Free Republic

The Palisades, Eaton and Hurst wildfires in Southern California have destroyed more than 12,000 structures, raising the likelihood of a spike in demand for lumber in the months and years ahead. The rebuilding process after events such as these “typically drives a significant demand for building materials, particularly lumber, given its foundational role in construction,” said Michael Goodman, director of finance and general counsel at building-materials wholesaler Sherwood Lumber. Demand for construction materials will “undoubtedly rise,” but the pace will depend on the “timeline for insurance assessments, debris removal, permitting and rebuilding efforts,” Goodman said. Historically, it can take several...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who is under fire for being in Africa as her city erupted in flames this week, last month boasted she was “building a greener L.A.” “We’re building a greener L.A.,” she posted on Facebook, along with a post on X that said: The goal was more than 100,000 green jobs in L.A. by the end of 2025. We hit the goal by the end of 2024. We’re building a greener L.A.

It’s an out-of-the-box undertaking. Ground has officially been broken in Saudi Arabia for what is expected to be the “world’s largest building.” The ambitious, $50 billion project — called the Mukaab — in the capital city, Riyadh, is part of a wave of futuristic construction across the Arab nation, the Sun reported. The skyline-redefining Mukaab will clock in at 1,300 feet high and 1,200 feet wide when completed — giving it enough volume to contain 20 Empire State Buildings, the outlet reported. Offering fine dining, retail space, offices and restaurants, the massive cube will be its own downtown-in-a-box with 2...

Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle noted in a July 15 interview with ABC News that police were in the building from the top of which the would-be assassin fired at Donald Trump. Cheatle told ABC News that the building on which the would-be assassin took his position was supposed to be secured by local law enforcement officers who were working with Secret Service for perimeter control. ABC News reported “local authorities were tasked with securing the building where the alleged shooter fired the shots before being taken out by a Secret Service sniper.” Cheatle also indicated that police were inside...

A Brooklyn immigrant’s $4 million nest egg is off-limits when she needs it most during her final years because of ineffective court-appointed guardians, her family contends. Aleksandra Chodowiec, 93, arrived in the U.S. from her native Wroclaw in western Poland by herself in 1973 at the age of 43. She worked two jobs, in an envelope factory and cleaning Manhattan offices. In just two years, the industrious Chodowiec saved enough dough to purchase what should have been a golden ticket: a five-story rental building with eight apartments and two commercial units in Greenpoint.

We were once a nation of builders—from the toll roads and canals of the early nineteenth century and the railroads of the second half of that busy century, to the construction of power, energy, and water systems that were the envy of the world. Even Stalin hired American engineers and planners to build hydroelectric plants and car and other large-scale factories, some planned and developed by people from Detroit. As Stalin knew, infrastructure is one of the keys to imperial power. Ancient Rome, the imperial dynasties of China, the Mesoamerican empires, the Islamic empire of the Caliphs, the British Empire,...

A group of radical pro-Palestinian activists took over a building at the University of California Berkeley on Wednesday, just hours after administrators and protesters struck a deal to end a weeks-long “encampment.” The Daily Californian, the UC Berkeley student newspaper, reported: A group of pro-Palestine protesters broke in and took over Anna Head Alumnae Hall on Wednesday afternoon. The protesters — gathering in a group of about 30 by 3:15 p.m. — hung up the Palestinian flag as well as boards reading “Free Gaza” and “Avenge Al Shifa.” [Al-Shifa is a hospital in Gaza that was taken over by terrorists,...

Human Rights Watch said Thursday that an Israeli strike on an apartment building in Gaza City last October was an “apparent war crime,” citing no military rationale behind the attack after a months-long investigation. The Oct. 31 strike killed at least 106 civilians, including 54 children, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its report. The report “found no evidence of a military target in the vicinity of the building at the time of the Israeli attack, making the strike unlawfully indiscriminate under the laws of war,” the group said. “Israeli authorities have provided no justification for the attack.” The findings...

Scientists say they have created an experimental new high-tech window coating that works similarly to polarized lenses on sunglasses by allowing all of the visible light through while also reflecting unwanted heat. If added to existing buildings and car windows, the new coating could reduce internal temperatures in hotter climates without sacrificing any of the visible light while also reducing energy usage for indoor air conditioning by as much as 30%. The new coating was developed by researchers from Notre Dame University who were looking for a cheap yet viable way to reduce the use of air conditioning in cars...

