News briefs

NFPA code gets preliminary OK. Meeting in Minneapolis last month, members of the National Fire Protection Association voted to accept the NFPA 5000 Building Code. The approval was "overwhelming," according to Gary Keith, NFPA's vice president, building codes. This acceptance, in conjunction with technical committee reports, will be considered by the NFPA Standards Council meeting on July 16 in Boston. If the code receives the council's endorsement, copies are expected to be available by Sept. 1. NFPA says the document will be the first building code to be developed through an ANSI-approved consensus process.

McCarthy now employee-owned. On May 13, McCarthy Building Companies Chairman Michael M. McCarthy, the great grandson of company founder Timothy McCarthy, sold his majority ownership interest in the St. Louis-based construction firm to its employees, making the company 100 percent employee-owned. McCarthy assumes the position of chairman emeritus and will continue to serve as a senior advisor to the board of directors.

Real estate managers combine cores. Two of the U.S.'s top real estate management associations, the International Development Research Council and the National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives, have combined to form CoreNet Global Corporate Real Estate Network. The two organizations total more than 6,800 members worldwide who manage corporate real estate assets. Established late last month, the organization's headquarters is in Norcross, Ga.

University building goes platinum. The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program has certified its second building as platinum-rated, the highest rating the program can bestow. Ceremonies were conducted at the University of California at Santa Barbara in April to commemorate the platinum certification of the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. The other project to receive a platinum rating is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Phillip Merrill Environmental Center, Annapolis, Md.