Today marks the beginning of building on a new federal courthouse in the city of Greenville, Mississippi, which is located in west-central Mississippi on an oxbow lake. A fascinating examination of state boundaries can be had by tracing the meandering path of the second-longest river in North America. Meanwhile, it has been announced that the new PGA of America headquarters building will be located in Frisco, Texas. Furthermore, according to Governor Glenn Youngkin, the Virginia Board of Contractors has taken actions to lower many regulatory barriers in the construction and building-related trades. These moves were made in order to make the industry more competitive. Moreover, the largest economic development project in the history of the American state of Ohio is anticipated to increase the demand for human labor.
Duvall Decker’s new courthouse in Greenville, Mississippi, begins construction
Original Source: Construction kicks off on Duvall Decker’s new U.S. Courthouse in Greenville, Mississippi
Greenville, a little port city on an oxbow lake in west-central Mississippi, started construction on a new federal courthouse today. The tortuous route of North America’s second-longest river makes for a fascinating study in state limits.
The complex and often-catastrophic cultural and geologic landscape of the Mississippi Delta serves as the immediate backdrop for the new $45.3 million Greenville U.S. Courthouse, which is set to rise near the municipal levee on the 200 block of Washington Avenue—the same site where the original Stein Mart opened over a century ago. It replaces an outdated 1959 federal courthouse that was co-located with the main post office on Main Street.
Three stories and 55,600 square feet, the future facility is a modern courthouse: a secure yet transparent civic landmark built to “provide visual testimony to the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the American government,” to paraphrase the late senator, scholar, and courthouse eponym, Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The Greenville U.S. Courthouse is a project of the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Design Excellence Program, designed by Jackson, Mississippi-based Duvall Decker. Its interior is lit by indirect “porch” light and wrapped in fluted concrete panels to protect it from heat, humidity, and torrential rain. A park-like landscape with well-shaded seats will offer visitors and workers rest when the weather permits.
The building’s two courtrooms—one district, one magistrate—are stacked, encased in wood, and “visible and veiled by a faceted glass outer skin that is alive in the ever-changing light and weather of each day,” Duvall Decker said in a project description. The court’s presence in the community opens a public dialogue about justice’s nature and workings.
The U.S. Courthouse in Greenville, Mississippi is a search for purpose and public benefit, said Roy Decker, co-founder of Duvall Decker with Anne Marie Duvall. “Building designs must be useful, safe and healthy, sustainable, durable, and economical. Some public structures that serve our society and culture must do more. Their goals are to be meaningful, inquisitive, and teach future generations. Duvall Decker is proud to lead the project’s design.
Steve Dumez of New Orleans-based EskewDumezRipple is co-lead designer along with Dewberry with Michael LaBoeuf, Engineering Resource Group, Walter P. Moore, Newcomb & Boyd, W.L. Burle Engineers, Andropogon, M.A.+ Associates, and Michael Fazio, Ph.D., an architectural historian and longtime professor at Mississippi State University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Design who died in 2020. Robins & Morton is the general contractor.
Critz Campbell, a Mississippi-born artist and MSU Art Department director, was commissioned by the GSA’s Art in Architecture Program to design a piece for the main lobby’s west wall.
Similar to previous GSA-designed and built buildings, the Greenville U.S. Courthouse project took years to start. In this scenario, the project began in 2015, with design starting in 2018 and ending in June 2021, according to a GSA timeframe. The contract was awarded in April. “The new courthouse will signal a new chapter in Greenville’s history and Mississippi’s federal court presence.” In a 2019 statement, District Judge Debra Brown remarked, “Its distinctive and effective design will receive national attention in numerous industries.”
Plans call for a big public green space to replace downtown Greenville’s Stein Mart Square, where the new courthouse will rise. The park project grabbed local headlines in 2018 when the city sought authorization to demolish a decaying Greek Revival edifice built in 1907 as an Elks lodge.
Due to its location near the Greenville levee, Duvall Decker referred to the courthouse as a “lantern on the levee,” a nod to the watchmen who, in the early 20th century, would inspect the Mississippi Delta levees for breaches by lantern light. These inspections inspired the 1941 book Lanterns on the Levee by William Alexander Percy. “The illuminated watch safeguarded the neighborhood like the legal system protects society by upholding the rule of law,” the firm said.
Today, Greenville is relatively liberal and predominately black. It is known for its history of cultural diversity as numerous immigrant populations—especially Jewish, Italian, and Chinese—settled in and around the bustling inland port city and surrounding Washington County after the Civil War. These immigrants included famed Delta retail entrepreneur Sam Stein, a Russian Jewish immigrant. As Duvall Decker explained, this diversity, together with the “racial, social, and economic changes of the 1950s and 1960s,” led the U.S. Court in Greenville to “issue decisions that have helped shape the country,” including civil rights, prison reform, school segregation, and more.
The firm said the new U.S. courthouse in Greenville “celebrates this heritage and diversity with a dignified, contemporary expression and an open, inclusive shape.”
Occupancy of the Greenville U.S. Courthouse is set for fall 2024.
Texas unveils PGA of America’s new Frisco headquarters
Original Source: New Frisco PGA of America headquarters building unveiled in Texas
The new PGA of America headquarters facility in Frisco, Texas, has been unveiled.
The 106,622-square-foot new headquarters reportedly cost $33.5 million. Adolfson & Peterson Construction and Cushman & Wakefield of Minneapolis erected it. Page designed the 6.2-acre facility on the new 660-acre PGA site.
Public-private cooperation built the New Frisco PGA of America headquarters. The PP is between the PGA, Frisco, and others.
