Thread: California in building boom

California, Inland Empire in building booms: 6 things to know


Inland Empire construction firms added 12,200 jobs, or 14 percent growth, tops among major U.S. metro areas. Seen here, construction of the Riverside Community Hospital expansion in Riverside on April 27. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By JONATHAN LANSNER | jlansner@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: May 2, 2017 at 10:49 am | UPDATED: May 2, 2017 at 11:59 am


The Inland Empire is the nation’s regional construction hot spot, at least when it comes to one tally of employment.

And that same math ranks California best for building work among the states.

Here are six things we learned from the slicing and dicing of recent jobs reports by the Associated General Contractors of America and how March looks vs. a year earlier:

1. Inland Empire construction firms added 12,200 jobs, or 14 percent growth, tops among major U.S. metro areas.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties were followed by Atlanta (up 9,400 jobs, or 8 percent); Tampa-St. Petersburg (up 8,600 jobs, or 13 percent); Portland (up 6,300 jobs, or 11 percent) and Dallas (up 6,000 jobs, 5 percent).

2. The rest of Southern California was busy, too. Orange County added 5,000 workers or 5 percent. Los Angeles County was up 4,900 jobs or 4 percent. The four-county addition of 22,100 construction workers is roughly equal to the entire building industry’s employment in Detroit or Albuquerque or Tulsa.

3. Construction employment was up in 224 out of 358 metro areas tracked in the past year. Biggest losers were Pittsburgh (down 2,900 jobs, or 6 percent); Boston (down 2,300 jobs, or 4 percent); and Middlesex, N.J. (down 2,100 jobs, or 6 percent.)

4. As for the states, California was No. 1 adding 42,200 construction jobs, or 5.5 percent, in a year. Next was Florida (up 36,500 jobs, or 7.9 percent); Texas (up 18,900 jobs, or 2.7 percent); and Washington (up 12,200 jobs, or 6.7 percent).

5. California led 39 states with rising construction employment. Among the decliners were: Illinois (off 4,900 jobs, or 2.2 percent); Mississippi (off 4,800 jobs, or 10.4 percent) and Iowa (off 2,000 jobs, or 2.4 percent.)

6. The contractor trade group also noted that nationwide construction spending in March was at a record $1.218 trillion annual pace and is up 4.9 percent for the first three months of this year vs. 2016.

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/05/02...hings-to-know/

Renewable Natural Gas Offers California $14 Billion Economic Stimulus

New 800-home development gives Fresno's west of Highway 99 region a big push

BY BONHIA LEE
news@fresnobee.com
May 11, 2018 01:35 PM
Updated May 11, 2018 02:10 PM

Homebuilder Wathen Castanos Homes has big plans for west of Highway 99 in Fresno — a new home community with trails, parks and nearly 800 houses.

Construction has started on the first phase of Westerra, the first major residential development in years west of Highway 99. The premier planned community has no association dues or rules, which is typical of master-planned communities. And buyers have a large choice of floor plans from starter homes to houses with multi-generational suites and large living areas or extended dens to accommodate the diverse families who call the area west of Highway 99 home.

Westerra is a big deal for Fresno's No. 1 growth area, said Fresno City Council Member Esmeralda Soria, whose district includes the new development.

"The market is calling for more housing, in particular that type of housing," Soria said.

Wathen Castanos officially opens their Westerra model home center in west Fresno with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com


Demand for new homes where development has been sporadic over the years drove Wathen Castanos to the west side after years of building in Clovis and east of Fresno. The timing and the cost were also right. Together, it meant less risk for the builder.

"We noticed in the area there were only a couple of homebuilders," said Peter Castanos, vice president and one of the company's three owners. "Pricing (on land) had appreciated as much as in our Clovis community."

"To have pricing similar here in the west area of Fresno (compared) to our Clovis communities was startling," Castanos said.

The area has long been in the city's growth plan.

New home construction was robust during the housing boom, but foreclosures hit many neighborhoods during the bust. When the economy improved, commercial developers came back first with retail construction. There was high hope that developer Darius Assemi would start his Westlake development, just southwest of Westerra. But he postponed the project in 2014 because of high costs and uncertainty about the city's plan to grow.

A bonus room is an additional family room option in a Wathen Castanos model home in west Fresno, photographed on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com


On May 3, the first of several community meetings was held to begin talks about what residents want to see on the west side. The target area includes 38,000 people, Soria said. "We need to figure out the infrastructure. The more people that live out there, the more the roads will be used, the more traffic. We’re needing to plan for that."

