Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

On July 1, 2009, the Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consume Protection Act (HICPA), 73 P.S. §§ 517.1 et seq., became effective. HICPA is a consumer protection statute that regulates and governs home improvement contractors and their contracts with homeowners. HICPA provides, inter alia, that “[n]o home improvement contract shall be valid or enforceable against an owner unless it . . . [i]s in writing and legible.” 73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(1).

Work on the Allentown Hockey Arena, the future home of the Phantoms of the American Hockey League and the anchor to larger development plans in Allentown, has broken another log jam. The Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority has closed on funding for completion of the arena complex construction.

After the economy went south in 2008 and 2009, many parts of the construction industry suffered along with the economy at large. The housing sector – which reports now suggest may be in the process of a slight rebound – was hardest hit at the time. Because of the lack of work, many construction companies shifted their focus to public and institutional work. This sector seemed less impacted, perhaps largely due to money made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Philly.com reports that a deal has finally been struck between Post Brothers and the Philadelphia trade unions in relation to the Goldtex construction project. Congressman Bob Brady brought the two sides together at the Sheet Metal Workers union hall this week and brokered at least a temporary peace.

This summer, Pennsylvania became another in a lengthening list of states to pass legislation relating allowing public entities to enter agreements with private developers to manage the public entity’s interest in public projects. In essence, public transportation projects like toll roads can now be turned over to private entities to build, manage, and care for in return for a profit. The difference between this and the more traditional approach is that while the state or local governmental entity still owns the property in a technical sense, a private entity is the practical owner.

PennDOT District 5, out of Allentown, has started construction on improvements on I-176 between US 422 and Pa 724. The work is to include full depth reconstruction of the existing travel lanes, adding a collector/distributor lane for ramp traffic between the US 422 and PA 724 interchanges, and 3 new bridges among other things. Crews have started staging equipment and doing other preparatory work for the start of construction in earnest. The work is set to start on August 24th.

On July 1, 2009, the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA) went into effect in Pennsylvania. HICPA is intended to protect homeowners who hire contractors for home improvement projects.

Contractors may want to think twice before attempting to negotiate the terms of a Request for Proposal. You may face the risk of having your bid rejected in Pennsylvania.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its unemployment numbers for June. While the overall picture remains uninspiring, there was a slight bump in construction employment. This increase was driven mostly by an increase in hiring for specialty contractors in the multi-family residential sector.

This being an election year, immigration policy is being debated again in national politics. It is an especially hot topic given the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on Arizona’s immigration law and President Obama’s announcement that he will no longer prosecute illegal immigrants in certain demographics. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has now become part of the debate.