Feds may fund removal of some urban highways

A new Senate bill includes $10 billion for cities that are considering removing urban freeways that could undo damage these projects inflicted on vulnerable communities decades ago.

Critics say these urban highway projects, often including sections of elevated roadways, were forced upon neighborhoods that lacked political clout during construction of the Interstate Highway System. Many of these roadway projects razed swaths of downtowns and waterfronts often inhabited by minority and low-income people.

The bill provides $10 billion to potentially alter or remove these roadways. It would also help pay for plans to redevelop strips of land reclaimed from their removal.

The concept was demonstrated when San Francisco’s Embarcadero Freeway was removed in 1991 after heavy damage resulting from a 1989 earthquake. That project freed 100 acres of waterfront property for development. Another more recent example is in Rochester, New York, where a segment of a sunken expressway that encircles the city’s downtown was removed, and the city is now considering removal of the rest of the loop.

Cross laminated timber (CLT) is gaining acceptance as an eco-friendly building material, a trend that will propel its growth through the end of the 2020s. The CLT market is projected to more than triple from $1.11 billion in 2021 to $3.72 billion by 2030, according to a report from Polaris Market Research.

Retail Centers | Nov 29, 2022

'Social' tenants play a vital role in the health of the retail center market

After a long Covid-induced period when the public avoided large gatherings, owners of malls and retail lifestyle centers are increasingly focused on attracting tenants that provide opportunities for socialization. Pent-up demand for experiences involving gatherings of people is fueling renovations and redesigns of large retail developments.

Multifamily Housing | Nov 29, 2022

Number of office-to-apartment conversion projects has jumped since start of pandemic

As remote work rose and demand for office space declined since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, developers have found converting some offices to residential use to be an attractive option. Apartment conversions rose 25% in the two years since the start of the pandemic, with 28,000 new units converted from other property types, according to a report from RentCafe.

Seismic Design | Nov 16, 2022

SPC-4D: 7 reasons California hospital building owners should act now to meet seismic compliance

Seismic compliance with the applicable California building codes is onerous and disruptive for building owners, especially for a building in the heavily regulated sector of healthcare. Owners of older buildings that house acute care services have a big deadline on the horizon—Jan. 1, 2030, the cutoff date to upgrade their buildings to SPC-4D.

Green | Nov 13, 2022

USGBC updates LEED v4 to better address greenhouse gas emissions and climate change

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will update the LEED v4 green building certification program to “more directly address greenhouse gas emissions and climate change” according to a USGBC news release.

Green | Nov 13, 2022

NREL report: Using photovoltaic modules with longer lifetimes is a better option than recycling

A new report from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) says PV module lifetime extensions should be prioritized over closed-loop recycling to reduce demand for new materials.

Green | Nov 13, 2022

Global building emissions reached record levels in 2021

Carbon-dioxide emissions from building construction and operations hit an all-time high in 2021, according to the most recent data compiled by the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction.

Legislation | Nov 13, 2022

U.S. voters pass numerous affordable housing measures

Voters in many U.S. jurisdictions passed housing measures Nov. 8 that will collectively set aside billions of dollars in new funding to create more affordable housing and provide protections for renters.