In the News—Week of December 28, 2020
Around the Nation
Tammany Hall, once home of political corruption, redone at 44 Union Square
Tammany Hall, headquarters of the Democratic political machine in New York for more than a century, has been refurbished and is being marketed as 44 Union Square, CommercialSearch reports. The building that once housed Boss Tweed and other practitioners of “honest graft” is a historical landmark. But is had been gutted and brought into the 21st century by Newmark Knight Frank. Located in the Gramercy Park neighborhood, 44 Union Square’s 73,000 square feet of modern office is topped by a glass dome.
Energy & Environment
California tops all states in energy council’s scorecard
California regained its No.1 spot after a four-year absence from that lofty position in the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy scorecard, Smart Cities Dive reports. Massachusetts was second, the first time it had not been in the top spot since 2010 (California and Massachusetts tied in 2016). California got points for recent goals to prohibit the sale of fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2035 and for dozens of its cities adopting net-zero building codes.
Texas
Amazon opening 1M-square-foot warehouse in Houston area
Amazon is building a 1-million-square-foot warehouse in Missouri City that will open in 2021, Chron.com reports. The online retailer has been expanding in the Houston area recently, with an Amazon 4-Star physical store in the Woodland Mall and a sorting center in Katy. The Missouri City facility will employ about 500. “We are grateful for the strong support we’ve received from local and state leaders as we broaden our footprint throughout Texas.” Amazon’s vice president of global customer fulfillment, Alicia Boler Davis, says.
Sign-maker moves headquarters from Los Angeles to North Texas
This didn’t get quite the attention of other California businesses that decided to relocate to Texas. But, the Fort Worth Business Press reports, Optimal Elite Management purchased a 63,483-square-foot office and warehouse in the Great Southwest Industrial Park in Grand Prairie. The sign manufacturing company plans to make the move from Los Angeles in June. Berg Inc., the seller, will stay on the site in a six-month leaseback.
Arizona
Heaviest concrete tilt panels installed at Satellite-making plant in Gilbert
Like many of us this time of year, Willmeng Construction had to deal with a weight problem. The general contractor was installing tilt concrete panels, the heaviest weighing around 500,000 pounds at a Northrup Grumman facility in Gilbert, AZ Big Media reports. Each panel is 20 feet wide and 2 feet thick. Northrup Grumman is expanding its existing satellite-making facility by 100,000 square feet. “This project milestone is a huge accomplishment for the entire project team and our many trade partners,” said, Willmeng’s president, Mike Mongelli, says. “We look forward to seeing the impact this facility makes on Arizona at large.”
Mexico
Army will run Maya train to avoid ‘temptation to privatize,’ AMLO says
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says the army will run the Maya train as well as several airports, the Associated Press reports via KSAT-TV. The army is overseeing construction of much of the train project. AMLO says any profits from the transportation entities will be used for military pensions. He says the military is one of the most trustworthy institutions in the nation, and giving the army the administration of the train will eliminate “the temptation to privatize.”
