Ridley Windows & Doors Inc.

It's the most expensive home ever to be sold in Canada.

The 90-year-old Edgemere Estate in southeast Oakville is on the market for a cool $45 million. "I've actually had calls asking me if the price was a misprint," smiles agent Elise Kalles of Harvey Kalles Real Estate, the listing agent on the property. "But when they see for themselves, they understand why it's worth every penny." Driven by heady corporate profits, luxury properties have been on an unprecedented tear with prices in the Greater Toronto Area that seem closer to Beverly Hills than Hogtown. Canada's priciest estate features a 32,000 square foot main home on 5.7 hectares of parkland. It had its beginnings in 1907 when it was purchased by James Ryrie, a Toronto jeweller. Since then it has been owned by a mining executive and a stock broker. It is currently owned by the family of a well-known Canadian developer and home builder, who has requested that names not be disclosed. In addition to the nine-bedroom Georgian styled home, there is also a two-storey guest cottage on site along with a four-car garage and coach house, all situated on 1,000 feet of Lake Ontario shoreline.

The amount of advertising on Toronto streets should be reduced, councillors on the city's works committee have urged.

Councillors took one step toward awarding a 20-year, $400-million contract to a firm willing to provide the city with bus shelters, garbage cans and other "street furniture" items in return for the right to sell ads. But they insisted that "functionality and beauty considerations" should drive the decision on who gets the contract, ahead of advertising concerns. In addition to transit shelters and garbage cans, the contract will cover benches, newspaper boxes, poster kiosks, public washrooms and possibly bicycle racks for city streets. The city figures it can't easily find the money to pay for the 15,000-odd items, which could cost a total of $130 million. Instead, if the committee's recommendation is adopted, city council will invite private companies to bid for the right to provide the items and to sell advertising on selected pieces. Having a single contract will allow for a unified design across the city, the staff report notes. Critics of the scheme, many of them members of the Toronto Public Space Committee (TPSC), are worried the proposal will mean advertisers will dictate the design and placement of public amenities.

I wept when Crangle's Collision shut its doors. I wept again when the McGregor Socks factory did the same. Both are in the neighbourhood where I work, an urban hot spot known as King West. It's a few blocks west of downtown Toronto and it's suddenly alive with construction and demolition, openings and closings, renovations and renewals. The end of Crangle's, a crude art-deco fixture near the corner of King and Bathurst streets since the Second World War, meant I had to find a new repair shop for my cursed Volkswagen Passat. I'm still looking; Crangle's, as far as I can tell, was the last of its kind in this part of the world. Ditto McGregor. Where do I buy the cheap socks that my kids apparently bury in the garden after one wearing? On the other hand, if I want to blow $200 on a lunch or dinner, or join an overpriced gym, I have enough choices to make my head spin like a radar dish.

I knew the convenience of Crangle's and McGregor was a luxury that couldn't last. Values in the neighbourhood are soaring along with the roof lines.

The Crangle boys -- old man Les and sons Gary and Larry -- hinted years ago that it was only a matter of time before their 1.6-acre site would get snapped up by a developer.

As far as I could tell, the trio loved their jobs and loved the place's pleasantly low-tech atmosphere. Remove the old black-and-white car posters and the front office, with its wooden cubicles and ancient filing cabinets, could have starred in a 1940s private eye movie. They lost no money in waiting as long as they did to sell. The deal came last year and Crangle's closed at the end of January. "The property became more valuable than the business," one of them said.

The price: $13.2-million, and the buyer -- no surprise -- is a condo developer. Freed Developments, led by Peter Freed will build a $150-million, 17-storey building that will contain about 340 condo and 95 hotel units.

City has some catching up to do if it wants to compete with the 905 region, says Glen Grunwald

We know what it means when people say that a sports team is competitive. It means it has the ability to go up against any other team in the league with a better than 50-50 chance of winning. But what does it mean when someone says that a city or a region is competitive? Who is in the competition and what is the prize? These days, every city in the world is competing for jobs and investments, hoping for the prize of a better economy and higher quality of life. When new employers come to town, they create job opportunities for residents, invest in local suppliers and services, attract more skilled workers, and boost demand for everything from home construction to new car sales. All of this economic activity puts more money in people's pockets, and in the coffers of governments, which can then use it for the public good. So, being a competitive city is an absolute must if you want to also be a successful city. According to a recent report by the highly respected accounting firm KPMG, the Greater Toronto Area has what it takes to be competitive. The 2006 Competitive Alternatives Study says the GTA ranks right up there with Atlanta as the most cost-competitive larger urban area in North America.

