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Five Quick Things To Know / Do This Week:
1.) OUT OF OFFICE: MBEX will be closed on Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll be back to regular office hours on Monday, December 2.
2.) SUBMIT PAYMENT: Renewal invoices have been sent to all current MBEX member companies for 2025. Please mail a check for the amount listed on your invoice or call Julie to pay over the phone with credit card (a $45 fee will apply). Deadline for renewal is December 31, 2024.
3.) REMINDER: Starting January 1, 2025, all Minnesota employers will be required to pay an elevated minimum wage of $11.13 to all employees.
4.) HEADS UP: Ballots for the 2025 MBEX Board of Directors will be emailed to all member companies on Monday, December 2, where three positions are open for election.
5.) LAUGH: Forget new heights --- it's all about staying level.
This week's Bulletin will be shorter than usual so you can get to family, friends, and feasting that much faster. Have a warm and safe Thanksgiving!
IN BRIEF:
• December 5th: Register for Holiday Party North in Duluth
• Forecast: Looking at predicted 2025 construction starts
• Bluebeam Revu: Master the popular AEC software with our courses December 3-5
• Upcoming Events: View the 2024 / 2025 MBEX calendar
• Tariff Concerns Loom, Attracting One Million Women to Construction's Workforce, & 'World's First' Smart Hard Hat: Five construction-related headlines for your next coffee break
• Project of the Week: Faribault future home for a 500,000-square-foot data center
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Ring in the Holidays at Holiday Party North | |
The most wonderful time of the year is almost here, and so is MBEX’s Holiday Party North! | |
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On Thursday, December 5, MBEX is bringing the construction industry together for a festive evening at Ridgeview Country Club in Duluth.
Picture this: a cozy atmosphere, great conversations, and laughter over cocktails starting at 5:30pm. Enjoy a delicious sit-down dinner at 6:30pm before the excitement builds with door prizes and surprises during the 7:00pm program.
It’s more than a party—it’s a celebration of another great year, wrapped in holiday cheer.
Ready to leave your tracks in the snow? Event sponsorships are the perfect way to showcase your business and spread the holiday spirit to fellow members. Opportunities include dinner, hors d’oeuvres, and cocktail sponsorships, or contributing funds toward door prizes.
Tickets: $45 per person
Sponsorships:
- $500 – Dinner
- $200 – Hors d’oeuvres
- $200 – Cocktails
- $50+ – Door Prizes
Register now to save your seat, and join us for a night filled with festive energy, good company, and warm Northland vibes.
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2025 Construction Starts: Growth Ahead | |
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In ConstructConnect's Q4 quarterly Construction Starts Forecast, they project 8.5% growth for Total U.S. Construction Starts in 2025.
The growth forecast is driven largely by the positive economic outlook, strong government spending, and falling interest rates, which help to support growth in the Residential and Nonresidential Building sectors.
What construction categories by type of structure are forecast to change?
• The most significant decline is expected in Prison Starts, which are set to decline by 17.4%.
• Religious structures are the only other declining subcategory by 1.3%.
• The largest gains are to be found in the Military and the Nursing Homes subsectors, growing by 56.4% and 36.5%, respectively.
• Commercial Construction is expected to grow by 7% in 2025.
• Strong growth is forecast across Hotels, Shopping / Retail, and Warehouses.
High interest rates and concerns about overcapacity in the commercial real estate sector remain a constraint to new construction, but these will ease through 2025.
Civil Engineering Forecast
Civil engineering will continue to show growth but will not match the highs of the previous few years with growth expected at 5.3%.
• Miscellaneous Civil Engineering starts, including Power projects, Oil & Gas projects, and Tunnels, among others, are set to slow to 4.4% growth.
• Investment in Power Infrastructure is a strategic area of growth as part of the green transition.
• New Roads, Bridges, and Dams are expected to have a good 2025, with growth hovering around 11% for all three subsectors.
• Airport Starts are the only declining civil subsector, with a predicted drop of 27.7%.