Westerra is on the outskirts of town bordered on the north by Gettysburg Avenue, Hayes to the east, Ashlan to the south and Bryan to the west. It is located across the street from Harvest Elementary School and Glacier Point Middle School in the Central Unified School District where enrollment has increased 9.25 percent over the last decade to 15,893 students, the district said.

Diversity in style

The houses in Westerra range in size from single-story, 1,427-square-foot homes to 3,243-square-foot, two-story homes. Some models have flexible living options with rooms that can be used as offices, second dining areas or converted into suites for in-laws or college-age children. Prices range from the high $200,000s to high $300,00s. The multi-generational plans are popular with the many Indian and southeast Asian families who live in the area, Castanos said.

The majority of the buyers are of Indian decent, Castanos said. "They love this multi-generational plan because they have this family dynamic that is really cool … you've got three generations going on in there," he said. "In some cultures it's significant to have two sitting areas or dens or family rooms when gatherings happen, so (these designs) seem to make sense."

The new home development in west Fresno by Wathen Castanos has floor plans that offer separate mother-in-law suites or bonus room for family gatherings popular in southeast Asian and Indian cultures. Craig Kohlruss


The builder sold 22 homes before the models were built, a record for the company because it is often hard to sell when there is nothing for buyers to see, Castanos said. The first phase includes 120 houses.

Moving in

West-side resident Mandip SinghCQ drives the roads around Westerra often to his brother's house in the nearby Centex neighborhood. Singh, his wife and two daughters, ages 6 and 2, live in an apartment near Shields and Marks avenues. When the Westerra information trailer went up, Singh immediately stopped by to ask about buying a home.

He bought a three-bedroom home with an option for a fourth bedroom.

Singh, who is a truck driver, said his family has lived on the west side for six years. He said it was important to find a house in a quiet location on streets with little traffic and within walking distance to the elementary school.

"I want to buy the house because my family is growing up," Singh said. "My brother lives in that area and my parents … I have two babies, so my babies will go to school easy. They don't have to go far by car."

BoNhia Lee: @bonhialee



A separate living space with sink, sitting area, bedroom and walk-in closet is an option in a Wathen Castanos model home west of Highway 99 in Fresno. The new models are sensitive to the Southeast Asian and Indian families who like to live on that side of town with dens that allow for family functions that might call for separation of men and women, for example. CRAIG KOHLRUSSckohlruss@fresnobee.com

http://www.fresnobee.com/news/busine...210716969.html

California governor candidates promise MILLIONS of new homes at debate

Downtown San Diego's biggest-ever apartment complex set to open


Park 12 is a luxury apartment building near Petco Park. It has the most units of any apartment building in downtown San Diego. (Photo by K.C. Alfred/ San Diego Union -Tribune (K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune)



Phillip Molnar Contact Reporter


When the Park 12 complex opens this summer it will be the biggest apartment building in downtown San Diego’s history with 718 apartments.

The $400 million project, with a 37-story tower, unseats the 678-unit Vantage Apartments on 9th Avenue as having the most apartments downtown, said MarketPointe Realty Advisors.

Greystar’s Park 12 took nearly 20 years to develop and stands out from other luxury apartment buildings because it towers over Petco Park,offering would-be tenants units with great (and free) views of games and concerts.

Rent starts at $1,705 a month for studios, $2,428 for one bedrooms, $3,508 for two bedrooms and $5,197 for three bedrooms. Residents of the tower can begin moving in July 15 and the entire complex should be completed by October. The project includes 45,000 square feet of retail space, a public square and an art display highlighting the city’s history.

Jerry Brand, Greystar senior managing director, said the company decided to do a project of this scale because of faith in the San Diego market.

“What’s happening in San Diego right now is very dynamic, as far as the employment and growth,” he said Tuesday during a tour of the building. “With a long-term investment perspective, Greystar and our investment partners thought this was an excellent opportunity.”

Park 12 started out as a JMI project, the development company of former Padres owner John Moores, which spent years getting it approved. It sold the project to Charleston, S.C.-based Greystar in 2015 and work quickly began. Construction required roughly 300 to 500 workers a day, Greystar said.


Jerry Brand, senior managing director for Greystar, looks over the 32nd floor deck of Park 12, a luxury apartment building near Petco Park. (K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Every bedroom in the complex will have a parking spot.

One of the most expensive aspects of the project, a three-floor underground parking garage will have 1,216 spaces.

