How to Drop a New Building on Top of an Old One
December 05, 2022 —
Kriston Capps - BloombergFaçadectomy. That’s the tongue-in-cheek term for a widely unloved architectural compromise that developers sometimes strike: saving the historic veneer of an existing building while demolishing and replacing its internal structure. Façade preservation is especially popular in Washington, DC, where a federal cap on the height of buildings and the strength of the preservationist cause locally makes the case for adapting existing structures, even at great expense.
Façadism is rarer where cheaper tear-downs are possible, but over the last 40 years, this trend hit its stride on the East Coast. Prominent examples include the Spanish Embassy in DC and the Penn Mutual tower in Philadelphia.
A new condo tower in Boston’s South End isn’t a typical façadectomy. The development at 100 Shawmut Avenue looks as if a glassy modern building had been plopped down on top of an old warehouse. According to Tom Schultz, associate for The Architectural Team, the Boston-area firm behind the project, the case for incorporating a six-story warehouse into a new residential project wasn’t merely aesthetic. The site and structure lent itself to building up.
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Kriston Capps, Bloomberg
Court Sharpens The “Sword” And Strengthens The “Shield” Of Contractors’ License Law
July 24, 2023 —
Kyle S. Case - ConsensusDocsPerforming construction work without the necessary license can have significant repercussions on a contractor’s business. California in particular has become known for its imposition of “strict and harsh” penalties for a contractor’s failure to maintain proper licensure. In the realm of public works projects, any contract with an unlicensed contractor is deemed void. See Business & Professions Code Section 7028.15(e). On private projects, California’s Contractors’ License Law prohibits contractors from maintaining any action to recover payment for their work, and more severe, may require a contractor to disgorge all funds paid to it for performing unlicensed work. See Business & Professions Code Section 7031). These methods of deterrence are referred to as the “shield” and “sword” of the Contractors’ State License Law. Loranger v. Jones, 184 Cal. App. 4th 847, 854 (2010).
In any discussion surrounding licensure, it is important to review the language of the Business and Professions Code (“Bus. & Prof.”). Section 7031(a) states:
Except as provided in subdivision (e), no person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a contractor, may bring or maintain any action, or recover in law or equity in any action, in any court of this state for compensation for the performance of any act or contract where a license is required by this chapter without alleging that they were a duly licensed contractor at all times during the performance of that act or contract regardless of the merits of the cause of action brought by the person…
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Kyle S. Case, Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald LLPMr. Case may be contacted at
kcase@watttieder.com
Delaware Court Holds No Coverage for Faulty Workmanship
May 07, 2015 —
Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law HawaiiA Delaware trial court found that the carrier properly denied coverage to a contractor who allegedly caused property damage due to faulty workmanship. Westfield Ins. Co., Inc. v. Miranda & Hardt Contracting and Building Serv., L.L.C., 2015 Del. Super. LEXIS 160 (Del. Super. Ct. March 30, 2015).
In 2004 and 2005, Miranda built a home pursuant to a contract with Fenwick Ventures, LLC. The homeowners purchased the home from Fenwick in 2006. In 2012, the homeowners contacted Fenwick to complain about defects in the home's construction. In 2014, the homeowners filed a complaint against Fenwick and Miranda.
The lawsuit alleged that during the construction of the home, Miranda used inadequate building materials, improperly installed building materials, violated building codes, and fraudulently represented that the home was properly constructed.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law HawaiiMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Exponential Acceleration—Interview with Anders Hvid
December 01, 2017 —
Aarni Heiskanen - AEC BusinessAnders Hvid is a Danish consultant, speaker, and author. He talks about digital disruption, exponential acceleration, and paradigm shifts that are taking place in a world that is moving from local and linear into global and exponential.
“I have a background in social studies. My interest is in humans, and systems in which they work together. I’ve always had a deep fascination with technology and how it influences our society, our jobs, our democracies, and systems,” Anders says. He visited Singularity University back in 2010, and that experience made a lasting impression on him. “It freaked me out, to be honest, and it opened my eyes to how important technology is.”
