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Alaska's construction industry is alive and well, and, according to the Associated General Contractors' annual construction spending forecast, will account for approximately $7.1 billion of the state's economy in 2008.
The report, produced for AGC by the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute for Social and Economic Research, predicts that dollars going into building - excluding money spent in the state's oil patch - will be down slightly from the past two years. In 2007, the report said, construction spending declined 3 percent from 2006; 2008 continues that trend, with a decline of 6 percent from 2007. Grouping construction spending into two categories, private and public, the report demonstrates this decline falls primarily in the public sector. One thing the drop in construction spending, combined with the rise in material and labor costs, will mean to the industry is a decrease in jobs.
ISER's and AGC's report, however, goes on to say that, although there's a two-year downward trend in the industry, spending is still "well above the long-term trend."
PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION IN ANCHORAGE
Three of the most visible Anchorage construction projects are the new Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center, the Linny Pacillo (Anchorage's own parking fairy) parking garage, and the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. Both the convention center and the parking garage are set for completion in 2008, and the museum will be essentially complete on the exterior in 2008, as well. All make downtown Anchorage a beehive of construction activity.
The 200,000-square-foot convention center, estimated to cost nearly $108 million, is on target for a Sept. 1 completion. Prime contractor for the center is Neeser Construction Inc. and architectural design was a collaborative effort of Rim Architects of Anchorage and LMN Architects of Seattle. The Municipality of Anchorage is the owner of the project.
The parking garage, which began construction in February 2007, is also nearing completion and will contain 836 parking spaces as well as several retail businesses. KPB Architects of Anchorage designed the structure, Anchorage developers are JL Properties Inc. and Venture Development Group, and Anchorage's Davis Constructors is the construction contractor.
"Our client for this job is the Anchorage Center for Convention and Trade," said Lynn Steeves, marketing coordinator for Davis. "The footprint for the garage is 32,000...