Russ Valone, president of MarketPointe Realty Advisors, said the project helps extend downtown past the ballpark, connecting it farther into Barrio Logan and East Village.

He said the project’s apartment count makes it around the eighth largest complex in the county. Casa Mira View in Mira Mesa is slated to eventually reach 2,200 apartments and La Jolla Crossroads and Villages at Mission Valley are both around 1,500.

A hotspot for renters at Park 12, named for its location at Park Boulevard and 12th Avenue, will likely be an observation deck on the 32nd floor with views into Petco Park, and out over the San Diego Bay toward Coronado and the Cabrillo National Monument. It means someone renting a 518-square-foot studio could have access to the same views as some penthouses that range from $18,000 to $20,000 a month.

Amenities at the complex compare to many of the new luxury buildings in East Village and Little Italy. There will be a 24-hour gym, washer and dryer in each unit, two pools, 14 common areas, a clubroom with a kitchen, game room, dedicated lockers for packages and two dog parks (one for small dogs, one for big dogs).

One unique feature in a penthouse apartment on the 32nd floor is a toilet next to a window that allows the renter to look out at the ballpark, but people on the observation deck cannot see inside. (Hypothetically, someone could watch the Padres while sitting on the toilet.)


The view from a unit at Park 12. (K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune)


Park 12 also has commercial space on the ground floor for five restaurants, all with space for outside seating.

Two buildings surround the public square, which Greystar separates into four villages and are connected by two bridges that will have apartments above the commercial space. Most of the apartments, 438, are in the main tower.

Greystar said the building has already leased 32 apartments, even without starting tours yet.

Park 12 was designed by Carrier Johnson + Culture, a San Diego-based firm that designed the Chula Vista Police Department headquarters building, the Strataapartment building in East Village and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in San Jose.
* * *
Park 12 Rents:
Studios (average 652 sq ft): $1,705 - 2,418 a month
1 Bedrooms (average 810 sq ft): $2,428 – 4,320 a month
2 Bedrooms (average 1,197 sq ft): $3,508 - $8,168
3 Bedrooms (average 1,260 sq ft): $5,197 - $6,064
Sources: Greystar, CoStar

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/growth-development/sd-fi-park-12-apartments-20180516-story.html

U.S. Needs 4.6 MILLION New Apartments by 2030

18 L.A. Projects to Watch in 2018

• By Eddie Kim, Jon Regardie and Nicholas Slayton

• Jan 2, 2018

The twin-tower Circa near the Convention Center is nearing completion. Move-ins at the $500 million project are expected in the first or second quarter of the year.
photo by Gary Leonard

DTLA - When it comes to transformative projects, it will be hard for Downtown Los Angeles to top 2017. After all, last year saw the opening of the $1.2 billion Wilshire Grand Center, the tallest building west of the Mississippi. Additionally, the community welcomed its largest recreation space in L.A. State Historic Park, several new hotels and approximately a dozen housing developments.

Downtown may not have quite as many mega-projects coming online this year, but that’s not to say the roster is thin. In fact, the development pipeline is packed, and in the next 12 months the community will see the opening of hundreds of housing units, the arrival of at least three hotels, and a cascade of creative office space.

In the following pages, we run down 18 development highlights of 2018, some of which will debut, and others that will advance. As always, consider it just a start — there’s a lot more to come.
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Developer Related Cos. first announced The Grand before the Great Recession. A groundbreaking on the $950 million, Frank Gehry-designed development is scheduled for this year.
image courtesy Related Cos.

Opening This Year

At Mateo: Developer Blatteis and Schnur’s transformation of a series of warehouses in the Arts District is one of the most anticipated projects in Downtown Los Angeles, as well as one of the most delayed. At this time last year the team expected an opening by March 1. That didn’t happen, of course, and anticipation for the mixed-use complex continues to build. Designed by Edge Architecture, the $90 million At Mateo will offer a series of gleaming brick and glass structures with 50,000 square feet of office space, 130,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, and a 540-space parking structure for tenants and customers. Meal replacement drink company Soylent has inked a deal to move its headquarters to At Mateo. Once the project opens, the quickly changing Arts District will become even busier and more crowded.