Aecon Group Inc. today announced that its Construction and Materials division has been awarded a $36.5 million
contract by GO Transit to design and build a rail-to-rail grade separation in Markham, Ontario. The project involves designing and constructing a 1.5 km concrete-walled open tunnel through which the GO transit rail line would run, as well as two bridges - one where the tunnel passes under the CNR tracks at what is called the 'Hagerman Diamond' in Markham, and the other where the tunnel passes under 14th Avenue. Aecon is the general contractor on the project and will self perform the excavation, drainage, tunnel construction, bridge construction and much of the utilities work on the project. The design work has been subcontracted to a team headed by Totten Sims Hubicki Associates. Construction will begin in late
May and is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2007. "Aecon's unique ability to perform both the civil construction and
utility installation elements of a project like this gives us a significant advantage in the market," said Teri McKibbon, President of Aecon's Civil and Utilities Group. "We are very pleased to be able to provide GO Transit with a total solution to this complex construction challenge."

Has Toronto the good returned? An interesting development at a city council committee earlier this month suggests some of that old residual attachment to Sunday as a day of rest still lurks in the heart of Canada’s most secular city.

A proposal was passed by the planning and transportation committee to ban construction noise on Sundays and holidays in low-rise residential neighborhoods. It seems some of the good burghers get annoyed with the hammering of nails and whine of power tools. They like their Sundays quiet and, well, restful. For good measure, they could have included the roar of leaf blowers and din of lawnmowers. But we digress. The proposal, to be considered in late May by the full council, was greeted with some predictable responses. The self-appointed religion police wanted to know whether this was a surreptitious nod to Christianity (Why not have it on the Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath? They asked suspiciously.) The construction industry was in high dudgeon, declaring that no government was going to tell its employees they could not work whenever their bosses told them, Sundays included. “This means that you will have to take a day off work to build a deck in your backyard,” Paula Tenuta of the Greater Toronto Homebuilders’ Association told the Globe and Mail. Oh, the horror!

The Universal Workers Union, Local 183 supports today's federal budget because it addresses a number of important initiatives to Canadians. Local 183 Business Manager Tony Dionisio stated that "Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has delivered on key election commitments and we hope that the opposition parties support this budget." As a construction union based in south-central Ontario, Local 183 believes that Canadians are looking for certainty and that this budget, if passed, will result in greater consumer confidence. Dionisio added that "Canadians want to move beyond political gamesmanship and begin to build a stronger Canada."

The federal government will review the operations of Toronto's Port Authority and its island airport, Transportation Minister Lawrence Cannon said Monday. Cannon has hired Roger Tass é, a senior bureaucrat and former deputy minister of justice and deputy attorney general, to conduct the review. Tassé's report, due by Sept. 1, will examine practices of the Toronto Port Authority, including the millions of dollars in property taxes it allegedly owes the city. The report will also look into the authority's decision to sign a contract to build a bridge to the island a week before the 2003 municipal election. The bridge was a major election issue, with Mayor David Miller campaigning against its construction during the campaign, arguing a busy commercial airport has no place on the waterfront. Miller welcomed the review, saying he has long believed that the authority, which runs the airport, has conducted itself in a secretive manner. New Democratic Party MP Olivia Chow said she would seek a moratorium on any further spending by the authority until the review is completed.

ANDY HOFFMAN in the Globe and Mail reports; Real estate agents happy when Starbucks decides to open a new location in a neighbourhood in which they work. They say the upscale coffee chain's choice of where to locate is usually a harbinger of bidding wars to come.

