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Philly saw nearly 9 percent increase in new construction in 2017 There’s no denying that construction sites are everywhere you look in Philly, especially with nearly 30 towers on the rise and even more smaller projects taking hold in neighborhoods throughout the city. But a new report reveals that construction growth may be slowing a bit, coming down from its peak a couple of years ago. Although more building permits were issued in 2017 than in 2016, there was still a major slowdown in the pace of new construction growth overall, according to Fixlist’s latest report. FixList, a Philly-based online...

New Construction Starts in December Rebound 12 Percent; Annual Total for 2017 Advances 3 Percent to $745.9 Billion   NEW YORK – January 25, 2018 – New construction starts in December climbed 12% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $733.3 billion, bouncing back following November’s 12% decline, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. December’s gain for total construction reflected varied improvement by each of the three main construction sectors. Nonbuilding construction (public works and electric utilities/gas plants) jumped 43%, lifted by the start of the $2.3 billion I-66 Corridor Improvements Project in northern Virginia. Nonresidential building rose 10%, aided...

The new urbanscape UCLA’s cityLAB works to engineer changes in the role of physical spaces Matt Harbicht/UCLA Magazine Architecture Professor Dana Cuff — cityLAB’s founder — in front of a reimagined Broxton Avenue in Westwood Village. For a few weeks in the spring of 2015, in a patio behind UCLA’s Broad Art Center in the northeast corner of campus, stood a new building. It wasn’t a classroom or a lecture hall. It was a house. Just 350 square feet, with a frame of two-by-fours and bent metal poles wrapped in translucent plastic sheeting, the house was aggressively unconventional — in...

With renewed vigor, UCLA’S William Andrews Clark Memorial Library reopens The building was closed for two years for seismic retrofitting and renovations Reed Hutchinson/UCLA The reopened UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library has undergone an extensive seismic retrofit and brought into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. UCLA’s William Andrews Clark Memorial Library is ready for the future. The archival and architectural treasure is home to the university’s renowned collection of rare books and manuscripts from England’s Tudor period through the 18th century, including the world’s largest repository of materials related to Oscar Wilde. After being closed for more...

Downshift in growth expected for the nation and California, says latest UCLA Anderson Forecast Travis Wise/flickr The forecast for California notes that the housing market could be dampened by the new U.S. tax bill that is expected to become law, which would reduce economic growth in the state. UCLA Anderson Forecast’s final quarterly report for 2017 presents a somewhat mixed outlook, as the United States awaits the outcomes of a number of initiatives and proposals that could affect the economy. For the nation, the near-term outlook is optimistic, anticipating a 3 percent growth in the economy, thanks to strong equipment...