Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (11/8/23) – New Handling of Homelessness, Decline in Investments into ESG Funds, and Shrinking of a Homebuyer’s Dollar
December 11, 2023 —
Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogOur latest roundup includes two large flood control projects in New Jersey, how residential REITs could benefit from higher interest rates, how the downfall of WeWork could cause expansive collateral damage, and more!
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Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team
Federal Regulatory Recap: A Summary of Recent Rulemaking Actions Taken or Proposed Affecting the Energy Industry
December 16, 2023 —
Anthony B. Cavender - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogIt is clear that these have been busy months for federal environmental regulators, especially those working at EPA, the federal departments and the Council on Environmental Quality. Even the Department of Agriculture has found itself coping with greenhouse gases (GHG) issues in its administration of the laws applicable to agriculture and the national forests. The ambitious scope of the current “all of government” approach may be discerned after learning how many disparate federal agencies are employed in implementing this policy. So many actions have been proposed or completed that some state officials are experiencing “comment fatigue” because they are being overwhelmed by the scope, size, and complexity of these federal initiatives. The Environmental Protection Agency is, of course, at the forefront of these actions and activities, as described below.
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Anthony B. Cavender, PillsburyMr. Cavender may be contacted at
anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com
Meet the Forum's In-House Counsel: RACHEL CLANCY
November 16, 2023 —
Jessica Knox - The Dispute ResolverCompany: Lobar, Inc.
Email: rachel.clancy@lobar.com
Website: www.lobar.com
College: York College of Pennsylvania (Bachelor of Science in Marketing, 2001)
Graduate School: Florida Institute of Technology (MBA in Acquisition and Contract Management, 2004)
Law School: Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law (JD 2007)
States Where Company Operates/Does Business: Headquarters are in Dillsburg, PA; construction projects located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and West Virginia
Q: Describe your background and the path you took to becoming in-house counsel.
A: Before law school, I spent three years as a Contract Specialist writing construction contracts for the Department of Defense, Naval Facilities Command in New Jersey. I had no idea I'd eventually find my way back to construction. After law school, I spent five years in the business department of a local law firm handling corporate formations, a variety of commercial contracts, and learning some real estate law. After another four years in-house with a data and marketing company in Harrisburg, I accepted my current position with Lobar, where I've been for the last seven years.
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Jessica Knox, Stinson LLPMs. Knox may be contacted at
jessica.knox@stinson.com
Portions of Policyholder's Expert's Opinions Excluded
November 13, 2023 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiThe federal district court granted, in part, the insurer's motion to exclude portions of expert testimony. Tundra M. Holdings, LLC v. Markel Ins. Co., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139952 (D. Alaska Aug. 10, 2023).
Plaintiff alleged a building it owned suffered damages consisting of building roof failure due to snow load. Plaintiff submitted a claim to Markel for its loss.
Plaintiff hired an engineering firm to conduct an inspection. The recommendation was to install snow guards and that 28 rafters be replaced with new beams. The evaluation did not state that the recommendation was required by law or ordinance. Nor did the evaluation make mention of replacing the metal roof on the building or anything about the water system or sprinkler system. Plaintiff then obtained an estimate of $687,500 for roof repair/replacement, store front repair, a sprinkler system installer and a water system upgrade.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
DOI Aims to Modernize its “Inefficient and Inflexible” Type A Natural Resource Damages Assessment Regulations
March 25, 2024 —
Amanda G. Halter, Jillian Marullo & Ashleigh Myers - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogThe U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) published a
proposed rule aimed at modernizing and streamlining the “Type A” Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) regulations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA). (The comment deadline was later
extended.) The revisions,
first previewed in a January 2023 Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR), are intended to fulfill “the original statutory purpose of providing a streamlined and simplified assessment process” with the overarching goal of facilitating settlements and expediting restoration efforts following injury resulting from pollution in a broader range of cases.
The NRDA regulations provide two paths to assessing natural resource damages (NRD): (1) the more complex, site-specific Type B procedures for detailed NRDAs and (2) what is intended to be the standard, simplified Type A assessment procedures requiring minimal field observation. Particularly, the Type A process is reserved for two specific aquatic environments (coastal and marine areas or Great Lakes environments) when a relatively minor release of a single hazardous substance occurs, resulting in a smaller scale and scope of natural resource injury, and the rebuttal presumption for the Type A procedure is limited to damages of $100,000 or less under the current version of the rule.
