Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

Kevin Amadio of Kaplin Stewart’s construction practice group has been appointed co-chair of the Construction and Public Contract Law Committee of the Montgomery Bar Association for 2018.  

Philadelphia is set to launch Atlas, a  comprehensive database which provides deed information, permits, 311 data, crime statistics, zoning appeals, and the registered community organization (RCO) for Philadelphia properties.  https://philly.curbed.com/2017/11/7/16617296/philadelphia-properties-land-vacant-lot-atlas-map-tool  

The Chicago Tribune recently reported that two European developers are planning a mixed-use development that could include up to 20,000 modular homes on the former site of a U.S. Steel plant in Chicago. A division of Irish firm WElink Group and Spain-based Barcelona Housing Systems (BHS) has entered into an agreement to purchase the 440-acre site. WElink builds energy-efficient modular housing, and BHS uses solar power and recycled materials in its homes. Closing on the property is to occur within five months. It is anticipated that the development would likely include low- and mid-rise buildings, parks and a marina. Developers are increasingly using modular and offsite construction to speed up construction and overcome skilled-labor shortage. Modular factories offer efficiencies which produce either whole rooms or room segments concurrently with site work and other site operations. This efficiency can significantly streamline the project schedule. A number of commercial developers, including Marriott, have made public commitments to use modular construction to reduce costs and achieve overall efficiency. It recently announced that it planned to incorporate modular in approximately 13% of its total North American hotel deals this year. That would translate to approximately 50 hotels that will include some element of modular building. Although most of the growth in modular in the U.S. has come from the multifamily and hospitality sector, some single-family builders are also using the method. Entekra, An Irish developer, Entekra, plans to build volume modular housing in the U.S. It claims that its model can produce the components for […]

Robert Korn, Esquire will be presenting at PBI’s Mechanics’ Liens in Pennsylvania.  Receive a refresher and get the latest updates on the Mechanics’ Lien Law. The 2007 amendments Pennsylvania’s Mechanics’ Lien Law made dramatic alterations to that law, changing, and in some cases, reversing, the balance of power among owners and claimants. But those amendments were only the beginning. If the 2007 amendments were a revolution, the ten years that followed brought an almost constant evolution of the law. In addition to the four sets of amendments the General Assembly made over that period, faced with a steady stream of mechanics’ lien cases, the courts have contributed significantly to what is a very different looking Mechanics’ Lien Law landscape. This course provides a framework for attorneys new to mechanics’ liens in Pennsylvania as well as an up-to-the-minute update on recent case law and legislation that will be valuable to even the most experienced practitioners. Find out about the latest developments in the Pennsylvania Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act Hear the differencing perspectives on the Mechanics’ Lien Law from counsel for claimants, owners and lenders.Learn about some of the ethical considerations that apply in working with mechanics’ liens Discuss and learn the answers to the following questions: How have the courts been applying the Supreme Court’s 2014 Bricklayers decision, and how should counsel proceed in the face of what sometime appear to be inconsistent approaches by the lower courts? What have we learned in the first months of operation of the State […]

On May 15, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States reaffirmed that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts state laws placing agreements to arbitrate on weaker footing than other types of contracts.  In Kindred Nursing Centers L.P. v. Clark, the Supreme Court found that: “A court may invalidate an arbitration agreement based on ‘generally applicable contract defenses,’ but not on legal rules that ‘apply only to arbitration or that derive their meaning from the fact that an agreement to arbitrate is at issue.’”  A copy of the Kindred case may be found here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/16-32_o7jp.pdf  

via:www.cbre.us Philadelphia – February 6, 2017 – The rapid growth of e-commerce has created a big trend in U.S. industrial markets: a proliferation of warehouses spanning 1 million sq. ft. or larger. The massive warehouses and distribution centers have sprouted from Southern California to Philadelphia, clustering around metro areas that provide the mix of road, rail and sea access that e-commerce users covet, according to a new report from CBRE Group, Inc. All told, 117 such facilities were built across the U.S. from 2010 to 2016 for a total of 141.2 million sq. ft., which shows an increase from the 99 facilities built between 2003 and 2009, according to CBRE. The markets in which the most big-box construction occurred in the 2010-2016 timeframe are led by Philadelphia, California’s Inland Empire and Dallas/Fort Worth. Top Markets For 1 Million-Sq.-Ft. Warehouses Built 2010-2016:   Rank Market Number of Buildings Total Sq. Ft. (millions) 1 Philadelphia 16 19.7 2 Inland Empire 13 15.4 3 Dallas/Fort Worth 13 14.7 4 Atlanta 12 13.8 5 Chicago 9 11.7 6 Memphis 3 4.1 7 Columbus 3 3.4 8 Cincinnati 2 3.3 9 Indianapolis 2 2.2 10 Phoenix 1 1.2 Looking ahead, the busiest markets for on-going construction of 1 million-sq.-ft. warehouses are led by the Inland Empire, Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Across the 10 busiest U.S. markets for this type of construction, 29 such facilities are underway. “The Eastern Pennsylvania market is poised to see continued demand for large 1 million-sq.-ft. warehouses along the I78/I81 corridor,” […]

OSHA new regulations for electronic reporting and tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses are now in effect.  These regulations apply  to employers with 20-249 employees in high risk industries and employers with over 250 employees in all industries.  Click on the below link for details of OHSA’s new regulations: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/how-to/growth-strategies/2017/02/what-you-need-to-know-about-osha-s-new.html

byMelissa Romero via philly.curbed.com Last year, Philly experienced a building boom, with more than 1,200 building permits issued for new construction. That’s a 20 percent increase from 2015, and there are no signs of this trend slowing down in 2017, according to a new analysis. FixList, a Philly-based online company that provides real estate data for investment opportunities throughout the city, recently compiled a treasure trove of information about new building and zoning permits issued in Philly from 2011 to 2015. The report’s findings reveal which neighborhoods are slowing down or experiencing a construction boom, as well as what kind of projects are being built. A couple of key details from their findings: 91 permits were issued for towers in the last 5 years No surprise here: A lot of high-rises are under construction in Philly (at least 25 by our last count). FixList found that of the 91 permits that were issued for mixed-use towers (zoned CMX4 and CMX5), 31 are still in play. In fact, five more permits have already been issued in the new year. Construction is slowing in Northern Liberties, rising in Strawberry Mansion It’s no surprise that building permits for new construction is on the rise in popular neighborhoods like Fishtown and Kensington. But there are some other neighborhoods where the building boom may not seem so apparent. For example, there were 37 building permits for new construction issued in Strawberry Mansion in 2016—that’s a huge increase given the fact that in 2011 just one […]