According to the PGA, the HQ project was halfway complete last spring. The new headquarters are expected to open in 2022.
A summary of the US$515 million Luke Field Industrial Project in Arizona.
Ghana-Burkina railway project underway
The three-story headquarters building offers a top-floor conference room with a big terrace.
The indoor training center has a driving range simulator and a chipping area. The indoor training complex has a putting area and hitting bays with moveable exterior walls for the driving range. The lower floor will have a multimedia and education center for staff, guests, and PGA members.
The New Frisco PGA of America headquarters lobby features a wood wall styled after a golf course, terrazzo flooring, and an open social stairway with chairs. The news release said the building emphasized sustainability. The building aims for a LEED Silver rating and recycles or reuses 75% of its construction waste.
According to PGA President Jim Richerson, the organization reduced, reused, and recycled during design, construction, and after moving in.
Virginia reduces construction and building trade regulations
Original Source: Regulatory barriers reduced for Virginia construction, building trades
The department oversees the board (DPOR).
The BOC voted to:
- Reduce the experience requirement from four to two years for skilled workers to become licensed as journey-level tradespeople in high-demand construction professions such as electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and gas fitting.
- Add licensing qualification pathways to allow skilled workers to become licensed with experience and training.
- Eliminate the trades’ ongoing education requirement.
Youngkin called it a victory for all Virginians. Increasing the chances for people to get licensed in high-demand, high-paying jobs will improve our Commonwealth. My administration has worked since day one to boost employment development and make Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I’m convinced these actions will get us closer.
Bryan Slater, secretary of labor, said construction firms struggle to recruit qualified personnel to meet consumer needs and boost economic growth. “Not enough people enroll in these training programs.” There’s no single solution to this problem; we’re striving to promote apprenticeships and make it easier for skilled employees to get licensed and start working.
As part of Governor Youngkin’s Day One commitment to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses and citizens across the Commonwealth, DPOR boards are evaluating the education and experience requirements of occupations to ensure we are not requiring more than necessary to protect the public.
Youngkin said the U.S. workforce lacks trained tradesmen, with Virginia having the biggest demand. The governor says, “This situation hinders job development and economic growth before and after the outbreak.” Skilled trade shortages contribute to higher home prices, less supply, greater costs for consumers and businesses, and other cascading impacts across commerce and the economy.
Ohio construction projects demand workers
Original Source: In Ohio, Building Projects Put Workers in Demand
Ohio’s largest economic development project should create jobs.
7,000 construction personnel are needed. Experts claim the industry is short-staffed.
Intel’s $20 billion initiative was announced this year. When the two facilities are completed in 2025 near Columbus, they’ll employ 3,000 people, making $135,000 on average.
First, the area and factories must be developed.
Central Ohio doesn’t have 7,000 extra construction workers, say officials. A big Hilton hotel is being built in Columbus, and The Ohio State University’s medical complex is getting a $2 billion expansion. Amgen plans to establish a $365 million bio-manufacturing unit near Intel. Biomanufacturing makes medications, food, and industrial items.
Ohio promised Intel $2 billion and 30 years of reduced taxes to win the project.
Congress adopted a funding bill last month to boost the semiconductor industry and scientific research in the U.S. The measure gives the semiconductor industry $52 billion. Companies that invest in U.S. computer processor factories get a 25% tax credit.
The business said Intel chose Ohio for its workers. We’re optimistic these roles will be filled despite the hurdles.
Federal data suggests central Ohio has 45,000 construction workers. This number rose to 1,800 between May 2021 and May 2022, indicating a shortage given present and anticipated demand.
Mary Tebeau said she knows of no commercial construction company that is not hiring. Tebeau works for a building trade group.
According to Dorsey Hager of the Columbus Building Trades Council, qualified tradesmen might make $125,000 annually with overtime.
Ohio’s Lt. Gov. Jon Husted He claimed the Intel project is so enormous it will attract those who have never considered construction.
When you spend more, you find talent, he remarked. Talent describes skills or skillful people.
Enough homes?
Some homebuilders may switch to building construction. Ed Brady of the Home Builders Institute predicts the shift would lower the number of homebuilders.
Ed Dietz of the National Association of Home Builders said a shortage of homebuilders might occur. A shortfall could hamper Intel’s economic expansion.
Dietz said, “How can you entice corporate investments if you can’t give more housing?”
By 2050, Central Ohio will have 3 million residents by 2050. This would require 11,000 to 14,000 homes per year. Jennifer Noll noted that this estimate originated before Intel’s project. She works with MORPC. The region built 11,000 dwellings in 2020.
Noll: “As a region, we have work to do.”
Summary of today’s construction news
In today’s construction news, the complicated and frequently catastrophic cultural and natural terrain of the Mississippi Delta serves as the immediate background for the new $45.3 million Greenville U.S. Courthouse, which is scheduled to rise near the municipal levee on the 200 block of Washington Avenue. This is the same location where the first Stein Mart opened its doors more than a century ago.
In addition, the New Frisco PGA of America headquarters was constructed through a partnership between the public and commercial sectors. The PP is in the middle of the PGA, Frisco, and a few other organizations. According to the PGA, construction on the headquarters was around fifty percent complete by the spring of 2017. It is anticipated that the new headquarters will open in the year 2022.
In addition to that, according to Youngkin, there is a shortage of trained artisans in the American workforce, with Virginia having the most demand. According to the governor, “This circumstance impedes job development and economic progress prior to and after the outbreak.”
On top of that, the largest economic development project in Ohio ought to result in the creation of jobs. There is a demand for 7,000 people in the building industry. According to the opinions of specialists, the sector is lacking in personnel.