2024 is set to be the final year of extraordinary growth in Civil Engineering as government infrastructure spending comes down from its current elevated level.
2025 Full-Year U.S. Outlook by Subcategory
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Military: +56.4%
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Hotels / Motels: +28.7%
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Shopping: +25.6%
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Manufacturing: +19.0%
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Warehouses: +17.9%
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Medical Miscellaneous: +13.6%
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Transportation Terminals: +12.2%
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Bridges: +11.3%
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Dams / Canals / Marine: +10.8%
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Library / Museum: +6.8%
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Hospitals / Clinics: +6.4%
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Miscellaneous Civil: +4.4%
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Police / Fire: +4.0%
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Private Offices (including Data Centers): +2.2%
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Governmental Offices: +2.1%
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Water, Sewage, and Treatment: ~0.7%
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Education: ~0.5%
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Government: -1.1%
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Amusement: -8.8%
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Prisons: -17.4%
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Airport: -27.7%
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Master Bluebeam Revu This December | |
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Elevate your construction workflows with Bluebeam Revu, one of the AEC industry's most powerful and popular software tools.
Whether you're managing design reviews, estimating project costs, or collecting field data, these December courses are your chance to maximize productivity and efficiency.
Taught by industry expert Troy DeGroot with UChapter2, these sessions are open to both MBEX members ($110 per course) and non-members ($165 per course).
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Bluebeam 1: Baseline Basics
- Tuesday, December 3
- 10:30am-12:30pm
Whether you're opening Bluebeam Revu for the first time or you've used it for years, this class will ensure a higher baseline knowledge. Attendees will learn interface navigation including menu drop-downs, toolbars, various tool panels, keyboard shortcuts and a few recommended settings.
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Bluebeam 2: Material Takeoffs & Estimates (Basic)
- Wednesday, December 4
- 10:30am-12:30pm
With Revu's intuitive measurement tools and customizable interface, highlighters turn into data rich takeoff tools. Attendees will start going through the standard measurement tools and settings, then move into various customization options and discuss the results in the Markups List.
Pre-Req: Bluebeam 1
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Bluebeam 3: Material Takeoffs & Estimates (Advanced)
- Thursday, December 5
- 10:30am-12:30pm
Attendees will move into creating custom columns, embedding formulas, and information organization. Did you know you can export to an Excel spreadsheet or even link directly to that Excel template file full of formulas you've been using for years?
Pre-Reqs: Bluebeam 1 & 2
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Gain the skills you need to harness Bluebeam’s full potential and give your projects a competitive edge in the new year.
Please register for desired courses by 12:30pm the day before each scheduled start.
P.S.: More Bluebeam Revu courses will be offered in February 2025.
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A valuable benefit of an MBEX membership is invitations to our social and educational events; by being an employee of a member company, you too can take advantage and attend any and all MBEX-sponsored events.
** indicates a newly added event
November 28 & 29 - MBEX Closed - Thanksgiving
MBEX will be closed on Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll return to regular business hours on Monday, December 2.
December 3 - Bluebeam 1: Baseline Basics
Attendees will learn interface navigation including menu dropdowns, toolbars, various tool panels, keyboard shortcuts and a few recommended settings. While learning various markup and measurement tools, several tips and tricks will be shared to increase accuracy and speed. Register Now
December 4 - Bluebeam 2: Material Takeoffs & Estimates (Basic)
Attendees will go through the standard measurement tools and settings, then move into various customization options and discuss the results in the Markups List. Register Now
December 5 - Bluebeam 3: Material Takeoffs & Estimates (Advanced)
After finishing the Bluebeam Takeoffs & Estimates (Basic) course, attendees will move into creating custom columns, embedding formulas, and information organization.
