Today's Construction Pulse
Poland pushes ahead with $50B nuclear plant EPC talks
Poland is working to secure an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Westinghouse and Bechtel for its first nuclear power plant, a $50 billion, 3.6 GW project. Negotiations have slipped past the original mid‑2025 target as parties discuss construction‑risk allocation.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Dalmia Bharat acquires JAL cement assets for $350M
NYC Class B/C Office Market Accelerates Lease Recovery, Prices Rise
New York City’s Class B and C office market is rebounding faster than expected, with leasing activity picking up and price per square foot climbing above $200. A $467 million tax‑abatement program spurring 84 office‑to‑residential conversions is a key catalyst, tightening supply and boosting investor confidence.
Data‑Center Boom Spurs 66% Jump in Natural‑Gas Plant Costs
BloombergNEF reported that the surge in AI‑driven data‑center construction has driven the cost of new natural‑gas combined‑cycle power plants up 66% in two years, from under $1,500 to $2,157 per kilowatt. The rise coincides with longer construction timelines and a...
PulteGroup Hikes Incentives to 10.9%, $54.5K Bonus
Homebuilder PulteGroup pushes housing market incentives to 10.9%—that’s $54,500 on a $500,000 sale PulteGroup notes that its historically “normal” incentive range is between 3.0% and 3.5% Chart via @ResidentialClub
World Aquatics Makes Progress on Five Pools in Africa
World Aquatics announced progress on five new swimming pools across Africa under its “Pools for All” initiative. Construction is under way in Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and Lesotho, with completion expected in October 2025. An initial agreement has been signed with...
Boston Completes First Office‑to‑Housing Conversion, Adding 15 Downtown Apartments
Boston finished its first office‑to‑housing conversion at 281 Franklin Street, creating 15 new downtown apartments. The project is the first under a city program that has approved 29 buildings and a pipeline of 1,730 units, aiming to ease office vacancy...
Levski Sofia Unveils Plans for €120m New Stadium
Levski Sofia announced a €120 million (≈ $130 million) plan to replace the current Georgi Asparuhov stadium with a state‑of‑the‑art, multifunctional arena. The new venue will meet UEFA Category IV standards, offering 24,718 seats under BFU rules and 23,032 seats for UEFA matches, while...
Vulcan Materials Co (VMC) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Vulcan Materials reported adjusted EBITDA of $2.3 billion for 2025, a 13% increase, with margin expanding to 29.3%. The aggregates segment delivered $11.33 cash gross profit per ton and shipped 227 million tons, up 3% driven largely by acquisitions. Free cash flow...
Atlanta, Fulton County Explore Buying Former CNN Center
Atlanta and Fulton County are weighing a joint purchase of the former CNN Center, now called The Center, for roughly $200 million. The Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority would fund the acquisition with tax‑exempt senior revenue bonds, while developer CP Group...
The RPA Publishes Bad Report Against Through-Running
The Regional Plan Association released a report titled “New York Penn Station: Constraints and Considerations for Meeting Future Demand,” arguing that through‑running would cut capacity and that any post‑Hudson Tunnel solution must involve station expansion. The author rebuts the claim,...
Kiewit Dropped From Key Bridge Rebuild in Baltimore
The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) has removed Kiewit Infrastructure Co. from the second phase of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild after the contractor’s price and schedule were deemed unacceptable. Kiewet had completed about 70% of the design, but projected...
ACA Releases Information Sheet on Blended Cements
The American Cement Association (ACA) issued an information sheet titled “How Are Blended Cement Standards Changing in 2026?” outlining upcoming revisions to ASTM C595 and AASHTO M 240 specifications. The 2026 editions, slated for publication around August 1, tighten compositional limits for...
AutoStore Conducts Pio Pilot with OBOS for Residential Storage
AutoStore announced a pilot of its Pio automated storage system in partnership with OBOS, a leading Nordic real‑estate developer. The pilot, located in the OBOS Living Lab in Oslo, installs a 20 m² grid with 150 bins that can store up...
