Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Year and a Half Old Las Vegas VA Emergency Room Gets Rebuilt

March 07, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Less than two years have passed since the billion dollar Las Vegas VA Medical Center construction was completed, and “earthmovers have begun churning the site again, this time to expand the hospital’s emergency room because the existing one is inadequate,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The new emergency room project is estimated to cost $16 million. The current emergency room’s design is flawed. “VA officials this week couldn’t explain why the ambulance parking area was designed to be roughly 50 yards from the emergency room’s south entrance, a distance that adds critical seconds to a lifesaving situation,” reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Furthermore, VA officials did not confirm “who drew up the flawed design” or who “was responsible for checking the blueprints.” The Las Vegas Review-Journal also reported that another reason for the expansion is that the current emergency room is too small. A VA spokesman had told the journal that “the emergency room ‘was built based on the workload and the funding that was available at the time,’” yet the journal pointed out that “the number of potential veterans projected to use the center” has remained constant. Read the court decision
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The New York Lien Law - Top Ten Things You Ought to Know

December 23, 2023 — Ralph E. Arpajian - White and Williams LLP
Over the course of my career, I have had the privilege of working with and representing numerous construction lenders (and borrowers/developers) in the financing of some of the largest commercial projects in the United States. A number of these projects have been in New York, where one encounters the New York Lien Law (the “Lien Law”). Many of my clients, particularly those lenders, borrowers, and their counsel, located outside of New York, are often perplexed by my advice regarding the Lien Law and the loan structuring requirements which result. In the hope that it would be helpful (especially for non-New York counsel), I have compiled a “top ten” list outlining, in my view, the most critical (and most perplexing) aspects of structuring New York construction loans under the Lien Law. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ralph E. Arpajian, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Arpajian may be contacted at arpajianr@whiteandwilliams.com

Pentagon Has Big Budget for Construction in Colorado

January 17, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The Pentagon is an important source of construction contracts, and one place where they’re acutely aware of this in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Luckily for the town’s economy, the military awarded $400 million in construction contracts to Colorado, many of them in the town of Colorado Springs. Projects in Colorado Springs include facilities for a helicopter unit at Fort Carson and renovations at the Air Force Academy. The new operation center for defense intelligence at Buckley Air Force Base will be built in nearby Aurora. The price tag on the operations center is $117 million. Meanwhile, the military has thousands of both civilian and military employees who will be using these facilities. Read the court decision
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California Home Sellers Have Duty to Disclose Construction Defect Lawsuits

October 21, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
If you’re selling a home in California that has been the subject of a construction defect lawsuit, you probably have to disclose this, according to Steven G. Lee, an attorney at Reid & Hellyer. Mr. Lee notes that California law mandates the disclosure of “any lawsuits by or against the Seller threatening to or affecting the Property, including any lawsuits alleging a defect or deficiency.” He further notes that “for those selling units in a condominium or townhouse development, this includes defects in the common areas.” He notes that failure to disclose will not invalidate the sale, but the seller may be “liable for actual damages suffered by the buyer.” Merely disclosing the former defect may not be enough. Mr. Lee notes that the California Court of Appeals ruled in one case that although buyers had been informed of past water intrusion, knowledge of the construction defect lawsuit may have affected the buyer’s decision. Read the court decision
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Milwaukee's 25-Story Ascent Stacks Up as Tall Timber Role Model

January 25, 2021 — Nadine M. Post - Engineering News-Record
In January 2019, Preston Cole left his post as Commissioner of the Milwaukee Dept. of Neighborhood Services and became Secretary of Wisconsin’s Dept. of Natural Resources. It was a step up for the 25-year veteran of public service—a forester by profession—who as the city’s top building official had reformed DNS by fostering a developer-friendly environment. Reprinted courtesy of Nadine M. Post, Engineering News-Record Ms. Post may be contacted at postn@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Personal Thoughts on Construction Mediation

September 20, 2021 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
Construction Mediation WorksAs I left a mediation last week at 8:30 at night, I realized something that I knew all along. Mediation works. Why does mediation work? For several reasons that I can think of. The first, and likely most important is that lawyers are expensive. In most construction cases, we charge by the hour and those hours build up, especially close to a trial date. A mediated settlement can avoid this sharp uptick in attorney fees that always occurs in the last month before trial. Therefore the earlier the better. The second is the flexibility to make a business decision. Commercial contractors and subcontractors are in a business, and they should be making business decisions. While one such decision can be to go to litigation; litigation is not always the best solution from a financial, or stress perspective. Construction professionals, with the assistance of construction attorneys, can come up with a creative way to deal with a problem and solve it. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

For Smart Home Technology, the Contract Is Key

June 07, 2021 — James W. McPhillips & Rachel Newell - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our previous post we discussed the importance of conducting a thorough due diligence and procurement process with smart technology providers. Next up? The contract. The price of a procured product is always important, but equally important are other contractual terms that reflect the commercial agreement. Ultimately, the contract should answer the fundamental question of “What are you buying?” The product itself is not the only feature being purchased. A customer is also buying certainty, service performance, risk mitigation, flexibility, security, compliance, and other similar “intangible” items of value. The Price of Certainty As part of the price, the purchaser of smart technology is also buying certainty. What do we mean by that? Reprinted courtesy of James W. McPhillips, Pillsbury and Rachel Newell, Pillsbury Mr. McPhillips may be contacted at james.mcphillips@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Newell may be contacted at rachel.newell@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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Invest In America Act Offers 494 Billion In Funding to U.S. Infrastructure and Millions of New Jobs

July 20, 2020 — Stefanie A. Salomon - Peckar & Abramson
The Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act was approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on June 18, 2020 and is making its way up to Congress. The bill will create millions of jobs and provide substantial investment in the nation’s deteriorating highways, bridges and public transit systems. The bill also endeavors to leave behind a smaller carbon footprint, a major improvement for the nation’s biggest source of carbon pollution. Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the current condition of the nation’s infrastructure earns a grade of D+, and there exists an estimated $2 trillion funding gap to bring it into a state of good repair by 2025. While Americans have benefited from a century of infrastructure building, neglect has befallen our once greatest achievements – the roadways and arteries that led to the explosive growth of our nation. In the 1930s, 4.2 percent of the country’s GDP was spent on infrastructure investment. Unfortunately, by 2016 that number fell to 1.5 percent resulting in the substandard conditions that now confront us. Stated more bluntly, our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling and immediate investment in required to bring it up to par. The INVEST in America Act is our “immediate” opportunity to start replacing the outdated systems of the past with smarter, safer, and more resilient infrastructure. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Stefanie A. Salomon, Peckar & Abramson
Ms. Salomon may be contacted at ssalomon@pecklaw.com

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