On the northeast corner of Queen and Logan streets in Toronto's up-and-coming Leslieville neighbourhood, three men are demolishing a wall separating a pair of vacant storefronts and perhaps, unwittingly, raising the worth of nearby homes. The construction workers are building a Starbucks Corp. café -- and anyone considering buying or selling a home in Canada's frothy real estate market would be wise to take note. Market experts say the upscale coffee chain's choice of where to open its new stores is usually a harbinger of bidding wars to come. "When I see a Starbucks going in, I rub my hands together because I know property values are going up," said real estate agent Diane Walton. In what could be called the "Venti Indicator" (named for what Starbucks calls a large coffee), it is even more effective if one can anticipate well in advance where the company will go next. Ms. Walton said housing prices in Leslieville have nearly doubled in the past three years.

The McGuinty government's workplace health and safety strategy is producing dramatic results by preventing the human cost of workplace injuries and avoiding costs for businesses, Labour Minister Steve Peters announced today. "Fewer Ontarians are being injured at work, and businesses are avoiding huge costs," said Peters. "Our plan is working - we are well on track to reduce the lost-time injury rate by 20 per cent by 2008." As a result of the strategy, there have been 14,649 fewer lost-time injuries to Ontario workers over the past two years than there otherwise would have been. This has resulted in Ontario businesses avoiding over $960 million in costs associated with workplace injuries. A lost-time injury occurs when a worker loses wages as a result of a temporary or permanent work injury.

As part of the Subtle Technologies 2006 Festival in Toronto, the Canadian Design Research Network (CDRN) Parametric Design Workshop concentrates on the interplay between design and computation including modelling, simulation, form-finding, and fabrication. The workshop takes place from May 30-June 1, 2006.

Digital fabrication equipment will be available for the duration of the workshop, allowing cycles of development and testing. The event is generously supported by the Bentley Corporation, the University of Toronto Faculty of Architecture Landscape and Design, and the University of Waterloo School of Architecture.

Subtle Technologies Festival 2006 includes this workshop, exhibitions, film, receptions, and a four-day symposium exploring the theme "Responsive Architectures."

For more information on the workshop, please visit www.subtletechnologies.com/workshop/ and for full programming and registration, please visit www.subtletechnologies.com.

The Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC) has launched a design competition to bring a fresh new perspective to the 3.5-kilometre-long Central Waterfront. Five teams from around the world have been selected to participate in this six-week-long design competition. The result of this competition including design proposals and models will be presented in a series of public exhibitions and a presentation from each of the design team.

Please come and join TWRC and the five design teams for this event from 6:30pm-9:00pm on Monday, May 15, 2006 at BCE Place, Allen Lambert Galleria, 181 Bay Street in Toronto.

The exhibition will run from May 15-26, 2006 at BCE Place, Harbourfront Centre and selected shopping centres in Toronto. More details will follow.

This project is anticipated to result in both a vision for the length of the water's edge promenade and Queen's Quay Boulevard from Stadium Road to Parliament Street as well as detailed designs for the heads of the slips. The purpose of the exhibition is to obtain public responses to the five designs before the jury convenes to select a winning proposal. The implementation of the winning scheme will initiate with the construction of the heads of the slips which is anticipated to have a groundbreaking in the fall of 2006.

The Market Square Advisory Committee of the City of Stratford is pleased to announce the Stratford Market Square Design Competition. Professional designers, architects and planners have been invited to prepare urban design proposals for the Market Square site.

The competition opens April 1, with the final deadline for registration on July 7. Submissions will be received until September 8, 2006.

The objectives of the design competition are to stimulate imaginative architectural and urban design proposals that respond to the Stratford Market Square's context, constraints and opportunities; to achieve design excellence and to improve the downtown core of the City of Stratford.

"The community clearly sees the Market Square as our space – a special place for the people of Stratford", says Marcia Matsui, Chairperson of the Market Square Advisory Committee. "Market Square has the potential to become the dynamic heart of the city – a public focal point that invites residents and visitors to enjoy the beauty of City Hall and to linger, interact and attend gatherings in the downtown core."

The winning design will be announced September 27, 2006. The public will be able to review all design submissions and provide input to the competition at a public open house prior to the final judging of the competition.

