An agreement for a land transfer from the City of Detroit to Ilitch Holdings Inc., that enabled construction of a new arena for the Detroit Red Wings requires that 51% of the project’s construction workers must come from the city. That stipulation is creating a challenge for Ilitch, the owner of the Red Wings, due to a shortage of skilled tradespeople who live in the city.
Construction firms that fall short of the hiring goal can still work on the project, but must pay a fee or offer free training and provide instructors and equipment. Many construction workers move out of the city after they acquire skills to earn a better wage. Detroit’s mayor is considering offering low-interest loans on city-owned houses to try to retain construction workers.
The arena construction will create an estimated 5,500 jobs with nearly 2,800 of those workers needing to come from Detroit. The project could become a training ground for tradespeople who will be needed on other major projects in the area including blight removal, the M-1 rail project, and the planned New International Trade Crossing bridge that will span the river between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
Even if the local hiring requirement weren’t in effect, the arena project would be hard pressed to find enough laborers, carpenters, electricians, pipe fitters and other trades, with the region experiencing a labor shortage due to an aging workforce.
(http://win-semich.org/challenges-loom-to-fill-2800-construction-jobs-in-detroit/)
Related Stories
| Aug 2, 2012
More than 250 downtown El Paso, Texas buildings don’t meet safety codes, says city’s fire department
A total of 726 buildings were inspected for unsafe conditions, and 266 did not meet safety codes, while 112 buildings were found to be vacant and needed further inspection.
| Jul 26, 2012
Wisconsin may establish stormwater storage requirement for green roofs
Green roofs and other green infrastructure would be required to capture stormwater under a draft state wastewater discharge permit from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
| Jul 26, 2012
SouthPark Mall in Charlotte reopens after heavy rains collapse part of its roof
Code enforcement officials in Charlotte, NC gave the okay for the SouthPark Mall to reopen after two parts of its roof collapsed following heavy rains last week.
| Jul 26, 2012
New NRCA photovoltaic roof systems guidelines released
The National Roofing Contractors Association’s update of its Guidelines for Roof Systems With Rooftop Photovoltaic Components is now available.
| Jul 26, 2012
DOE/ASHRAE design guide aims to cut energy use at hospitals, schools, retail stores
The Advanced Energy Design Guidelines from the Department of Energy and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers aims to provide ways for hospitals, schools, and large retail buildings to trim their energy consumption by 50%.
| Jul 19, 2012
Bayview Property Managers agrees to record $800,000 building code fine
A San Francisco property-management company has agreed to pay a record $800,000 civil fine for hundreds of building code violations at rental properties.
| Jul 19, 2012
Glass ‘biodome’ helps Parkview Green FangCaoDi project in Beijing achieve LEED Platinum
A glass envelope acting as a kind of biodome encapsulates four mixed-use towers at Parkview Green FangCaoDi, an 800,000 sf mixed-use development in Beijing. The glass structure helped the development to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
| Jul 19, 2012
UMass-Boston's Bevington: 'Financing alternatives crucial to energy-efficiency upgrades'
It’s conceivable that innovation in project finance can do for building efficiency in the coming century what 30-year mortgages did for home ownership in the last, this article asserts.
| Jul 19, 2012
NYC eases building code to create ‘micro apartments’ in Kips Bay
New York City has implemented a program to encourage construction of "micro-apartments" in the Big Apple, where rents are exorbitant and the number of singles is on the rise.
| Jul 19, 2012
NRCA: Roofing insulation performance, local climate keys to computing R-value
To minimize the loss of thermal resistance in design, the R-value of roof insulation should be computed based on the actual performance of the insulation material and the local climate, says the National Roofing Contractors Association.