Canada's largest pension fund sold a stake in a New York building for $1. Crashing office values have led investors to turn cautious on the sector. Office buildings have suffered from the pandemic's work-from-home boom. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the biggest pension in Canada, has completed a string of recent deals at discounted prices, including a sale of its stake in a New York building for $1, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.Commercial real estate concerns have escalated thanks to the pandemic's work-from-home boom and high interest rates in the wake of the Federal Reserve's inflation fight, and the gravest fears...

Plans to build the tallest skyscraper in the United States are shaping up in an unlikely metropolis: Oklahoma City. Developers at a real estate company are adjusting the already ambitious plans to construct the Boardwalk at Bricktown Tower by a few hundred feet to make the building reach 1,907 feet high — which would make it the tallest in the country, the Oklahoma City Free Press reported. “The symbolic height honors the year that Oklahoma was admitted as the 46th state of the United States,” Matteson Capital said in a statement.

The Biden administration announced hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to upgrade energy codes nationwide that conform with strict energy efficiency standards, a move experts said is tantamount to a backdoor natural gas ban. The Department of Energy (DOE) said it will begin accepting applications for a total of $530 million in technical assistance competitive grants for local residential and commercial building code upgrades as part of its implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). According to DOE, adoption of the latest model energy codes, zero energy codes and building performance standards would lead to widespread emissions reductions....

California-based developer Scot Matteson has revealed updated plans for an impressive building project in Lower Bricktown, Oklahoma City. The new proposal, if realized, would feature a colossal 134-story apartment tower, standing at twice the height of the city’s 50-story Devon Energy Center. The proposed skyscraper would not only transform the city’s skyline dramatically but also serve as an iconic landmark, potentially attracting more investments and developments in the area. Furthermore, the 134-story tower aims to provide luxurious living spaces, along with numerous amenities, offering residents a unique and unrivaled experience in the heart of Oklahoma City.

New York City suspended an engineer’s inspection authority after determining that a fundamental error may have led to the partial collapse of a Bronx apartment building this week. The state-licensed engineer made a “catastrophic” mistake by labeling a load-bearing column as a decorative part of the structure in June in plans filed with the Department of Buildings, Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. Adams and Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo said that they suspended the engineer’s authority to inspect buildings’ exterior walls and were looking to revoke the authority permanently.

Part of a six-story building crumbled to the ground in the Bronx on Monday afternoon, resulting in a scene of destruction with a pile of rubble below. The apartment complex in the Morris Heights neighborhood partially collapsed around 3.30pm. Photos of the scene showed the bare walls of several units completely exposed. A ground-level shed at the foot of the building was surrounded by a heap of sheet metal, bricks, concrete and metal rods. Rescue crews equipped with police dogs responded at the scene of the collapsed building, searching for residents who may still be trapped inside. New York City...

When you’re a huge, publicly-traded company with more than eight million square feet of offices in a struggling market, it helps to have a world-famous Observatory on top of your most famous building. Empire State Realty Trust’s third-quarter results revealed a solid overall leasing performance including 90.5% occupancy in Manhattan and comfortable liquidity.

Last year, production at American factories increased — and so did the production of factories themselves. According to data from the Census Bureau released last week, construction spending by US manufacturers more than doubled over the past year. For April 2023, the annual rate reached nearly $190 billion compared with $90 billion in June 2022, with manufacturing accounting for around 13% of non-government construction. The US government has offered billions of dollars in subsidies for the production of electric vehicles and solar panels to compete with countries such as China and to fortify US leadership in sectors including clean energy....

A Yale University building under construction in New Haven, Connecticut partially collapsed on Friday and left eight people injured with two of them in critical condition. The collapse happened at an apartment block on Lafayette Street at around 12.30pm when crews were pouring concrete. Part of the second floor fell into the first floor and into the basement at the building site where 36 people were working. It left eight construction workers injured with six of them pulled out of the building by first responders and the other two were able to escape on their own. New Haven Fire Department...

On Friday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Ford Motor Company President and CEO Jim Farley argued that building up the electric vehicle charging infrastructure so people can go wherever they can with a gas-powered car will require retailers to put fast chargers in front of stores, which will require a change in building standards. Co-host Becky Quick asked, “[J]ust the idea of building up the infrastructure and making sure that you can go anywhere that you would with a gasoline-powered vehicle, how long do you think it takes before those problems are really resolved and you don’t run into snags...

Terrified workers fled a soaring new Manhattan skyscraper after experiencing a huge 'shake' run through the building, that made it feel as if its floors were collapsing. One Vanderbilt, a $3.31 billion tower which sits just north of Grand Central train terminal in Midtown Manhattan, was struck by the tremor on Tuesday afternoon. A spokesman for One Vanderbilt said the shaking was due to repair work on the elevators, and there were no injuries as the public viewing platform was closed.