On Newest Atlanta Beltline Section, Big Development Ideas Sought
Beulah Heights University, one of the Southeast’s oldest Bible colleges, is marketing its 4.3‑acre campus and adjacent parcels along the newly opened Southeast Trail of the Atlanta Beltline. The property offers 400 feet of Beltline frontage in Ormewood Park, a submarket that...
ASHRAE Highlights System Performance, Workforce Needs, Building Technologies as Industry Priorities in 2026 Technical Program
ASHRAE has unveiled the technical program for its 2026 Annual Conference in Austin, Texas, scheduled for June 27‑July 1. The agenda spans eight tracks—including AI in building design, building decarbonization, and workforce development—and features research‑driven sessions on data‑center cooling, resilient...
NYC’s Top Construction Permits: Week Ending April 24, 2026
New construction permits in New York City for the week ending April 24 2026 highlight a mix of high‑rise development, mid‑rise residential projects, and several demolition and alteration filings. Extell Development filed plans for an 86‑story, 1.65 million‑sq‑ft tower at 80 West 67th Street on the...
McHugh Construction, Powers & Sons Break Ground on Housing Development in Chicago’s South Loop
McHugh Construction and Powers & Sons broke ground on Southbridge 1C, a 12‑story mixed‑use building in Chicago’s South Loop. The project will deliver 80 market‑rate and affordable rental units plus a 1,500‑square‑foot retail space, designed by Gensler and developed by The...
Kiewit ‘Off-Ramped’ From Baltimore’s Key Bridge Rebuild
Kiewit Infrastructure Co. has been removed from Phase 2 of the Baltimore Key Bridge replacement after its cost proposal far exceeded the Maryland Transportation Authority's (MDTA) independent estimates. The MDTA, consulting the U.S. DOT, invoked the off‑ramp clause in the design‑build...
Last Call for Submissions: ENR Mountain States & Southwest's Top Design Firms Surveys and Preview List
ENR’s Mountain States & Southwest region is finalizing its annual Top Design Firms rankings, with the survey deadline now extended to May 11. So far, 75 firms have submitted data, and the June 22 issue will rank firms by 2025 revenue across...
Hotel-to-Residence Conversion Boosts Downtown Vitality
Cool news from @urbanizeatlanta_ The beautiful Rhodes-Haverty tower (1929) is slated to be converted from a hotel to residential. As I've said for years and years, Downtown needs many more homes than it has. Being primarily a place for visitors...
PulteGroup's Orders Reveal K‑Shaped Housing Market
K-shaped housing market is showing up directly in giant homebuilder PulteGroup's order book "Economic reports talk to the K-shaped economy... We saw this play out again in our first quarter results" - @pultehome CEO Ryan Marshall said on their earnings call
Supermicro Launches 714,000‑sq‑ft Silicon Valley Campus to Boost U.S. AI Data‑center Capacity
Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) opened a 714,000‑square‑foot campus on 32.8 acres near its San Jose headquarters, its largest U.S. site to date. The expansion adds hundreds of engineering and manufacturing positions and is aimed at accelerating domestic AI data‑center...
Rithm Invests $250M to Rebrand ElecorProperties, Elevate Office Experience
#ElecorProperties. You know them as #ParamountGroup. New owner #Rithm gives them a $250M sprucing up, new name. They pledge to 'elevate the office exp+set a new standard for what a bldg c/offer' #1633Broadway #1301AofA #712Fifth #NYC #realestate #CRE ...
Modern Codes Complicate Classic Rowhome Vestibule Designs
I really want to build rowhomes with vestibules again It’s often very tricky to do now with circulation requirements because they are so much deeper than these historic ones https://t.co/TXWZPcM1m8
The 'Amazon Effect' Is Creating Instant Demand For Office Space
Houston brokers are witnessing an "Amazon Effect" in office leasing, where tenants seek 20,000‑square‑foot spaces ready for occupancy within a month. Average lease sizes have shrunk to about 3,800 SF from 6,000 SF pre‑COVID, driving demand for move‑in‑ready spec suites that typically...