Reprinted courtesy of
Amanda G. Halter, Pillsbury,
Jillian Marullo, Pillsbury and
Ashleigh Myers, Pillsbury
Ms. Halter may be contacted at amanda.halter@pillsburylaw.com
Ms. Marullo may be contacted at jillian.marullo@pillsburylaw.com
Ms. Myers may be contacted at ashleigh.myers@pillsburylaw.com
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National Engineering and Public Works Roadshow Highlights Low Battery Seawall Restoration Project in Charleston
April 29, 2024 —
Engineering and Public Works RoadshowCHARLESTON, SC — On Thursday, the nationwide Engineering and Public Works Roadshow stopped at the Low Battery Seawall Restoration Project in Charleston. The event highlighted the role engineers and public works professionals play in infrastructure projects like the local seawall improvements that increase coastal resiliency along the historic urban shoreline.
The event, which took place along the newly constructed battery wall section between King Street and Battery Place along Murray Boulevard, marked the latest stop of the Engineering and Public Works Roadshow – a joint effort by the American Council of Engineering Companies, the American Public Works Association, and the American Society of Civil Engineers to bring public attention to the essential role engineers and public works professionals play in making our modern world possible.
The battery project underscores the importance of innovative engineering solutions in addressing the challenges of climate change and rising sea levels. Thursday's event was also a chance to spotlight the engineering, construction, and public officials involved in the project, whose work often goes unrecognized.
About the Engineering and Public Works Roadshow: The Engineering and Public Works Roadshow is a series of nationwide events highlighting critical infrastructure projects and the skilled professionals who make them possible. It is an opportunity to learn about the importance of infrastructure investment, showcase the work of engineers and public works professionals, and celebrate these projects' positive impact on our communities. Learn more at www.infrastructureroadshow.org.
1 De Haro: A Case Study on Successful Cross-Laminated Timber Design and Construction in San Francisco
November 06, 2023 —
Cait Horner, Adam J. Weaver & Allan C. Van Vliet - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogAt the intersection of San Francisco’s SOMA, Potrero Hill and Showplace Square districts, a first-of-its-kind building offers an example of the potential widespread success of mass timber construction in the United States. 1 De Haro, a 134,000-square-foot, 4-story office and light industrial project built by Bay Area developer
SKS Partners is not only the first cross-laminated timber (CLT) building in the San Francisco, it is also the first multistory mass timber building of its type to be fully executed in California and the first CLT project in the United States to be delivered via railways. We recently sat down with Yvonne Fisher and Lee Ishida of SKS to discuss the unique design process, marketing success and overall industry buzz surrounding one of their latest
projects.
Reprinted courtesy of
Cait Horner, Pillsbury,
Adam J. Weaver, Pillsbury and
Allan C. Van Vliet, Pillsbury
Ms. Horner may be contacted at cait.horner@pillsburylaw.com
Mr. Weaver may be contacted at adam.weaver@pillsburylaw.com
Mr. Van Vliet may be contacted at allan.vanvliet@pillsburylaw.com
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AMLO Hits Back at Vulcan, Threatens to Use Environmental Decree
December 04, 2023 —
Maya Averbuch & Eric Martin - BloombergMexico’s president threatened to declare a disputed property owned by
Vulcan Materials Co. an environmentally protected area, after failing to reach an agreement with the US construction firm.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Vulcan continued work at the site even while in talks with his government over its potential purchase of the property, which was occupied by Mexican marines in March. Accusing the company of “vile trickery,” AMLO — as the president is known — told reporters Friday that he would act by decree if necessary to halt the destruction in “one of the most beautiful areas in the world.”
His comments came a day after Bloomberg reported that the Alabama-based firm was seeking the Biden administration’s protection from what it sees as the
threat of a hostile takeover of its property. The 2,400 hectare (5,930 acre) plot south of the resort city of Playa del Carmen includes a port and a quarry.
Reprinted courtesy of
Maya Averbuch, Bloomberg and
Eric Martin, Bloomberg Read the full story...