An article this week in the New York Times (January 27) reports that more than 800 buildings nationwide are lined up for LEED-EB certification, following the release of streamlined LEED-EB guidelines last October.

LEED-EB, which stands for LEED for Existing Buildings, is a three-year-old program by the U.S. Green Building Council that provides steps building owners and managers can take to operate and manage their properties more efficiently. Like LEED for new buildings, the program assigns points for efforts like recycling and indoor air quality, and offers four levels of certification.
According to the Green Building Council, more than 60 buildings, including the Adobe Towers in San Jose, Calif., the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., and the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, already have received LEED-EB  certifications, and 840 more are in the process of doing so, representing more than a half-billion square feet of space.

Source: New York Times

Architectural billings showed a healthy score in December, according to the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reported by the American Institute of Architects this week. The index shows a nine to twelve month lag time between architectural billings and construction spending, so it’s a good outlook indicator for construction.
The December ABI was up a fraction to 55.4, from 55.3 in November, marking the 34th straight month with a positive score. That’s the longest run in the history of the survey, which began in 1995.

Source: Building Design+Construction 

The Portland Cement Association predicts that portland cement consumption will be down until at least 2010, as the depressed housing market affects consumer spending and commercial construction.

In the long term, though, cement use is expected to grow by 43% to 183-million tonness by 2030, 55-million tonness more than 2005. Highway construction, which accounts for 30% of total annual cement consumption, is expected to add 400,000 new roadway miles by 2030. And if “green” building continues to grow, energy efficient insulated concrete walls could account for 30% of all new homes, up from 7% today. That growth alone could use an additional eight million metric tons of cement.

Source: ENR 

New York City-based Nassimi Realty has acquired the 20-story Millennium Center office tower  at 515 Olive St. in St. Louis. The building has 260,000 square feet of space, including ground-floor retail. Tenants include law firms Evans & Dixon and McAnany, Van Cleave and Phillips. Nassimi plans to upgrade the building to attract additional tenants.

Source: REBusiness Online 

Ebersoldt + Underwood Architects and WDM Architects have formed a joint venture to design the $150 million redevelopment of the Lemp Brewery complex in St. Louis. The 14-acre property presently includes 29 brick buildings built between 1864 and 1919, which would be redeveloped into 400 residential apartments and approximately 75,000 square feet of retail. The developer is Kansas City, Mo.-based Garrison Development. Construction is expected to begin in May and be completed in phases over the next four years.

Source: REBusines Online

Paric Corp. has broken ground on a $23.5 million hotel in the Delmar Loop neighborhood of St. Louis. The Moonrise Hotel will be a seven-story, 124-room boutique hotel featuring an upscale restaurant and bar, two meeting rooms and a rooftop patio. The developer is the Loop’s very own Joe Edwards and ACI Boland is project architect. St. Louis-based Lodging Hospitality Management will operate the hotel upon completion in February 2009.

Source: REBusiness Online