Suburban Philly Resi Conversions Rarely Pencil Despite High Demand
Office‑to‑residential conversions are booming in Center City but remain rare in Philadelphia’s suburbs despite a 25.1% office vacancy rate and strong rental demand. Suburban multifamily supply grew only 0.2% last year, while rents rose 3‑4% in Chester and Delaware counties...
VGIS Turns Construction Data Into Real‑Time AR Twins
vGIS Brings Construction #Data to Life with Real-Time #AR Digital Twin Visualization via @WevolverApp #EmergingTech #Innovation #Technology https://t.co/wFusJuwNWU
GFP Separates Development Business From Rest of Firm
GFP Real Estate has spun off its development arm into a new affiliate, GFP Development, headed by Brian Steinwurtzel. The move is intended to clarify branding and give Steinwurtzel credit for his projects, which include high‑profile Manhattan conversions such as...
YIMBYs Support Single-Family Homes via California's Starter Act
It's just not true that YIMBYs are ignoring single-family homes. Examples: (1) In California, we've spent the last few years building out the Starter Home Revitalization Act, focused on single-family homes. https://t.co/1tKVLyHp1X
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass To Speed Up Permits After Meeting With Trump
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed an executive order to overhaul the city’s building‑permit process, a move prompted by a recent meeting with President Donald Trump who criticized LA’s slow post‑wildfire rebuilding. The order introduces artificial‑intelligence review, expands pre‑approved housing...
Practical Uses for Solid Rivets in Structural Projects
Solid rivets, a centuries‑old fastening technology, remain a cornerstone of structural engineering due to their simplicity, strength, and longevity. They are employed across bridges, aircraft, heavy equipment, shipbuilding, and railway infrastructure, where they absorb vibration, distribute loads, and resist corrosion....
Report: Billions of Dollars in Data Center Construction Risk Is Uninsured
Annual data‑center investment is set to exceed $300 billion by 2027, pushing individual campus values to $10‑$30 billion. Insurers can no longer provide full replacement coverage; instead they underwrite based on probable maximum loss, limiting policies to $1.5‑$3.5 billion for most projects. This...
How Northeast Weather Patterns Are Accelerating Exterior Repair Demand
The Northeast is experiencing more intense nor'easters, hail and erratic freeze‑thaw cycles, turning exterior repair into a year‑round necessity. Aging homes built before modern codes are especially vulnerable, and contractors now see call volumes rise within 48 hours of storms....
Chicago Breaks Ground on $5.7B Red Line Transit Extension
Chicago’s Transit Authority and the Walsh‑Vinci joint venture broke ground on the $5.7 billion Red Line Extension on April 24. The 5.5‑mile project will push the 24‑hour Red Line from 95th Street to near 130th Street, adding four new stations with multimodal...
Argentina’s Commuter Rail Privatisation Advances
Argentina’s government is moving to privatise the Buenos Aires commuter rail system, seeking technical assistance from the Inter‑American Development Bank to design a concession model. The 900‑km, seven‑line network carries over one million passengers daily and is currently run by...
Maine Governor Veto Opens Way for Jay Data Center and Rural Fiber Rollout
Maine Governor Janet Mills vetoed a statewide data‑center moratorium, clearing regulatory hurdles for a new data center at the former Androscoggin Mill in Jay. The move accelerates the rollout of the MooseNet‑backed fiber network that will bring high‑speed broadband to...
AI Giants Secure 40,000 Sq Ft at King’s Cross, Cementing London’s Tech‑Driven Regeneration
OpenAI, Anthropic and Jeff Bezos’s AI venture Prometheus are negotiating for roughly 40,000 sq ft of office space in King’s Cross, joining DeepMind, Wayve and Synthesia. The influx underscores a broader shift toward AI‑powered spatial analytics in the 67‑acre redevelopment, positioning the...
17 Communities Join USGBC’s 2026 LEED For Cities Certification Cohort
The U.S. Green Building Council announced the 2026 LEED for Cities certification cohort, adding 17 municipalities that together represent about 2.5 million residents. The cohort follows the LEED v4.1 Existing Cities rating system and is supported by Bank of America, which...