Register Now
December 5 - Holiday Party North
As winter blankets the Northland in its snowy splendor, come gather with fellow construction industry professionals for an evening of celebration and camaraderie as we close out another business year and look ahead to 2025. Register Now
December 11 - 2025 Construction Economic Forecast
Designed with commercial construction contractors in mind, Anirban Basu's 60-minute presentation is customized for Construction Executive readers to help them manage and grow their business by focusing on relevant economic indicators, including materials prices, jobs and unemployment reports, construction wages, the most recent ABC Construction Confidence Index and Construction Backlog Indicator reports, and the hottest market sectors and regions. Sign Up
December 12 - Mechanic's Lien: A Primer with Bassford Remele
This free, comprehensive workshop will cover everything you need to know about the mechanic's lien process from start to finish in Minnesota. This seminar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and tools to navigate the complexities of mechanic's liens effectively. Sign Up
** December 19 - Online Plan Room Demo
From navigating the Deskpad, setting up filters, understanding project information, and adding your company to a project's bidders lists, this free one-hour session is a great introduction to our Online Plan Room. Time is saved at the end of the demonstration for questions and answers. Register Now
December 25 & 26 - MBEX Closed - Christmas
MBEX will be closed on Tuesday, December 24 and Wednesday, December 25 for the Christmas holiday. Our physical office will be closed on Thursday, December 26 and Friday, December 27 (staff will be working remotely).
December 31 & January 1 - MBEX Closed - New Years
MBEX will be closed on Tuesday, December 31 and Wednesday, January 1 to celebrate the end of 2024 and welcome the start of 2025. MBEX will return to regular business hours on Thursday, January 2.
January 15 - MBEX Annual Meeting & Luncheon
MBEX invites its members to our Annual Meeting and Luncheon, a premier event that brings together our vibrant construction community. This is more than just a meeting; it's an opportunity to be at the forefront of the building industry's latest trends and innovations. Register Now
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Five construction-related headlines you need to read over the next coffee break.
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ECONOMIC REPORTS
🏷️ Tariff Concerns Loom Over Construction Input Prices
The uptick in fuel prices will likely be temporary. However, the broader uncertainty tied to potential trade policy changes under the incoming Trump administration presents a new layer of unpredictability for contractors. (Construction Dive)
WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION
👷♀️ How to Attract 1-Million More Women to the Construction Industry
Women constitute over half of the U.S. population: there is an immense, untapped potential to mitigate the labor crisis by actively recruiting more women into the construction industry. Today, women make up a mere 11% of the industry. When it comes to skilled trades, this number plummets by almost three times; women represent just 4% of the U.S. workforce. (For Construction Pros)
JOBSITE SAFETY
⛑️ 'World First' Smart Hard Hat Can Detect Impacts and Falls
This smart safety helmet features Mips (multi-directional impact protection system), a technology that reduces the risk of brain injury in the event of impact, as well as intelligent sensors. If the intelligent sensor determines that a safety threshold has been breached, it will send out an automatic alert to registered contacts to detail the location and nature of the detected event. (Construction Briefing)
CONCRETE ROBOTICS
🤖 Structural-Strength-Boosting Robot Makes Its Mark in Wet Concrete
When most of us think of freshly poured concrete, we picture a material that should be left to dry as smooth as possible. A new wheeled robot drives right over the stuff, gouging its surface to make structures stronger yet also cheaper to build. (New Atlas)
INFRASTRUCTURE
💭 The Biden Administration Launched 66,000 Infrastructure Projects: Pete Buttigieg Talks About What's Next
After Biden took office, he worked with Congress to pass the massive Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with $1.2-trillion in funding for everything from fixing aging bridges to removing lead pipes, adding a national EV-charging network, and upgrading the electric grid. Now, 66,000 projects are underway. But it's possible that some of the funding --- especially for sustainable transportation --- will be at risk when Trump becomes president again. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talks about the work that's been done, what might happen next, and how local leaders can keep making progress. (Fast Company)
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Data Center Site in Faribault Fetches $4.5M | |
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Read more on Finance & Commerce
A farm site marketed by Faribault officials for new development is poised to be the future home of a 500,000-square-foot data center in the city.