Circa: Work on the twin-tower mega-project continues, with the focus on the interior layouts and finishes after the “topping out” of the buildings in June. The complex across from the Convention Center, from a partnership led by Jamison Services and Hankey Investments, sits on a seven-story podium with resident amenities, parking and roughly 48,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The dual 35-story towers will hold 648 residential units, mostly one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as a handful of penthouses, with rents ranging from $3,000 to a staggering $20,000 per month. The facade includes 17,000 square feet of LED signs, which will light up South Park. Move-ins at the $500 million complex are expected early in the year.
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The long-awaited transformation of the Hotel Figueroa is slated to open in time for the NBA All-Star weekend in February.

photo by Gary Leonard

Ford Factory Building: Another entrant on the list of most anticipated projects of 2018 is developer Shorenstein Properties’ renovation of the hulking former Ford Factory complex at Seventh Street and Santa Fe Avenue. The excitement builds partly from the transformation, but also for the tenant: Warner Music Group has a 13-year lease on the space, and will move staff from its current offices in Burbank to the 254,000-square-foot building at 777 S. Santa Fe Ave., likely in the summer.

Construction crews are currently building out the offices ahead of WMG’s arrival. Since the announcement of the deal in October 2016, the area has become a destination for youth-skewing and tech businesses. Expect the opening to inject even more energy into the neighborhood, and to draw additional restaurants, bars and other service businesses.

Hotel Figueroa: The iconic hotel at 939 S. Figueroa St. closed in late 2015 after being purchased for $65 million. An extensive transformation of the 1926 edifice began, and a series of anticipated opening dates have been pushed back. Now the work by Green Oak Real Estate and Urban Lifestyle Hotels appears to be nearly complete, and the hotel’s website lists room availability starting on Feb. 7 at $369 a night (rates jump to $819 for the following week’s NBA All-Star weekend). The 13-story building with the three massive ad-boasting panels will have 268 guest rooms, including a selection of “signature suites” with monikers such as the Casablanca, the Mirador and the El Rey. Chef Casey Lane is overseeing a menu rooted in Basque cuisine. The project includes several bars, a rooftop garden, a fitness center and a pool. Its arrival will add more street life to the corridor connecting L.A. Live and the Financial District.

La Plaza Cultura Village: Developer Trammel Crow Company is deep in construction on the project just north of El Pueblo and Olvera Street. The development is a partnership with the County of L.A. A paseo will wind between two structures that have a combined 43,000 square feet of retail/commercial space and 355 apartments (20% will be designated as low-income housing). In addition to restaurants and shops, La Plaza Cultura Village will have arts and historical spaces to educate visitors on the city’s birthplace. An opening is expected toward the end of the year.

MyFigueroa: While many Downtown stakeholders cheered the start of construction on the bicycle/road diet project, delays throughout 2017 left a lot of people frustrated. The city Department of Transportation is in charge of the project that is cutting driving lanes in favor of wider sidewalks, new bike lanes and transit platforms along the Figueroa Corridor and a stretch of 11th Street in South Park. Part of the delay was due to the discovery of underground utility lines, and DOT now anticipates wrapping the project in the spring.

Local business owners have been complaining about the enduring construction, but the project should improve pedestrian and bike connectivity in a rapidly growing segment of Downtown.
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The look of the Historic Core will change this year as the Perla project rises. The Shanghai Construction Group is behind the 34-story tower at Fourth Street and Broadway.image by CallisonRTKL

NoMad Hotel: The Sydell Group finished a big Downtown redevelopment last year, turning the 1924 Commercial Exchange Building into the 226-room Freehand Hotel. The developer will build on that in the Financial District, as the 12-story, 1923 Giannini Place emerges as the 241-room NoMad Hotel. Check-ins begin Jan. 20 at the establishment at 649 S. Olive St. that, in a previous life, was the headquarters of the Bank of Italy (a precursor to Bank of America). As with New York City’s NoMad, the hotel will feature a wide food and drink program, including a mezzanine-level restaurant, a lobby bar and a cafe. There will also be a rooftop pool deck with a bar. The NoMad could emerge as the most buzz-worthy Downtown boutique hotel since the Standard, and will draw not just tourists, but a wide swath of Angelenos.

Proper Hotel: If all goes according to plan, the second Proper Hotel (following one in San Francisco) will open in the middle of the year. The Kor Group and Stork/Alma Development spent $13.5 million in 2013 to acquire the 1924 Case Hotel. The 13-story structure at 1106 S. Broadway will hold 148 guest rooms, a trio of restaurants and two unique suites — one will boast a basketball court, and the other an indoor pool. The project will also have a fitness center.

