UPCOMING EDUCATION & EVENTS

September 17 | 4:30 PM

Women's Group: 3rd Annual Golf Clinic

Granite Links

September 26 | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

From Laborer to Leader

Quincy Marriott

October 21 | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Financial Management for Construction Pros

Quincy Marriott

October 21 | 5:30 PM

Future Leaders: Driving Growth & Creating Allies

Dorchester Brewing Company

October 22 | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Effective Communications: DiSC Model

Quincy Marriott

October 31 | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Effective Time Management

Newton Marriott

For a full list of courses this Fall & Winter, please visit: btea.com/training

NEWS

US Employer Health Care Costs Projected to Increase 9%

The average cost of employer-sponsored health care coverage in the U.S. is expected to increase 9.0%, surpassing $16,000 per employee in 2025. This projected increase, which assumes employers do not implement employee cost sharing increases and other cost saving strategies, is higher than the 6.4% increase to health care budgets that employers experienced from 2023 to 2024 after cost savings strategies.  Read More

Boston Needs to Build More Apartments but Slowdown Expected

Boston will see fewer rental units built in the coming five years than it has in the last five, according to an estimate based on apartment construction data. The Boston metro area built 39,859 apartment units in the five years ending in 2023 but a drop of 10% is expected over the next five years. Read More

Why Construction Needs More Access to Opioid Overdose Meds

In an opinion piece of Construction Dive, Vince Saavedra, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Southern Nevada Building Trades Unions, shares his hope that all states will make Narcan and other life saving devices more widely available. Vince and his team recently partnered with BTEA Recovery Week to host a Recovery Night for their workers. Read More

Proposals & Projects We're Watching

RMR Group Proposes 40-Story Tower Near North Station: In an updated notification letter to the BPDA, the group is planning to submit a 300-room hotel and 420 housing units along with 30,000 SF of retail space in an updated proposal anticipated to be delivered in September.  Read More

Master Plan for Everett's Docklands Includes 7.2M SF Development: The Davis Cos. has been meeting with community groups and officials throughout the summer while preparing to seek state and local approval for the massive Everett Docklands Innovation District project, estimated at $500 million. The master plan applies to 86 acres off Beacham Street and includes office, lab, retail, manufacturing and industrial space. Read More

MA $300M Offshore Wind Terminal Starts as Key Sector Boost: At the port of Salem, a 750-MW coal-and-oil-fired power plant has operated for more than six decades. Construction of a $300-million offshore wind energy staging terminal is set to begin to support developing projects and re-energize wind sector growth after recent setbacks. Read More

LEGISLATION

Infrastructure is on the Ballot in 2024

On Election Day, Rhode Islanders will consider whether to approve a $53 million “green bond” to address environmental-related infrastructure, recreation areas and green spaces issues in their state. For many years, Rhode Islanders have weighed in on approving various bond measures to help fund similar projects throughout Rhode Island.  Read More

In Surprise Move, Zoning Board Rejects Wu's Net Zero Mandate

The BPDA board had approved the requirement in June. However, some Zoning Commission members, including those from the real estate industry, expressed concern about the effects that the requirements could have on building costs, at a time when construction is already hard to make work financially and ultimately rejected the mandate. Read More

A Recap of Upcoming Legislative Deadlines

FAST FACTS

• A proposal to allow for six-story residential buildings across Cambridge would create 4,880 net new housing units in the next decade and a half.
• Single-family home sales in Massachusetts rose by 8.2% last month, outpacing the 2023 rate.
• The median home sale price in Massachusetts is $650,000.00 a record high
• The median condo sale price in Massachusetts is $545,000.00, up 4.8% compared to last year.
• Massachusetts is among the top five states with the highest CEO turnover rate.
• Worcester has the second lowest apartment vacancy rate in the country at 1.7% compared to the national average 6.3%.
• Massachusetts had 16.2% annualized wage and salary growth in Q2, compared to 5.3% nation wide.

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