The winning submission will receive a cash prize of $3,000 and will be recommended to Stratford City Council for implementation. An honourable mention will receive a cash prize of $1,000.

George Baird, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto is the chairperson of the competition jury. Professor Baird is a partner in the Toronto-based architecture and urban design firm Baird Sampson Neuert Architects Inc.

For the second year running, paint manufacturer Benjamin Moore & Co. will honor outstanding use of color by architects and interior designers in residential and contract projects. The Call for Entries for the Benjamin Moore Hue Awards--a.k.a. the HUEYs--is now available online. This year the competition heats up--applications will also be accepted from Canada. Submissions, which must be received by May 19, can be applied to four categories: Residential Interiors, Residential Exteriors, Contract Interiors, and Contract Exteriors. A Lifetime Achievement Award will also be bestowed on an individual architect or designer “whose color talent has resonated and helped influence generations of others,” according to press material. The Awards recognize design professionals who incorporate color in innovative and imaginative ways--through the use of interior and exterior paints, building materials, textiles and other surfaces, plus design elements and furnishings.
The lucky winners will each receive a $5,000 cash prize and an original sculpture by renowned glass artist Robert DuGrenier.

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The Bay

The value of residential building permits in British Columbia jumped 30.7 per cent in March over February -- the biggest gain in the country -- further proof that the red-hot construction industry is only going to get busier. The heat comes from multi-unit buildings, where permits soared 81 per cent in March -- to $385 million from $212 million -- according to seasonally-adjusted numbers released Thursday by Statistics Canada. The value of permits for single-family units dropped slightly, from $344 million to $343 million.

In the Vancouver census metropolitan area -- roughly the Greater Vancouver Regional District -- residential permits were up 50.7 per cent to $406.6 million. Cameron Muir, senior market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said capacity or supply-side constraints had kept housing starts low in 2005. "We had a little bit of a stutter last year in the number of housing starts because we had housing starts ramp up every year until the end of 2004 and then in 2005 we saw them fall back a little bit," Muir said. "[Builders] simply didn't have the ability to build more than they were building." Now builders and developers have been able to complete projects and have increased their capacity to build more, hence the rising number of building permits and housing starts, Muir said. The geographical limitations of Vancouver is why three-quarters of all housing starts are on the multiple-unit side, he said. "So what it really means is increased density," Muir said.
Peter Simpson, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders' Association, said his organization is surprised by the continued strength of the housing market.

Lawyers square off in fight over project reports JONATHAN WOODWARD in The Globe and Mail

More than 100 protesters packed a Vancouver courtroom yesterday as teams of lawyers began what is expected to be a lengthy legal battle over the future of a planned highway through Eagleridge Bluffs. The project manager for the Sea-to-Sky Highway contractor took the stand to defend the way his company had navigated an environmental-approval process as both sides tried to persuade B.C. Supreme Court Judge William Grist to issue an injunction against the other. "If there is no injunction, this land will be laid to waste in five or six days," Dwight Harbottle, a lawyer for the protesters, said yesterday.
The scheduled courtroom had to be abandoned for a larger one because so many protesters turned up for court. They included several who had camped since mid-April in front of construction machinery. After two years of fighting the provincial government, they say this is their last hope to save the fragile ecosystem of the bluffs. Last week, contractors Peter Kiewit Sons Co. asked the court for an order to remove those protesters on the grounds the company faces "considerable" losses -- in the order of $150,000 -- each day they wait.

The value of building permits rose by 22 per cent in Saskatchewan in the first three months of the year, largely on the strength of residential projects, according to Statistics Canada.

The latest report from the national number cruncher showed permits worth $79 million were issued in March. In total, permits worth $238 million were issued in the first three months of the year, compared with $194 million during the same period last year. Of that, $112 million was for residential housing -- up 38 per cent from one year earlier. Permits for non-residential, including commercial construction, increased by 11 per cent to $125 million in the first three months of the year.
Saskatchewan's increase reflected the national trend, with the value of building permits issued by municipalities increasing by 5.3 per cent in March to reach their second highest level on record as builders took out $5.5-billion worth of permits.
Statistics Canada says that while construction intentions remained high in the housing sector, the strong showing came largely from planned investments in non-residential building construction. These results bode well for workers in both the residential and non-residential construction sectors, since permits are a leading indicator of building activity. After a strong 15.3 per cent increase in February, the value of non-residential permits surged another 15.1 per cent in March to $2.1 billion, or 16.1 per cent higher than the average monthly level in 2005. The strong results in March came largely in the wake of hospital-related construction projects. In the housing sector, the value of permits remained unchanged from February and totalled $3.4 billion, with a slight decline in the single-family component offset by a gain in permits for multi-family dwellings.