Archer Datacenters SPE2 LLC of Chappaqua, New York, paid $4.5-million for the 87.6-acre property at 15339 Acorn Trail, which is just south of 150th Street West and east of Interstate 35, according to a certificate of real estate value made public on November 22nd.
The conceptual plan for the site (subject to change) is for a "footprint of up to 500,000-square-feet across multiple potential data center buildings, and up to 120MW of power."
A proposed site plan posted on the Archer Datacenters website reveals plans for six data center buildings, a substation, and stormwater management areas. The site is about 41 miles from the Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport.
Depending on the final plans, David Wanberg, Faribault's community and economic development director, said "there may be additional steps," such as an environmental review through an Environment Assessment Worksheet (EAW).
The site is zoned for industrial development, but the city was "not exclusively marketing this site for a data center." Wanberg added that next steps include platting the property and working through the site plan approval process.
Archer Datacenters declined to comment on the project timeline or employment projections.
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PICTURED ABOVE: Rendering of the CloudHQ data center project proposed for Chaska, Minn., via the City of Chaska website. | |
PROJECT INFORMATION + UPDATES | |
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• Total Projects Received at MBEX from 11/18/2024 - 11/22/2024: 87
• Total Projects Leads Reported on at MBEX from 11/18/2024 - 11/22/2024: 8
• Total Active Projects Received/Reported on at MBEX as of 11/26/2024: 318
• Total Projects in the Online Plan Room as of 11/26/2024: 4,200
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Click the button above to view the most recent project data from 11/20/2024-11/26/2024.
For information about the Bulletin's content, technical issues, or to place an ad (such as a Minority
Notice, Job Posting, or Event Notice), contact Ashlee, Membership + Communications Manager.
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UPCOMING MBEX EVENTS
• November 28 & 29 - Closed for Thanksgiving
• December 3 - Bluebeam 1: Baseline Basics
• December 4 - Bluebeam 2: Materials Takeoffs & Estimates (Basic)
• December 5 - Bluebeam 3: Materials Takeoffs & Estimates (Advanced)
• December 5 - Holiday Party North
• December 11 - CE's 2025 Construction Economic Forecast
• December 12 - Mechanic's Lien: A Primer
• December 19 - Online Plan Room Demo
• December 24 & 25 - Closed for Christmas
• December 31 & January 1 - Closed for New Years
• January 15 - Annual Meeting & Luncheon
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Connect with the Builders Exchange: | |
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Information within the MBEX Weekly Bulletin are obtained from sources deemed reliable. The Minnesota Builders Exchange (MBEX) does not assume responsibility for its completeness or accuracy. You are urged to check your own sources in addition to the information contained in this publication. This issue contains plans and other bidding information received prior to and including the date noted above. The project data within this newsletter is intended for member company's and their employees use only.
2024 BOARD OFFICERS: President - Mike Carlson, Max Gray Construction; Vice President - Heidi Sedlacek, KLJ Engineering; Treasurer - Brian Kalla, St. Cloud Acoustics; Past President - Greg Grazzini, Grazzini Brothers | 2024 DIRECTORS: Allie Brady, Veit; Kevin Bohrer, Donlar Construction; David Brandt, Schadegg Mechanical; Jason DuVal, Tenet; Chuck Geisler, Iron Eagle Industrial Services; Chris Niemand, Frattalone Companies; Sean Ochis, Northern Industrial Insulation; Jason Rentmeester, Kraus-Anderson Construction; and Nate Sapik, Benson Electric Company | STAFF: David Siegel - Executive Director; Julie Miller - Executive Assistant/Project Coordinator/Accounting; Ashlee Hartwig - Membership & Communications Manager; Melanie Hendrickson - Events & Membership Coordinator; Don O'Connor - Duluth Director; Jeff Boelter - Project Acquisition & IT; Shauna Baska, Peggy Esboldt, Madison Gentil, Michelle Siegel & Ka Yang - Project Reporters
You are receiving this email because you are employed by a current member company in good standing or have indicated you wanted to receive MBEX's Weekly Bulletin. Unsubscribe from the Weekly Bulletin
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