of the new theater is to attract traveling Broadway shows and concerts and provide space for local performances. It is expected to draw audiences from across the mountains to the west and it is hoped that it will bring new economic vitality to the downtown area. The process began with demolition in January of 2014 of six buildings in the compact downtown area between 100 South Main and 200 South Main, in order to make room for the new structure. But demolition came with some chalsee THEATER page 56
Once all the demolition was finished, crews with Layton Construction started construction of the new theater in early June on the $116 million theater that was designed by HKS Architects and designer Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli of New Haven, Conn.
Alex Lyon Host s Texas Sale...54
Table of Contents ..............4 Attachments Section ............ .................................... 15-17 Truck & Trailer Section ........ ....................................21-27 Recycling Section ......39-47 Auction Section ..........50-59 Business Calendar ............52 Advertisers Index ............58
IHS, PEG Report Construction Employers Industry Prices Add 29,000 Jobs in February Continue to Fall Construction employers added 29,000 jobs in February and 321,000 over the past year, reaching the highest employment total in six years, as the sector’s unemployment rate fell to an eight-year low of 10.6 percent, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned, however, that construction jobs in the highway and transit sector were at risk because of Washington gridlock. “Despite challenging weather conditions in much of the country, both the number of workers and their average weekly hours rose last month to the
highest levels since the recession,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “There are lots of good-paying, full-time jobs available in construction, with more work on the way.” Construction employment totaled 6.35 million in February, the highest mark since February 2009, with a 12month gain of 321,000 jobs or 5.3 percent, Simonson noted. Average weekly hours of all employees climbed to 39.6 hours and weekly earnings averaged $1,066 in construction, the highest levels in the nine-year history of both series. Weekly earnings in construction see JOBS page 52
Construction costs fell again in March, according to IHS and the Procurement Executives Group (PEG). The headline current IHS PEG Engineering and Construction Cost Index (ECCI) registered 44.7 in March, a slight uptick from February’s record low, but still considerably below a neutral reading. The headline index has not indicated rising costs since December 2014. “The rout in crude oil markets is clearly having a chilling effect on capital expenditure plans,” said Mark Eisinger, senior economist at IHS. “That said, survey respondents remain optimistic that projects are simply being delayed and not canceled.” The current materials/equipment index registered 43.0 in March, a slight improvement from February’s 39.6 reading, but still consistent with the overall narrative of see IHS page 57