Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

The first lawsuit relating to the fatal building collapse at 22nd and Market Streets in Center City Philadelphia has been filed. Mariya Plekan, a Ukranian immigrant, has brought suit and listed a number of devastating injuries.

The Engineering News Record recently reported that the push on public health concerns and environmental issues has caused the Environmental Protection Agency to begin imposing more stringent rules on the presence of organic and inorganic contaminants in drinking water. The American Water Works Association indicates it expects even more regulations in the industry soon as the EPA races to get them out before President Obama leaves office in 2016.

There is good news for the construction industry in a recent report by economist Anirban Basu. The performance of hotels in the United States has improved over the last 12 months. As a result, more hotels are being built or renovated. More specifically, Philadelphia is among the improved cities with regard to occupancy rates with a 21% increase.

News reports in the last several hours indicate that a building at the corner of Market and 22nd Streets in Center City Philadelphia has collapsed and buried between 8-10 people.  There was construction work going on in the area, including demolition work to bring one of the buildings down.  It is assumed, but officially unknown, whether the demolition work was the cause of the building collapse.

The construction industry job market continues to struggle, but fresh unemployment numbers did decrease slightly from earlier this year. According to the March 8 employment report by the U.S. Department of Labor, he construction industry jobless rate declined from 16.1% in January to 15.7% in February. The rate in February 2012 was 17.1%

Engineering News-Record is reporting that the large New Jersey design firm Birdsall Services Group is embroiled in a pay-to-play scandal that could cause significant additional damage to the company. Birdsall recently filed for bankruptcy and is working through the process of reorganization.

Waterfront Development Partners, L.P., presented its plan for a waterfront project in Allentown to the Allentown City Planning Commission recently. The project, which is being called The Waterfront, is slated to convert approximately 26 acres of industrial property along the Lehigh River inside the city limits into a large scale mixed use development. Office, retail, restaurant, residential, and commercial space are all envisioned as part of the project.

Northampton County executive John Stoffa and Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan recently announced their support for a feasibility study that would eventually lead to the construction of a convention center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The projected site for the new large convention and exposition center would be near the Sands Beth Works site. Northampton County has awarded $50,000 to the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority to open the funding for the feasibility study. Increased revenue from the county’s hotel room rental taxes will be used to seek proposals from consultants to complete the study in the near future. Those involved with the potential project estimate that the privately owned center would have between 100,000 to 200,000 square feet of usable space and would be capable of hosting large scale conventions and conferences.

The American Institute of Architects recently released the results of its survey of economic conditions as it relates to the construction design industry. The data was not encouraging for the construction industry of Pennsylvania or New Jersey.

The construction world continues to be changed – like the rest of the business world – by technology. With the advent of smart phones, people became more flexible and productive. As smart phones become even smarter, the growing opportunities for increased efficiency and productivity seem to be presently focused on integration. A new application for smart phones seems to fit that description perfectly.