The Proper continues a wave of revitalization in South Park, and prefigures other projects including the renovation of the historic Herald Examiner building across the street, and another boutique hotel, the Hoxton, which is under construction a block north.

The Aliso: More signs of change in the Arts District will be apparent this year as construction progresses on The Aliso, the massive housing effort from Legendary Development and Fairfield Residential. Framing of the complex at 950 E. Third St. has been completed. Kava Massih Architects is designing the five buildings, which range from five to six stories. The Aliso will hold 472 apartments and a public paseo will run through the space, linking Traction Avenue to Third Street and enhancing pedestrian access in the neighborhood. The Aliso is expected to wrap in late 2018, and its debut will increase the residential base in the Arts District. Expect some students and staff at the nearby SCI-Arc to be among the tenants.

Trust Building: Nelson and Christopher Rising, who breathed new life into the low-slung Financial District office complex Park DTLA, and later transformed the One Bunker Hill edifice into the shiny and restored CalEdison, are at it again. Their Rising Realty Partners, in partnership with Lionstone Investments, is expected to complete a renovation of the former Title Insurance Building by mid-year. The 320,000-square-foot structure at 433 S. Spring St. is being marketed as creative office space.

The 11-story, 1928 Art Deco/Zig Zag Moderne property was originally designed by Parkinson and Parkinson. The project both restores a Historic Core treasure, and stands to propel the community forward by being a hub for new businesses and hundreds of workers.

In the Works

6AM: Right now, the gargantuan Arts District development exists merely as a plan and a collection of renderings from starchitect firm Herzog + de Meuron. Will 2018 be the year it takes a few big steps forward? The Department of City Planning is currently reviewing the application for the $2 billion mixed-use complex that would rise at Sixth and Alameda streets, where a few produce warehouses sit. Developer SunCal submitted its application in September 2016 and expects to secure entitlements this summer. That would allow the team to move into honing the final design. The 6AM plan comprises more than 1,300 apartments and 430 condominiums, 500,000 square feet of space for hotel and office uses, 64,000 square feet for retail, 18,000 square feet for a school, and another 18,000 square feet for miscellaneous cultural uses.

Broadway Trade Center: If you’re in the neighborhood of Eighth and Broadway, then it’s impossible to miss the work happening on the gigantic Broadway Trade Center, especially after the construction netting was removed last year.

One of the biggest Downtown renovations ever, Broadbridge Capital is turning the former May Company building into a 1.1 million-square-foot mixed-use destination. Along with a two-story food hall, the complex will have a 150-room boutique hotel, two rooftop decks (one open to the public), 400,000 square feet of office space, a private club and retail and restaurants.

Broadbridge paid $130 million to acquire the 1908 Beaux Arts structure. Architecture firm Omgivning is handling the redesign, and while much work remains, the façade reveal last year dazzled with a restored, gleaming terra cotta exterior.

Los Angeles Streetcar: The saga of the Downtown streetcar lurches on, and the chances that meaningful construction will start in 2018 seem desperately low. Instead, proponents continue to seek funding for the project with an estimated budget of $274.2 million. So far, the city has only earmarked $65 million for construction from a tax levied on property owners along the proposed 3.8-mile route, which would loop from the Civic Center down Broadway to South Park and back north through the Financial District. Streetcar officials and 14th District City Councilman José Huizar are pushing to expedite the release of $200 million in Metro Measure M money (set aside for the streetcar… but in 2053), as well as looking for private partners. LADOT has also applied for a $100 million grant.

Merritt Building: With the stately columns running along its upper levels, the 1915 Merritt Building is an eye-catching edifice. Unfortunately, the graffiti and general lack of maintenance have also long made it one of Downtown’s most frustrating eyesores. That is finally changing, as Bonnis Properties last year purchased the building at 761 S. Broadway for $24 million and announced plans to turn it into office space. The small floor plates, generally 6,500-7,000 square feet, make it a likely destination for tech and other creative businesses. There will also be approximately 9,200 square feet of retail space on the lower levels. The buffing of the approximately 50,000-square-foot structure will restore some gleam to the neighborhood.

Music Center Plaza Renovation: Navigating the Music Center Plaza will be more difficult this year. That’s because the arts complex in January is initiating a $40 million renovation, the first major overhaul since 1964. The work will involve “flattening” the plaza, a process that includes moving the Jacques Lipchitz sculpture “Peace on Earth” (which contains a water element) closer to Hope Street. Construction is expected to continue through spring 2019, and when complete the plaza capacity will double, from 2,500 to 5,000 people, and the sight lines toward Grand Park and City Hall will be clearer.