I’m a businessman and I look out for the bottom line.

So, what is the cost of homelessness in Toronto?

Let’s see now … have a look at these statistics — thanks to the Parkdale Community Legal Services website - that were prepared by the Community Partners Program of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in 2005.

Monthly Costs for One Person
Type of Housing
Cost per Month

Correctional Facility: Adult
$3,920

Correctional Facility: Young Offender
$8,317

General Hospitalization
$4,800

Psychiatric Facility
$11,400

Shelter/Hostel: $40 to $90 per day
$980 - $2,400

Homeless (health, police, support costs)
$4,883

(Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, 2004)

Compare these numbers to the monthly cost of providing a new non-profit unit - $1,100, according to the Ministry. Even the monthly carrying charges of a new condo unit are less than the cost of keeping someone homeless! According to the City of Toronto’s own statistics, there are 4,798 shelter beds in the city, costing on average $59.88 per night per person, or about $19,966 annually. On average, there are 3150 people using a shelter bed any given night. On the other side, the city says that average rent for a Toronto one-bedroom apartment is $910.00, a month. If you add EHPP, this totals $12,457 per year. Now, compare the two numbers: $19,666 for a shelter bed $11,631 for a one-bedroom apartment. To the bottom line, this means an annual savings on average of $8,035 per person if that homeless person was moved to that one-bedroom apartment. That’s about 40% savings! And, we are not counting either way for personal allowance needs, transit pass or food subsidies!

That’s just over $25 million dollars!

That’s the kind of money that really gets anybody’s attention!

Now, what would I do with that kind of money?.........

The Vancouver Port Authority's (VPA) office at Canada Place has achieved LEED-CI® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Commercial Interiors) Gold. This prestigious honour is awarded by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to leading-edge buildings that incorporate environmentally sustainable design, construction and operational features to reduce environmental impact. The award marks the Authority's latest achievement in its pursuit to lead environmental responsibility.

The 55,000-square-foot offices, located at Canada Place, were designed by the leading architectural firm of Bunting Coady Architects in conjunction with interior design firm Group 5. The offices are the largest LEED-CI® Gold certified project in Canada and were one of the first pilots for LEED-CI® in the world.

It's goodbye to Kyoto and hello to tax breaks on transit passes.

The lack of any mention in the federal budget of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was attacked by environmental groups, but Environment Minister Rona Ambrose insists the budget does plenty to help Canadians do their part in improving the environment. "We're giving Canadians incentives for the first time to encourage them to personally make the choices that are environmentally friendly in their lives," Ambrose said from Ottawa. "We are asking them to participate in our environmental solutions in cleaning up our own backyard. This is one step in the right direction." Encouraging Canadians to make environmentally responsible choices is a Conservative principle that is important to the government, she said. Ambrose said the government has committed $2 billion over the next five years to a "made-in-Canada" solution to global warming, but the most concrete initiative brought forward Tuesday was a tax break for public transit riders.

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and the Canada Council for the Arts are pleased to announce the winners of the Governor General's Medals in Architecture.

