L.A.'s Downtown Revival
Looking Up
Last month, the developers announced the latest addition to the Los Angeles skyline and the latest entry in the downtown high-rise building boom: Park Fifth, a $1 billion hotel/condominium complex soaring above Pershing Square.

Park Fifth includes 732 condo units in two towers plus a 14-story, 218-room hotel. The tallest building will reach 76 stories, making it the highest residential tower west of Chicago. A 15-story bridge will connect it to a second 43-story tower, which will house the hotel. The 1.4-million-square-foot property will also have six floors of underground parking to serve residents and hotel guests.

Construction could start as soon as early 2008, and the smaller tower including the hotel could be open by 2010. The buildings are expected to feature concrete framing systems, with less floor-to-floor height than typical office buildings.

The Park Fifth developer is a group of local financiers lead by David Houk, including the Namco Capital Group and the Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. Architectural design is led by the New York firm Kohn Pedersen Fox.
Contact Attila Beres

Productivity, Efficiency Edge Upward in 2006
The cement industry continued to make gains in labor productivity and energy efficiency, according to the PCA's U.S. and Canadian Labor-Energy Input Survey 2006.

Among the report's key findings:

• U.S. labor productivity increased fractionally in 2006 with an industry average of 2.97 metric tons of cement being produced per employee hour. Productivity ranged from 5.28 to 1.02 tons per hour. U.S. cement industry labor productivity has advanced nearly 25% in the last ten years.
• The amount of energy required to produce one ton of cement averaged 4.649 million Btu/ton in 2006, a decrease of 1.1% from 2005 levels. Individual plant energy efficiencies ranged from 2.74 to 8.27 million Btu/ton.
• Canadian labor efficiency increased 6.4% in 2006 to 3.49 tons per hour. Labor productivity in the Canadian cement industry ranged from 7.44 to 1.53 tons per hour. Energy consumption decreased 1.2% in 2006 to 4.461 giga joules per ton of cement.

The U.S. and Canadian Labor-Energy Input Survey 2006 (available in PDF format) focuses on energy consumption by fuel type (including waste fuels) and contains aggregated historical labor and energy efficiency trends summarized by type of process, size of kiln, and age of plant. Individual plant detail is not presented. Cost is $300 (free to PCA members).
Download or purchase the report

Financial Execs Schedule Summer Meeting
The summer meeting of PCA's Financial and Administrative Executives Committee (FAEC) is scheduled for July 29-31, 2007, at the Omni Chicago Hotel. This year's program includes an updated forecast by PCA Chief Economist Ed Sullivan, a summary of pending issues in Washington by PCA vice president of government affairs John Shaw, an overview of the recently completed financial benchmarking survey, plus presentations on topics in finance, human resources, and accounting. Business sessions include a meeting of the Information Technology Subcommittee.

A spouse/guest tour includes a two-hour private trolley tour of Chicago's theater district, Board of Trade, City Hall, John Hancock and Wrigley buildings, and Millennium Park.
Contact Jim Rappel
Registration form (PDF)
Preliminary agenda (PDF)

Standard 189P ("Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings") will provide a baseline for sustainable design, construction, and operation of new commercial buildings and major renovation projects. It is not a rating or point system, but rather is written in mandatory language by a consensus-based committee for potential inclusion into building codes. Other uses could include application to government-owned buildings or as minimum criteria for building rating systems. Proponents hope the standard will eventually become a prerequisite for LEED certification.

The standard addresses energy efficiency, sustainable site selection, water usage, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. Concrete-related topics include site drainage, reduction of heat islands, regional materials, recycled materials, life-cycle assessment, durability, acoustical control, and low-emitting materials. Comments will be accepted through July 9, 2007.
Contact Dave Shepherd
Review the standard at www.ashrae.org

Jeff Buczkiewicz has been named executive director of the Mason Contractors Association of America. He previously served as executive vice president of the Building Stone Institute and before that directed membership and marketing activities for MCAA.

Results from Last Week:
Readers Not Sold on Sports Projects
Developers and city officials are increasingly turning to sports venues to anchor urban revitalization programs. Do you think these stadium projects deliver on their promise of jobs, tax revenue, and community development?

No (52.83%)
Yes (47.17%)

Notable Comments

" The new Busch Stadium complex in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, is a definite step towards community development."

"Yes and no. When done right, they revitalize an area. Look at [Chicago's] United Center as an example. There is a re-development all around it, especially to its west."

"Many times, it's a political give-away to the contractors and team owners. This is not right."

"Cleveland used new baseball, basketball, and football stadiums to help downtown."

In Houston, Texas, where I live, all sports combined add less than 2% to the overall economy. Nothing more than tax sinkholes."

"Sports franchises make enough money that they should build their own stadiums."

Take the current PCA Poll