New Holland Debuts New Electric E25X Mini Excavator
New Holland Construction introduced the electric E25X mini‑excavator, a 2.5‑metric‑ton machine that joins the 1.5‑ton E15X launched in 2023. Powered by a 102‑volt, 32.2 kWh lithium‑ion battery, the E25X delivers four to eight hours of operation and can be fully recharged...
ABS Partners Plans 400-Unit Development at Manhattan Studio Site
ABS Partners Real Estate filed a ULURP rezoning application to replace a historic studio at 515 West 57th Street with a 30‑story, 394‑unit residential tower. The 378,000‑square‑foot project will include a commercial component and 119 affordable units under New York City’s inclusionary housing...
Welsh Data Center Proposal Rejected by Local Council
Anglesey County Council rejected Carbon3.ai's plan to turn the former Octel chemical plant in Amlwch into an AI data center. The proposal, submitted in January, aimed to repurpose existing structures and leverage Wales' AI Growth Zone incentives. The decision follows...
Report: Commercial Real Estate Companies Have Installed over 1 GW of Solar Across US
The U.S. commercial real‑estate sector has surpassed 1 GW of on‑site solar, reaching 1.086 GW across 2,157 projects from more than 65 owners. Prologis tops the industrial category with roughly 311 MW, while Public Storage leads self‑storage with 111 MW. Community solar accounts for...
Bosnia, Croatia Sign Gas Pipeline Deal Despite Civil Society Backlash
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia signed the Southern Interconnection gas‑pipeline agreement on April 28, linking Bosnia’s network to Croatia’s Krk LNG terminal and aiming to diversify away from Russian supplies. The deal, backed by U.S. officials, will be financed separately by...
BMA Names Winning Bidders for R12bn Project to Redevelop Six Ports of Entry
South Africa’s Border Management Authority has awarded a R12 billion (≈$650 million) public‑private partnership to redevelop its six busiest land border posts, which handle about 80% of the nation’s cross‑border trade and passenger traffic. The contracts were split among five consortia—Baobab, Raulux,...
Canadian High Speed Line Corridor Details to Be Announced This Year
Alto, the promoter of Canada’s high‑speed rail, will announce detailed corridor plans this autumn after completing a massive public‑consultation effort. The outreach engaged over 10,000 residents, hosted 26 open‑house events, 10 virtual sessions and 32 stakeholder roundtables, generating 324,026 portal...
Study: Pavement Covers 40% of Phoenix
A new Arizona State University study finds that 40% of Phoenix’s land area is covered by pavement, an amount comparable to four times the size of San Francisco. Researchers highlight that asphalt emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that form ultrafine...
National Highways Engages Market on £166m Construction Pipeline
National Highways, the government‑owned road authority, has opened market engagement for an estates and facilities construction pipeline valued at up to £199.2 m (≈$255 m), with the core programme estimated at £166 m (≈$212 m) excluding VAT. The programme comprises 21 schemes slated to...
How Sound Transit Handles Weather on Floating Bridge
Sound Transit’s 5,811‑foot Homer M. Hadley floating bridge, the world’s fifth‑longest, now supports Link 2 light‑rail trains after the first powered crossing last September. The bridge’s pontoon design accommodates six directional movements, allowing simultaneous bi‑directional train operation while sharing space with I‑90 traffic....
Brighton to Build Europe’s First Women’s Football Stadium
Brighton & Hove Albion announced plans to construct Europe’s first stadium dedicated exclusively to women’s football. The 5,000‑seat venue at the Falmer Sports Complex will cost roughly £12 million (about $15 million) and is slated to open in 2025. Designed with sustainable...
Brighton to Build UK's First Dedicated Women's Stadium
Built For Her: Brighton confirm plans for first purpose built women's stadium in UK and Europe at a cost of £80m https://t.co/V2vgE3cM3l
A Tiny Town Is Building So Many Data Centers That There’ll Be Almost Nothing Else Left
Archbald, Pennsylvania – a borough of about 7,000 people – is facing proposals for six massive data‑center campuses that could cover roughly 14% of the town’s land area. The sites, each the size of a Walmart supercenter, are drawn by...