The following built projects and the architects responsible will be honoured:

•115 Studios - Cirque du Soleil
Les architectes FABG
Design Architect: Éric Gauthier (Montreal)

•Bibliothèque Municipale de Châteauguay
atelier TAG et Jodoin Lamarre Pratte et Associés Architectes en consortium
Design Architects : Manon Asselin, Katsuhiro Yamazaki (atelier TAG) (Montreal)

•Erindale Hall, University of Toronto at Mississauga
Baird Sampson Neuert Architects
Design Architects: Barry Sampson and Jon Neuert (Toronto)

•Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec
Lapointe Magne + Ædifica
Design Architect: Michel Lapointe (Montreal)

•Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens
Atelier in situ
Design Architects: Annie Lebel, architecte et Stéphane Pratte, architecte (Montreal)

•Maurer House
Florian Maurer Architect (Naramata)

•SC3-Smith Carter Workplace
Smith Carter Architects and Engineers Incorporated (Winnipeg)

•Schulich School of Business, York University
Hariri Pontarini Architects, Robbie/Young + Wright Architects In Joint Venture
Design Architect: Siamak Hariri (Toronto)

•Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Saucier + Perrotte architectes
Design Architect: Gilles Saucier (Montreal)

•Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne
atelier TAG et Jodoin Lamarre Pratte et Associés Architectes en consortium
Design Architects: Manon Asselin, Katsuhiro Yamazaki (atelier TAG) (Montreal)

•Théâtre Espace Libre
Lapointe Magne et associés
Design Architect: Michel Lapointe (Montreal)

•Unity 2
Atelier Big City (Montreal)

"Today, Canadian architects stand squarely with the best of their international counterparts as artists and craftspeople who strive not only for a physical expression of function and form, but also for an experience rooted in aestheticism and grace," said Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada.

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Denzil 'Dino' Ferguson, housing developer, inventor of the Fercon building system, and former president of the Jamaica Block Manufacturers' Association, died yesterday after a brief illness. Ferguson, 59, died in Maryland, USA, two weeks after he had gone there to seek treatment for advanced cancer of the bile duct. His body is being flown back to Jamaica for burial, family members said yesterday. Ferguson dedicated much of the latter part of his life to the development of the innovative Fercon system, which, he said, reduced the time and improved the accuracy of laying blocks, and could cut construction costs by 20 per cent. The system, which has been featured in the pages of this newspaper, took over 10 years to develop, and had neared a point of being launched on a national scale when Ferguson took ill. A worldwide search via the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) revealed no similar type in use.

The General Building Contractors Association in Philadelphia reached a tentative four-year agreement late Wednesday afternoon with the Operating Engineers Local 542, after securing a three-year tentative agreement with the Cement Masons & Plasterers Local 592 earlier that morning. A day earlier, GBCA and the Interior Finish Contractors Association reached a tentative agreement with the carpenters' union, resulting in carpenters returning to city construction projects that had been idle since Monday because of striking union members. The contracts for the unions had all expired April 30, But the Operating Engineers and Cement Masons & Plasterers Local 592 both agreed to forego a work stoppage during negotiations with the carpenters' union, officially the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, Metropolitan Regional Council of Philadelphia and Vicinity. Under the tentative deal, operating engineers will receive an hourly rate increase of $3.15 the first year, $3.15 the second year, $3.25 for the third year and $3.35 for the fourth year. Information on their hourly base rate was not available. Under the tentative deal struck Wednesday morning, Cement Masons & Plasterers Local 592 workers will receive an hourly increase of $3 the first year, $3.10 the second year and $3.15 the third year to their base salary of $27.25 per hour. In addition, $18 per hour is contributed toward their benefits package. The carpenters union reached a tentative, three-year agreement. Under the deal, city union carpenters will receive an hourly rate increase of $3.25 the first year, $3.30 the second year and $3.35 in the third year to their current hourly rate of $31.75. In addition, they will receive $16 an hour, the same figure as under the old contract, toward health, pension, welfare and other funds. Suburban union carpenters will receive an increase of $2.65 per hour in each of the three years.

Seventy-five years after it opened its doors, the Empire State Building looms large--and not just on the Manhattan skyline. In many minds, it remains the ultimate skyscraper, though it has been more than three decades since the Art Deco tower ceded its title of tallest in the world. Today, the Empire State is the ninth-tallest building (not counting communications or observation towers) and soon will be bumped down even further by new projects. Financing extremely tall towers can be complicated--even transporting people up and down can be difficult. But construction technology doesn't limit the heights of our skyscrapers, according to experts. And since humans remain ambitious and nations ever-desirous of flaunting their wealth and know-how, buildings are getting loftier by the year. "I think for a while we will keep building up and up and up," says architect Cesar Pelli, whose projects include the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, currently the second- and third-tallest towers in the world. "The desire is there."