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Aarni Heiskanen, AEC BusinessMr. Heiskanen may be contacted at
info@aepartners.fi
Chicago Cubs Agree to Make Wrigley Field ADA Improvements to Settle Feds' Lawsuit
December 03, 2024 —
James Leggate - Engineering News-RecordMajor League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs have entered into a settlement with the U.S. Dept. of Justice over renovations to Wrigley Field, federal and Cubs officials announced Oct. 31. As part of the settlement, the team agreed to update Wrigley Field with more accessibility options for people with disabilities.
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James Leggate, ENRMr. Leggate may be contacted at
leggatej@enr.com
Failing to Adopt a Comprehensive Cyber Plan Can Lead to Disaster
January 13, 2020 —
Richard Volack - Construction ExecutiveDespite being aware of cyber risk, and even frightened by it, a shocking number of companies in the construction industry have neither a cyber insurance policy nor a basic cyber security plan to deal with a hack or breach into their computer systems. Once breached, companies with no plan in place become, essentially, a rudderless ship subject to the whims of criminal tides.
A proper cyber plan lays out at least the following:
- the criteria for when a plan would be triggered (i.e., in the event of a breach or a hack);
- which persons inside the company (in-house counsel, IT personnel, executive, project managers) and which persons outside the company (attorney with knowledge of cyber issues and ideally construction law as well; forensic computer experts, crisis management experts; and an insurance broker familiar with cyber policies) should be involved;
- the chain of command and communication in this type of situation and the distinct roles each of the above players will fulfill (Note: this is not the same as the normal corporate chain of command); and
- the various available options to address the breach situation, which will all depend upon the facts at issue—such as the type and extent of the breach and how much of what particular kind of information was lost, stolen or exfiltrated.
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Richard Volack, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
Mr. Volack may be contacted at rvolack@pecklaw.com
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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (7/2/24) – Increase in Commercial Property Vacancy Rates, Trouble for the Real Estate Market and Real Estate as a Long-Term Investment
July 31, 2024 —
Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogIn our latest roundup, the evolution of stadium construction, an increase in legal and legislative action affecting the multifamily sector, and growing concerns for owners of office space.
- The work-from-home trend will likely push up the commercial property vacancy rate in 2026 to a peak average of 24%, or 4 percentage points higher than the first quarter of this year. (Jim Tyson, CFO Dive)
- In recent years, stadium construction has evolved to focus more on cultivating the game day experience with some multibillion-dollar projects breaking ground, as existing venues get renovations. (Zachary Phillips, Construction Dive)
- A number of prominent issues affecting the multifamily industry, including rent control, fees and antitrust concerns, have been subject to increasing levels of legal and legislative action over the past year. (Mary Salmonsen, Multifamily Dive)
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Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team
Illusory Insurance Coverage: Real or Unreal?
August 24, 2017 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesIn insurance coverage declaratory relief actions, there are times an insured will argue that the insurance policy coverage is illusory. Typically, an insured will raise this illusory argument if its insurer is denying coverage based on an exclusion or limitation in the policy. If a court agrees and deems the coverage illusory, the court will construe the policy to afford coverage to the insured. This is the obvious value of the argument: coverage!
“A policy is illusory only if there is an internal contradiction that completely negates the coverage it expresses to provide.” The Warwick Corp. v. Turetsky, 42 Fla.L.Weekly D1797a (Fla. 4th DCA 2017). Thus, if a policy grants coverage in one section but then excludes the same coverage in another section, the coverage would be deemed illusory. Id. quoting Tire Kingdom, Inc. v. First S. Ins. Co., 573 So.2d 885, 887 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990). An illusory policy was found in the following examples: (a) a policy covered certain intentional torts but then excluded intended acts; (b) a policy covered advertising injury but elsewhere excluded advertising injury; and (c) a policy covered parasailing but excluded watercrafts. Id. (citations omitted). In all examples, coverage in the policy was completely swallowed up by an exclusion rendering the coverage illusory. Stated differently, coverage was completely contradicted by an exclusion in the policy rendering the policy absurd.
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David Adelstein, Florida Construction Legal UpdatesMr. Adelstein may be contacted at
Dadelstein@gmail.com