7 must reads for the AEC industry today: July 21, 2020

1. Abandoned 15-story high-rise becomes mixed-use luxury apartment building (BD+C)
"After being abandoned in 2009, GSP Development purchased the building and tasked Kimmich Smith Architecture and McShane Construction Company with redeveloping the structure into a Class A multi-family residence."

2. J. Small Investments, Lyda Hill Philanthropies have unveiled plans for a 23-acre mixed-use development in Dallas (BD+C)
"The North Texas Biotech Hub is a key component of Pegasus Park. The envisioned Biotech Hub will offer approximately 37,000 sf of premium, flexible lab, training, and office spaces dedicated to life science innovation. The project will provide tenant-driven services and cost-effective month-to-month leases for science and tech entrepreneurs."

3. N.Y. construction firm to pay $1.5 million to settle sexual harassment claim (BD+C)
"According to a report in the New York Post, Trade Off is a “body shop,” providing predominantly black and Latino construction laborers to large firms. Many of its employees are formerly incarcerated New Yorkers who must remain employed as a condition of their parole."

4. 'Tax us. Tax us. Tax us.' 83 millionaires signed letter asking for higher taxes on the super-rich to pay for COVID-19 recoveries (Business Insider via National Real Estate Investor)
“A group of 83 millionaires are pleading in an open letter to be taxed more in order to pay for the damage COVID-19 had caused to economies around the world.”

5. Researchers are developing anti-coronavirus tech suitable for buildings (Bisnow)
"Early in the coronavirus pandemic, inventors and entrepreneurs devised various simple tools to help people occupy space more safely, such as a hook to open doors hands-free and a bracelet that tells users when they have touched their faces."

6. Coworking Outlook Positive, JLL Finds (Commercial Property Executive)
"The fallout from COVID-19 will pave the way for the sector's rebirth as a multifaceted office offering."

7. How Retail Leases Will Change in a Post-COVID World (GlobeSt.)
"We talk to a Cox, Castle & Nicholson partner about the retail lease provisions that will change as a result of the coronavirus pandemic."

The Architectural Billings Index measures the general sentiment of U.S. architecture firms about the health of the construction market by measuring 1) design billings and 2) design contracts. Any score above 50 means that, among the architecture firms surveyed, more firms than not reported seeing increases in design work vs. the previous month.