When plans for the Moscow City Tower, which is expected to be completed in 2010, were unveiled in March, it was touted as "Europe's tallest building." At an estimated 2,000 feet high, it is actually the tallest in the world--or it would be if other structures, including the Freedom Tower in New York City, Burj Dubai in the U.A.E., and others still on the drawing boards, were not in the ongoing race for the sky.

A threat of a strike was averted as union members at Nevada Cement voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new five-year contract with the company. The existing contract with Laborers’ Union Local 169 and Teamsters Local 533 expired at 12:01 a.m. on March 25 after having been extended several times in attempts to reach agreement. Nevada Cement is the major supplier of cement among the western states and that product is a major ingredient in a critical construction material. The workers ratified the new contract last Monday (April 24) with their first vote and decided on pension issues with a second ballot. Both passed by substantial margins. Richard “Skip” Daley remarked a strike was possible but it would not have been in the best interests of all parties. “I’m happy with the agreement. We did as good as we could. It was a long hard, fight battle,” he said. Pensions were the remaining sticking point when negotiations adjourned earlier this month. The employees voted to reserve the right to allocate part of their wage increase, up to 25 cents per hour, toward pensions beginning in the second year of the new agreement.

Architects from across the state came to Albany today to discuss legislative proposals to advance the quality of life in the built environment on behalf of the Empire State's design professionals, construction industry and the public that they serve.
Scores of architects from every corner of the state met with their local legislative representatives to discuss issues pertaining to the practice of architects and improving the quality of life for the public, including support for reforms enhancing liability protection of architects and supporting initiatives for restorative community development.

Key legislative initiatives include:

-- Promoting livable communities and mitigating "suburban sprawl" through initiatives to revamp local, state and federal community planning and zoning practices and principles to revitalize development; encourage the re-generation of the physical fabric and infrastructure of our urban, suburban and rural communities across the state; and enhance and improve the quality of life for our residents.

-- Advocating for the repeal of the Wicks Law (the state's multiple prime contractor mandate) and continuing to favor repeal and/or legislation which would reform the Public Bidding Law for Construction Services, which would provide public owners the freedom to choose efficient construction methods.

-- Supporting the initiatives of the New Yorkers for Civil Justice Reform for comprehensive tort reform, which will restore fairness, balance and common sense to our civil justice system and which includes a ten year Statute of Repose for third party suits brought against design professionals and a Certificate of Merit provision before commencing suit.

-- Supporting legislation which provides liability protection for architects, landscape architects, engineers and land surveyors who voluntarily provide professional services in response to natural disasters or other catastrophic events.

-- Supporting legislation which recognizes that architects and other design professionals should be selected on the basis of professional qualifications and competence.

-- Endorsing state and federal funding initiatives and appropriations for the repair, maintenance and new construction needed to rehabilitate and modernize New York's schools so that students will be prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.

"Architects play an increasingly important role in the development and sustainability of our society," said Terrance E. O.Neal, AIA, president of AIA/New York State. "Coming to Albany and making sure that our elected officials understand the importance of these issues is critical to us and to every community in New York State."

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Cargo & Reload

Lumber sales started well in the U.S. northeast, but petered out as the week progressed. "Our customers are flush with inventory," said one trader, "with May off to a slow start, they’re buying moderately." Stocking wholesalers are convinced the complete lack of winter weather during the first quarter has allowed building programs to get ahead of schedule. Instead, the volume of direct rail buying is growing, as builders now have ample time to wait three weeks or more for delivery of lower priced rail lumber. Others have limited buying in hopes of a crack in prices. The pattern of buying in the northeast could also be changing, with on-ground lumber sales slowing. One stocking wholesaler says it no longer makes sense to maintain a large on-ground lumber inventory, because it’s very costly to maintain and there is little or no premium when the lumber is finally sold. This week selling prices for green fir edged higher for all sizes, while cargo hemlock selling prices held unchanged. Green fir delivered prices climbed for all items but 2x10. Green fir 2x12 remains scarce.

