September 16-23, 2002

HOLD ON FOR A MINUTE
Groudbreaking for permanent casino facilities in Detroit may be delayed, due to a Sept. 12th injunction issued by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That act is being seen as greatly favoring the cause of the Lac Vieux Desert tribe, which for the last five years has been challenging the city's casino selection process. At least some legal experts say the appeals court wouldn't issue an injunction unless there's a good chance the tribe will win its case. The appeals court said it would expedite its hearing but it looks like the earliest the case can be scheduled will be in January or February. Two of the casinos have said they'd like to begin work on their permanent facilities before the end of this year. One - MGM Grand Detroit - has even announced the selection of a joint venture team to build it, that of Perini Building Co. of Framingham, Mass., and L.S. Brinker Co., Detroit. Now it appears those contractors will be sitting on the sidelines, at least for several months. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick doesn't think the injunction will cause insurmountable problems. "This ruling won't impact the city's time line at all," he said in a written statement. "It is a standard practice of the courts, and we have confidence in the court system." Hey, that's good to know.

PLAYING HARD TO GET
In Washington, D.C., the House and Senate are still haggling over their own versions of a federal program to assist the insurance industry to cover acts of terrorism. The need has been apparent since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that resulted in the loss of 3,000 lives on American soil. Since that awful day, a recent survey by the Real Estate Roundtable estimates that more than 200 real estate transactions totaling about $11.5 billion have been canceled or delayed by the lack of such insurance. Released on Sept. 4, the survey points to problems created not only in our nation's capital and New York City, but in 12 states, including Michigan. Most of the survey respondents said they'd gotten some form of terrorism insurance this year but more than 66% said their policies didn't cover losses from biological, chemical, or radiological attacks. Office projects were the most affected, followed by apartments, industrial projects, and hotels. "Our findings confirm that the lack of adequate terrorism insurance coverage is worsening in terms of the dollar impact on the economy as well as its geographical scope," comments Nelson C. Rising, the roundtable's chairman and CEO. Mr. Rising is also chairman and CEO of Catellus Development Corp., San Francisco, Calif. Meanwhile, back on Capitol Hill, a conference committee to hammer out differences between the House and Senate bills has been formed, chaired by U.S. Sen. Paul D. Sarbanes (D-Md.) However, on Sept. 10 a spokesperson for the senator said no official meeting for the committee had been scheduled. But some, such as U.S. Rep. Michael Oxley (R-Ohio) have said informal discussions among the committee members are providing hope a compromise can be achived, possibly before the end of this month.

CLEARING THE WAY
It seems the $2 billion dream by developer Craig Schubiner and his Harbor Companies for an 80 acre site recently annexed by the City of Pontiac may become real after all. Last week a Michigan Court of Appeals panel agreed to sustain a ruling that stuck down a special election held by Bloomfield Township in an attempt to re-annex the land back from the city. According to township officials, Schubiner's mixed use project -which is to combine six 15-20 story office buildings with a 300 room hotel, a movie theater, restaurants, other commercial space, with 1,000 housing rental units - will change the character of the community. Hopefully for the better. The site is located along the east side of US-24 (Telegraph Rd.) just north of Square Lake Rd. The development is to be patterned along the lines of a similar project in Boca Raton, Fla., known as the Mizner Center.

BACK ON IN TROY
Whether this time around it will win acceptance is unclear. Still, late last month the Troy Downtown Development Authority released yet another economic feasibility study for the 124 acre Troy Civic Center. Envisioned in this plan is about $250 million in development, with $165 million provided by private investment and the remainder in public funds. According to the program, a 300-400 room hotel could be built, along with a 100,000 to 200,000 sq. ft. conference center and 100,000 sq. ft. of office space. Also included would be recreational space to accommodate an outdoor theater, a skating rink, and walking paths for nearby residents. Troy city officials have been floating civic center plans for the last ten years. The usual problem has held them all up - where will the money come from? Even so, at Big Beaver Rd. and I-75, the civic center is in an area that's highly prized by developers. Perhaps the time is ripe for an appropriate deal to emerge.

PUTTING NIST IN CHARGE
On Sept. 9 and by unanimous consent the U.S. Senate adopted a measure giving the National Institute of Standards & Technology the responsibility to investigate building failures. The institute was also provided the authority to gather the information it needs to conduct comprehensive probes. Lack of such authority is said to have hampered investigation of the World Trade Center tragedy. The House passed a very similar version of the bill last July. At this writing it was expected a conference committee would work out differences and have a final measure ready for President Bush's signature sometime this week. When that happens, NIST will be empowered to assemble an investigative team consisting of at least one of its employees but also including government and private sector experts and officials. A liability shield would be provided to private sector team members because the law will classify them as federal contractors. Presumably all this will speed the investigation process

A WEE BIT OF HELP
Tax credits to the tune of $19 million issued last week by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. are expected to boost the expansion of five businesses. Veridan Corp., an Arlington, Va., engineering services and software provider, received a ten year, $8.6 million credit for locating a research and development center in Ypsilanti. It's expect to house 245 workers. Southfield based Lear Corp. got a 10 year, $5.8 million tax break to create an engineering and development center for 150 workers in Plymouth. A $2 million, ten year tax credit was issued to Delmia Corp., a French manufacturing software designer, for building an office for 111 workers in Auburn Hills. L&W Engineering of Belleville received a $2 million, 11 year tax credit for relocating a subsidiary to a site in Monroe County's Summerfield Township. That's expected to generate about 200 jobs. Finally Universal Forest Products in Grand Rapids got a ten year, $852,000 tax break to assist in the expansion of a plant south of Kalamazoo. The project is expected to create 105 jobs.

CHANGING HATS
Some of you may know, or at least have met, Patrick J. Natale, PE, who has served as executive director of the National Society of Professional Engineers since 1999. Effective Nov. 1 he moves to a new office as executive director of the American Society of Civil Engineers. For the past three years Mr. Natale has also been the secretariat of National Engineers Week, a coalition of more that 40 engineering societies and corporations dedicated to greater public awareness and understanding of the engineering profession. Prior to his work at the NSPE, he was a senior executive at the Public Service Electric & Gas Company of New Jersey.

SET YOUR ALARM CLOCK
The breakfast meeting series of the Great Lakes Fabricators & Erectors Association is being re-inaugurated starting on Friday, Sept. 27, at 7:30 a.m. Jim Walker, executive director of the GLFEA, and Gerry Mendek, his new safety director, will be focusing "What You Need To Know About The New MIOSHA Steel Erection Standard." The program will consider design factors, such as anchor bolts, column splices, double connections, the slip resistance of structural members, and much more. As always, the event starts with breakfast followed a presentation that's about an hour long. It will be held at the Westin Hotel in Southfield's town center. Although it's free, reservations must be made (to provide an accurate head count for the chef). Please contact the GLFEA at 313/309-2000 to make your reservation or get more details. The meetings are a great place to network with steel construction professionals, including architects, engineers, contractors, and suppliers, while gaining up to the minute information before your business day gets underway.

Questions? Comments? Idea?
Please submit your responses to the Great Lakes Fabricators & Erectors Association as soon as possible. You can call our new offices in downtown Detroit at 313/309-2000. Or you can drop an email to Guy Snyder at guysny@concentric.net or call him at 313/961-9217. We hope to hear from you soon!