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Will LA start building public housing again? Proposed legislation calls on city staffers to study European models for social housing and how they might be brought to Los Angeles Government-owned housing that would serve a mix of incomes could help LA crawl out of its deepening affordability crisis, says Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin, who announced a broad package of housing legislation at City Hall today. The Westside councilmember introduced what he’s billing as a local version of the “Homes Guarantee,” a national platform advanced by progressive housing advocates and Democratic Socialists to make housing a right. “We need to be,...

Phoenix construction cost increases outpaced nation in 2019 Photo by: Chaiyaporn Baokaew/Getty Images PHOENIX — The cost of construction in Phoenix rose faster than the national average during 2019, according to the Mortenson Construction Cost Index. While both the Phoenix and national averages tracked upward, the national average cost rose by 3.3 percent compared with Phoenix’s 4.5 percent increase. During 2018, Phoenix’s costs also trended slightly higher than the national average, and in 2017 Phoenix’s trend was equal to the national average. Reinforcing steel material was the building component that saw the largest increase from 2018 to 2019 in Phoenix,...

Wuhan to build second hospital for those infected in 15 days Excavators and bulldozers on Friday at a construction site on the outskirts of Wuhan where a hospital is being built to treat patients affected by the new coronavirus. It is due to be completed by Feb 3. A second dedicated hospital to treat such patients is also in the works. PHOTO: REUTERS BEIJING • China's Wuhan city will build a second dedicated hospital to treat patients affected by the novel coronavirus, the state-run People's Daily reported, a day after announcing the first one. Construction of the hospital, designed to have...

Eddystone company that recycles old glass into rocks plans a $24 million xpansion The Eddystone company, which last year doubled its capacity to recycle old glass bottles and jars into lightweight building material that resembles rock, plans to dramatically expand its output again this year with new money from Wall Street investors. Aero announced Tuesday that Valterra Partners LLC, a New York‐based private equity firm, closed on a $24 million investment that will allow Aero to add a third production line to its Delaware County plant, located in the former Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone. The investment will also fund Aero’s plans to...

Change in Construction Materials Could Transform Buildings Into a Global CO2 Sink Buildings can become a global CO2 sink if made out of wood instead of cement and steel. A material revolution replacing cement and steel in urban construction by wood can have double benefits for climate stabilization, a new study shows. First, it can avoid greenhouse gas emissions from cement and steel production. Second, it can turn buildings into a carbon sink as they store the CO2 taken up from the air by trees that are harvested and used as engineered timber. However, while the required amount of timber harvest...