ESPF The Worst

Eastern spruce traders said this was without question the worst sales week since January 1, 2006. It was nothing short of incredible—no inquiry, no demand. The lack of sales was neither regional nor was it price or weather related. Nobody wanted to buy anything at any price. In transportation, trucks were easily available for tomorrow, but rail cars were giving shippers fits. Order files were a good two weeks, but that was mostly thanks to contract sales. Due to momentum from the previous week, prices on ESPF KD R/L Std&Btr 2x4 popped up $5 to $420 (US$, delivered Great Lakes - Columbus zone).

SPF vs. Douglas Fir

OSB

It’s easy to understand why some would view the softwood lumber agreement still being finalized with the U.S. as being good for Canada, but a closer look shows the deal struck by Prime Minister Stephen Harper is anything but that.
Yes, this deal should end the ruinously expensive litigation that can only benefit lawyers on both sides of the border, but the settlement accepted by Canada is simply not in our best interests. In return for rolling back US softwood lumber tariffs that have been deemed illegal by every court, Canada has accepted a 34-percent share of a US softwood market it should have full and free access to. That new quota, by the way, involves an export tax for our companies if lumber prices fall even a little. As well, the possibility of a quota, and who should get it, was causing friction between Canadian regions even before the deal was done. Our companies paid $5 billion in duties for goods exported to the US since 2002, yet the deal only requires them to return $4 billion, without interest. The difference, a cool billion plus interest, goes in part to the US Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports that caused the problem. One good point of this deal, maybe, is that our softwood lumber industry has seven years of stability, to recover from the bruising and grow in new directions. Let’s hope those making decisions focus on building new trade relationships ... with people who deal fairly, are bound by their words and do not pocket a billion here and there.

Stephen Harper's Conservative government stands to reap a windfall approaching $1 billion in taxes on duties being refunded to Canadian lumber producers under a controversial deal struck to end the softwood trade war with the United States. The deal, reached last week over the protests of some lumber producers, was supposed to mean the refund of 80 per cent of duties - totalling about $4 billion US - paid to the U.S. by Canadian firms during the four-year trade dispute. But many lumber companies are now facing hefty tax bills - in some cases, as high as 35 per cent - from the federal Conservative government on the duties as soon as they're refunded by Washington.

Canadian employers added 22,000 workers in April, more than forecast, on a rebound in factory jobs in Ontario. The unemployment rate rose to 6.4 percent as more people sought work, Statistics Canada said.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted the economy would add 15,000 jobs and leave the unemployment rate at 6.3 percent, according to the median of 22 estimates.

Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge said May 3 he may have to extend six interest-rate increases to control inflation in an economy strained by rising demand and growing worker shortages. The bank will probably increase borrowing costs at its next announcement on May 24, said Carolyn Kwan, an economist in Toronto with Scotia Capital.

``This report is going to put the bank's next move solidly in place,'' Kwan said.

The Canadian dollar was little changed after the report today, trading close to a 28-year high. The dollar fell to 90.29 U.S. cents at 11:02 a.m. from 90.32 cents yesterday. The Canadian dollar reached 90.76 U.S. cents on May 3, the highest since January 1978.

Stock markets moved modestly higher while the Canadian dollar cracked 90 cents US Tuesday morning, setting new 28-year highs amid optimism for the economy and higher oil and gold prices.

The loonie opened at 90.13 cents US, and traded later in the morning at 90.41, up 0.58 from Monday's close.

The Conservative minority federal government will present its first budget at 4 p.m. EDT, after financial markets close, but this wasn't a major factor in the latest loonie surge, said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotia Capital.

"For currency traders, actually, it's a bit of a non-event," he said, while noting that the government's solid fiscal surplus is a key component supporting the currency, along with strong global demand for Canadian energy, metals and other products.

"If we were to move back into a deficit situation at the government level, that would quite radically change the outlook for the Canadian dollar, but we don't think that's likely to happen," Osborne said.

He suggested that the currency could rise to 92.5 cents US over the next few weeks, with "a continuation of gradual Canadian-dollar appreciation over the medium to longer term as well."

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