Additionally, the staircase to Grand Avenue will be widened and flattened, and escalators will be added. The revamped Music Center will have five new dining and drinking options.

Regional Connector: The $1.75 billion project that will speed rail travel across L.A. County won’t finish until 2021, but it will impact Downtowners all year long, probably because of construction closures. The project’s tunnel-boring machine finished a path from Little Tokyo to Bunker Hill last month, and will now aim toward Fourth and Flower streets.

The Grand: On the downside, Bunker Hill could soon lose a parking structure. On the bright side, that “Tinker Toy” complex on First Street between Grand Avenue and Olive Street is ugly, and its shuttering will be a definitive sign that developer Related Cos.’ long-gestating Grand Avenue project is finally ready to go. Project representatives last year said work will commence in 2018, with the aim of a 2022 completion. Frank Gehry is designing the $950 million complex across from Walt Disney Concert Hall that will feature a 450-unit residential tower, a 305-room Equinox hotel, and a retail and restaurant component arranged around a central plaza. The project was first announced before the Great Recession, and Related has spent years lining up financing, including a $290 million investment from Chinese entity CORE. This would be Downtown’s most important groundbreaking of the year.

The Reef: One of Downtown’s biggest proposed projects, The Reef could take some big steps forward in 2018. Planned for two parking lots at 1933 S. Broadway, the project resolved a legal standoff with community activists in 2017, with the developers agreeing to set aside more apartments as low-income housing. With the conflict smoothed out, Reef owners Ara and Avedis Tavitian also dipped their toes into international capital markets, with CBRE representing a listing seeking potential financing partners or a sale. The Reef would bring more than 1,400 apartments and condominiums, a hotel, and 120,000 square feet of retail space to a neighborhood that has seen little development.

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/p...f96d20da2.html

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

California, Inland Empire in building booms: 6 things to know


Inland Empire construction firms added 12,200 jobs, or 14 percent growth, tops among major U.S. metro areas. Seen here, construction of the Riverside Community Hospital expansion in Riverside on April 27. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By JONATHAN LANSNER | jlansner@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: May 2, 2017 at 10:49 am | UPDATED: May 2, 2017 at 11:59 am


The Inland Empire is the nation’s regional construction hot spot, at least when it comes to one tally of employment.

And that same math ranks California best for building work among the states.

Here are six things we learned from the slicing and dicing of recent jobs reports by the Associated General Contractors of America and how March looks vs. a year earlier:

1. Inland Empire construction firms added 12,200 jobs, or 14 percent growth, tops among major U.S. metro areas.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties were followed by Atlanta (up 9,400 jobs, or 8 percent); Tampa-St. Petersburg (up 8,600 jobs, or 13 percent); Portland (up 6,300 jobs, or 11 percent) and Dallas (up 6,000 jobs, 5 percent).

2. The rest of Southern California was busy, too. Orange County added 5,000 workers or 5 percent. Los Angeles County was up 4,900 jobs or 4 percent. The four-county addition of 22,100 construction workers is roughly equal to the entire building industry’s employment in Detroit or Albuquerque or Tulsa.

3. Construction employment was up in 224 out of 358 metro areas tracked in the past year. Biggest losers were Pittsburgh (down 2,900 jobs, or 6 percent); Boston (down 2,300 jobs, or 4 percent); and Middlesex, N.J. (down 2,100 jobs, or 6 percent.)

4. As for the states, California was No. 1 adding 42,200 construction jobs, or 5.5 percent, in a year. Next was Florida (up 36,500 jobs, or 7.9 percent); Texas (up 18,900 jobs, or 2.7 percent); and Washington (up 12,200 jobs, or 6.7 percent).

5. California led 39 states with rising construction employment. Among the decliners were: Illinois (off 4,900 jobs, or 2.2 percent); Mississippi (off 4,800 jobs, or 10.4 percent) and Iowa (off 2,000 jobs, or 2.4 percent.)

6. The contractor trade group also noted that nationwide construction spending in March was at a record $1.218 trillion annual pace and is up 4.9 percent for the first three months of this year vs. 2016.

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/05/02...hings-to-know/

How many of those construction workers are illegal aliens? That's the discussion we should be having.

SEND IN ICE

San Bernardino County News: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/location/california/san-bernardino-county/
In 2018's first three months, permits were filed for 10,253 new residential units in the four counties in Southern California . . .