7 must reads for the AEC industry today: July 30, 2020

1. San Francisco’s Millennium Tower fix approved, moving forward (BD+C)
"After a two-year permitting and approval process, a fix is finally set to move forward with SGH as the engineer-of-record. SGH evaluated whether the building required structural reinforcement to restore its integrity or seismic resistance to original levels."

2. Two Indianapolis schools find new digs in a long-dormant factory (BD+C)
"The P.R. Mallory Building in Indianapolis was once where the Duracell battery was invented and patented. Vacant for decades, the 100-year-old building has been jolted back to life through an adaptive reuse project that converted the facility into new homes for the STEM-focused public charter school Purdue Polytechnic High School and Paramount Englewood Middle School."

3. 62% of metros shed construction jobs from June 2019 to June 2020 as Association calls for new infrastructure funding, other relief steps (AGC)
"New York City and Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Mass. have worst 12-month losses, while Austin and Walla Walla, Wash. top job gainers."

4. Crackdowns grow on construction firms that fail to follow COVID-19 guidelines (BD+C)
"Construction companies that don’t follow guidelines for social distancing, hand-washing, and other coronavirus-related precautions face court action, fines, and possible shutdowns. Many cities and counties have given 30-day grace periods, but some building departments say they will now crack down on scofflaws."

5. Construction costs decrease for first time in 10 years (Construction Dive)
"A variety of pandemic-related forces have caused construction costs to decline slightly for the first time in a decade, which could lead contractors to feel a pinch in profits."

6. White House scrambles on nursing homes as COVID-19 surges (Associated Press)
"Fearing another grim wave of nursing home deaths as COVID-19 cases rebound, President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his administration will provide $5 billion to help facilities counter the virus."

7. US Single-Family Rent Growth Posts Significant Drop (Globe St)
"Prior to the pandemic, the national rental price growth had been a stable 3%."

The Architectural Billings Index measures the general sentiment of U.S. architecture firms about the health of the construction market by measuring 1) design billings and 2) design contracts. Any score above 50 means that, among the architecture firms surveyed, more firms than not reported seeing increases in design work vs. the previous month.