Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

New Megablimp to Deliver to Remote Alaskan Construction Sites

January 13, 2017 — Ryan W. Sternoff - Ahlers & Cressman PLLC Blog
For nearly 20 years, Lockheed Martin has been working on developing a “Hybrid Airship” that may transform the ability to construct facilities in remote project locations.[i] On September 13, 2016, the Daily Journal of Commerce reported that the first of these “Hybrid Airships,” which can land in snow, ice, gravel, and water, are set to deliver from a facility operated by PRL Logistics in Kenai, Alaska, beginning in 2019.[ii] PRL will be operating the blimps in partnership with UK-based Straightline Aviation who placed the first order for the airships this year. According to PRL, the hope is that the airships will provide low cost solutions for moving freight in Alaska, where runways and roads are not always available. The helium-lifted behemoth blimps have space for 47,000 pounds of cargo and 18 passengers and cost about $40 million dollars. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Ryan W. Sternoff, Ahlers & Cressman PLLC
Mr. Sternoff may be contacted at rsternoff@ac-lawyers.com

Axa Buys London Pinnacle Site for Redesigned Skyscraper

February 26, 2015 — Dalia Fahmy and Patrick Gower – Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Axa Real Estate Investment Managers, the property unit of Europe’s largest insurer, has bought the London site of the halted Pinnacle skyscraper and plans to build a tower of its own design. The building at 22 Bishopsgate will have more than 1 million square feet (93,000 square meters) of offices, shops and restaurants, the Paris-based company said in a statement Friday. It’s paying 300 million pounds ($460 million) for the property, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Reprinted courtesy of Dalia Fahmy, Bloomberg and Patrick Gower, Bloomberg Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

NYC Developer Embraces Religion in Search for Condo Sites

October 15, 2014 — Oshrat Carmiel – Bloomberg
Extell Development Co., the New York builder that set off a luxury residential construction boom with its One57 project, is expanding its reach on Manhattan’s west side with a pending purchase of a synagogue and a plan to redevelop a Baptist church. Extell is in advanced talks to buy the Congregation Habonim synagogue at 44 W. 66th St. in a deal valued at $75 million, with plans to build condominiums on the site, according to documents the synagogue filed in New York State Supreme Court seeking permission for a sale. Extell also is negotiating with Calvary Baptist Church for a potential project at its 123 W. 57th St. site, on the same block as One57, the church’s 2014 annual report shows. Religious institutions across New York are pursuing real estate sales as land prices escalate. Manhattan development sites sold for an average of $657 a square foot in the third quarter, up 29 percent from a year earlier and a record for the period, Massey Knakal Realty Services said this month. Three purchases completed in the quarter were for more than $1,000 a square foot, the firm’s data show. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Oshrat Carmiel, Bloomberg
Ms. Carmiel may be contacted at ocarmiel1@bloomberg.net

SEC Climate Change Disclosure Letter Foreshadows Anticipated Regulatory Changes

November 08, 2021 — Karen C. Bennett & Jane C. Luxton - Lewis Brisbois
Washington, D.C. (October 13, 2021) - In late September 2021, the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Sample Letter providing guidance to companies on how their climate disclosures will be analyzed for compliance with material risk reporting obligations. The Sample Letter precedes the SEC’s issuance of mandatory climate-related disclosure rules anticipated by year-end and signals a greater focus on specific information used to support securities filings, a development that businesses should take seriously. The Sample Letter builds on climate change guidance the SEC issued in 2010 and identifies nine categories of disclosures the SEC suggests may be material risks that must be disclosed. These include:

Consistency between a company’s corporate social responsibility report and its SEC filings;
Risks associated with climate-related legislation, regulation, or policy, and resulting compliance costs;
Litigation risks related to climate change; and
Risks linked to an array of operational and market factors, including capital expenditures, continuity of business operations, supply chain stability, changing demand, reputation, availability of credit and insurance, and other climate-change related potential impacts on the financial condition of the company.

Reprinted courtesy of Karen C. Bennett, Lewis Brisbois and Jane C. Luxton, Lewis Brisbois Ms. Bennett may be contacted at Karen.Bennett@lewisbrisbois.com Ms. Luxton may be contacted at Jane.Luxton@lewisbrisbois.com Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Yellowstone Park Aims for Quick Reopening After Floods

July 03, 2022 — The Associated Press (Matthew Brown & Amy Beth Hanson) - Bloomberg
Gardiner, Mont. (AP) -- Most of Yellowstone National Park should reopen within the next two weeks — much faster than originally expected after record floods pounded the region last week and knocked out major roads, federal officials said. Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said the world-renowned park will be able to accommodate fewer visitors for the time being, and it will take more time to restore road connections with some southern Montana communities. Park officials said Sunday they'll use $50 million in federal highway money to speed up road and bridge repairs. There’s still no timetable for repairs to routes between the park and areas of Montana where the recovery is expected to stretch for months. Yellowstone will partially reopen at 8 a.m. Wednesday, more than a week after more than 10,000 visitors were forced out of the park when the Yellowstone and other rivers went over their banks after being swelled by melting snow and several inches of rainfall. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Bloomberg

Defective Concrete Blocks Spell Problems for Donegal Homeowners

October 30, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
A number of recently built homes in Donegal, Ireland are suffering from crumbing cement blocks used in the construction. This was previously seen in homes in the Leinster Region, and seems to be more widespread than previously thought. Damien McKay, an engineer who specializes in building litigation noted that the blocks started cracking about five years after the homes were constructed. In some cases, “the actual concrete blocks beneath the plaster can be easily broken and in some occasions with as little effort as rubbing with your fingers.” Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Steel Component Plant Linked to West Virginia Governor Signs $1M Pollution Pact

January 04, 2023 — Mary B. Powers - Engineering News-Record
Bluestone Coke, a 100-year old Birmingham. Ala. factory that produces a key component in steelmaking and is partially owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, must pay nearly $1 million under a Dec. 9 state consent decree for violating federal clean air rules by releasing toxic emissions from coke ovens. Reprinted courtesy of Mary B. Powers, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at enr@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

Sales of New Homes in U.S. Increased 5.4% in July to 507,000

August 26, 2015 — Shobhana Chandra – Bloomberg
Purchases of new homes in the U.S. rebounded in July, bolstering signs the real-estate market is picking up. Sales climbed 5.4 percent, the biggest gain this year, to a 507,000 annualized pace from a 481,000 rate in the prior month, a Commerce Department report showed Tuesday in Washington. The median forecast of 75 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 510,000. Demand had declined 7.7 percent in June. Demand for new properties is likely to keep expanding amid strong employment, low borrowing costs and a lack of available existing homes from which to choose. The improving outlook may spur more residential construction, contributing to the economic expansion in the second half of the year. Read the court decision
Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of

SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES