Well, the World Series is over (congratulations Dodger fans), Covid-19 is boomeranging, and the Presidential Election is upon us. What a year...it seems to be lasting forever! On the bright side, in the construction industry we are seeing some positive news in recent weeks as some large construction projects continue to make progress and plans for some very large new projects are being announced. Let’s hope we will see a good resurgence in the economy and many new project announcements over the next year. This month, we profile a very interesting assignment which Beacon has been consulting on: The Catskill Aqueduct Repair & Rehabilitation Project. We have been providing construction consulting services to a leading Surety related to part of this project, which is a major rehabilitation project of a 104-year-old, 74-mile-long, water-supply aqueduct running from the Catskill Mountains to just north of New York City. Our team has consulted on many critical infrastructure projects over the years, but this is an important one because the aqueduct provides almost half of New York City’s water (more than 8.3 million people count on that aqueduct working right)...
The Catskill Aqueduct Repair & Rehabilitation Project is a $158-million water tunnel repair, cleaning, and rehabilitation project being undertaken by New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This is an important, high-profile project because the aqueduct is a critical part of New York City’s water supply system. The project, which started in late 2018, involves the rehabilitation of a 74-mile stretch of the aqueduct by cleaning the inside and repairing a number of leaks, replacing numerous valves at chambers connected to the aqueduct, and performing other structural and mechanical upgrades to ensure the proper function of the structure for many years to come...
Andrew Lem, E.I.T., joined Beacon in 2017 and quickly became a key member of our New York City construction consulting team. A native New Yorker who grew up in Northern Westchester County, Andrew is a graduate of Villanova University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. Since joining Beacon, Andrew has been involved in a wide variety of construction consulting assignments, covering all of the following areas. Andrew has also become the "go-to team member" in our New York office for construction loan monitoring and related services. His experience includes...
Mike Kinahan is a Project Manager in Beacon's Medford, MA office. We asked Mike to weigh in on some of the ways Construction Project Cash Flow issues can get contractors in trouble and what can be done to head off cash-flow-related problems before they get out of hand.
Question: Mike, how do contractors typically get in trouble when it comes to managing cash flow on construction projects?...
Happy Fall! I hope this message finds you well. As we enter the last quarter of this challenging year, there is some positive news in the construction industry. Recent reports show the U.S. construction industry bouncing back faster than most other sectors of the economy. For example, there have been solid gains in new construction starts, hiring, and project backlog (source: ConstructionDrive.com). In addition, a 2nd Quarter report by Marcum LLP indicates that the U.S. construction industry unemployment rate dropped down to 8.9%, a big improvement compared to the bleak situation back in the late Spring.
As we cautiously return to more normal conditions (at work and at home), Beacon's growing team continues to work hard on a diverse range of construction consulting projects for our clients. In this month's E-News we profile Elizabeth Paquet, one of our Construction Consultants working out of Beacons' New York office. Elizabeth has been working hard for our clients on a number of different high-profile Surety Consulting assignments over the past year. With more than two decades of industry experience, she is a great addition to our team. In other exciting news, Beacon has established a physical presence in Florida, as well as a European presence based in Ireland....
Elizabeth Paquet joined Beacon Consulting Group's team in 2019. With more than 20 years of construction industry experience and a Master’s Degree in Construction Management from Steven's Institute of Technology, Elizabeth’s background and deep industry knowledge have made her an invaluable member of Beacon's Construction Consulting team.
Elizabeth's experience in the construction industry goes back to her early teen years when she started working part time at her father's firm M.J. Paquet, Inc., a construction company specializing in complex heavy transportation projects for the public and private sector. During her high school and college years, Elizabeth started working full time during school breaks as an administrative assistant and intern at the company where she played an active role helping to support and manage large highway / infrastructure projects...
Beacon Consulting Group was hired by a leading Surety to consult on a bond default matter related to "The Shed," a recently built, $500-million visual arts and performing arts exhibition center in New York City's Hudson Yards. The 170,000-sf facility (also knowns as The Bloomberg Building) opened just over one year ago and is the cultural centerpiece of Hudson Yards, a $25-billion-dollar development project in Manhattan, which includes massive office and residential buildings, retailers, restaurants, bars, as well as other entertainment and outdoor spaces. Ideally located at the northern end of NYC's popular elevated park / walkway, The High Line, Hudson Yards has quickly become one of New York's most popular attractions for tourists and locals...
I hope your summer is going well. We are keeping busy here at Beacon, assisting our clients on a wide range of projects, including consulting on a number of construction projects delayed by Covid-19 and finding ways to help get them back on schedule asap. The construction industry is adjusting to the "new normal," which includes dealing with many postponed / delayed projects, managing construction sites differently to protect workers, and, for some GCs and Subcontractors, finding ways to survive through a period of economic uncertainty. In this month's E-News, we highlight some of the consulting services Beacon provides which help sureties, insurers, and construction companies during this challenging period. In particular, we have been very active in recent months working on Subcontractor Default Insurance (SDI) consulting assignments.
Kieran O’Connor is a key member of Beacon's management and construction consulting team. He has extensive experience providing Surety Consulting & Construction Project Management on projects across the U.S. Kieran is a tenacious, detail-oriented professional who serves Beacon’s clients with a very high level of professionalism and proficiency across a wide range of consulting areas. Since joining Beacon in 2011, Kieran has taken a lead role on numerous construction consulting assignments.
I hope this message finds you well and that things are beginning to feel more normal in your area. As the first half of 2020 comes to a close, we are living in a much different world compared to just 4 months ago. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to drastically change how we live and work. In the construction industry, we saw many job sites close down for weeks or months starting in early March, with re-openings varying on a state by state basis. As we enter the summer, many states have already given the green light for construction projects to restart. In some areas, construction never stopped (unless a project was directly affected by on-site personnel catching the virus). However, the pandemic continues to have a major impact on the industry...
