THE MAGAZINE OF THE MASTER BUILDERS’ ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 THE BIG PICTURE HOW LONG CAN IT LAST? Cohen & Grigsby is joining with Dentons and Bingham Greenebaum, connecting you to top-tier legal talent, coast to coast and around the world. Find out more at dentons.com/goldenspike www.volpatt.com Cohen & Grigsby is joining with Dentons and Bingham Greenebaum, #WeAreBuilding connecting you to top-tier industrial commercial institutional legal talent, coast to coast and around the world. Find out more at dentons.com/goldenspike We challenge ourselves to excellence and to be the leader in the mechanical contracting industry. www.mckamish.com rn 2 0 Contents 20 PUBLISHER Tall Timber Group www.talltimbergroup.com EDITOR Jeff Burd 412-366-1857 [email protected] PRODUCTION Carson Publishing, Inc. Kevin J. Gordon ART DIRECTOR Carson Publishing, Inc. GRAPHIC DESIGN 321Blink CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Anna Burd CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHY Autumn Harris Edward Rieker Photography Master Builders Association Ed Massery Photography Allegheny Health Network JLL Christian Baker 5 PUBLISHER’S NOTE 59 TREND TO WATCH NAIOP Pittsburgh Another Wave of Apartment Allegheny Conference on 7 REGIONAL MARKET UPDATE Construction is Underway Economic Development 13 NATIONAL MARKET UPDATE 64 BEST PRACTICE ADVERTISING DIRECTOR OSHA Alert: How to Prepare for Karen Kukish 19 WHAT’S IT COST? an OSHA Inspection 412-837-6971 [email protected] 20 FEATURE The Big Picture: 69 INDUSTRY MORE INFORMATION: How Long Can it Last? & COMMUNITY NEWS BreakingGroundTM is published by 76 AWARDS & CONTRACTS Tall Timber Group for the Master 37 PROJECT PROFILE Builders’ Association of Western 420 Boulevard of the Allies Pennsylvania, 412-922-3912 or 78 FACES & NEW PLACES www.mbawpa.org 43 FIRM PROFILE 79 MBA MEMBERSHIP Archive copies of BreakingGroundTM Kalkreuth Roofing and can be viewed at Sheet Metal 80 CLOSING OUT www.mbawpa.org Mark Anthony Thomas 49 LEGAL PERSPECTIVE No part of this magazine may be President, Pittsburgh Regional reproduced without written permission Mandatory E-Verify Effective Alliance by the Publisher. October 2020 for all Pennsylvania All rights reserved. Construction Employers This information is carefully gathered and compiled in such a manner as to 53 FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE ensure maximum accuracy. We cannot, Data: The 21st Century and do not, guarantee either the correctness of all information furnished Building Material nor the complete absence of errors and omissions. Hence, responsibility for same neither can be, nor is, assumed. Keep up with regional construction and real estate events at www.buildingpittsburgh.com BreakingGround January/February 2020 3 WESTERN PA ELECTRICAL NATIONAL ASSOCIATION CONTRACTORS WE PROVIDE OUR MEMBERS WITH EDUCATION•INNOVATION• •SUCCESSION PLANNING•LEADERSHIP TRAINING•BRAND GROWTH• •GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS•INDUSTRY EXPOSURE•MEDIA STRATEGY• AND MUCH MORE WE POWER PENNSYLVANIA • 5 HOT METAL STREET, SUITE 301 • PITTSBURGH, PA 15203 • • 412.432.1155 • • WWW.WPANECA.COM • @WPANECA @WPANECAGovAffrs @NECAMEDIA CHECK OUT OUR DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION PLATFORM AT WWW.NECAMEDIA.COM PUBLISHER’S NOTE ayor Bill Peduto ruffled a few feathers when he spoke There will be air and noise pollution. Just to be clear, the process out against the petrochemical industry growing of extraction involves exploding layers of rock to let the oil and in Western PA at the October 30 Climate Action gas burst out under enormous pressure. It’s almost impossible to Summit. There were few surprises in response. Gas control the physics of that 100 percent of the time. industry proponents thought the comments were ill-advised. Being a manufacturing hub has always required a level of MEnvironmental groups applauded them. Pro business advocates compromise between economic gains and environmental losses. like the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, and I think we’re kidding ourselves to say otherwise. Manufacturing chambers of commerce in Washington and Beaver accentuated impacts the environment more than not manufacturing. We’re also the positives that have come from the development of the natural kidding ourselves to believe that there can be a booming economy gas deposits in the region. without environmental impact. Human existence requires the Peduto’s comments were completely in character. He’s long been exploitation of the Earth’s resources. Even if Pittsburgh’s economy an advocate for the environment, and he doesn’t mind ruffling were to be based entirely on innovation and technology without feathers. Peduto is willing to be an agitator for a sustainable manufacturing, the realities of economic growth mean there will Pittsburgh. need to be more homes, more energy consumed, more people, His stance against the oil and gas industry is also consistent. He more of everything. was on council when the fracking ban was passed in the city and It’s a question of how much environmental damage we’re willing has offered no apologies to those who insist that Peduto’s public to tolerate while accepting the benefits of exploiting the natural positions are the reason that none of the oil and gas companies resources that lay beneath Western PA. One hundred years ago, have moved into the Central Business District. hungry steelworkers accepted smoky skies to put food on the Those who took issue with Peduto were on the side of the jobs table. That isn’t necessary today. created and economic gains the gas industry has brought to this We’re now at the point where it’s possible to exploit and renew region. That’s not a thin argument. For all the chest thumping done resources. We can use fewer resources. We can continue to about Pittsburgh’s new economy, it was the Marcellus Shale play renew more. It is Pittsburgh’s good fortune that some of its that provided the soft landing when the financial crisis hit. It’s not economic growth is coming from businesses that are trying to a coincidence that the job growth of the early 2010s stalled when solve the problem of sustaining the Earth while society thrives. the oil price cratered in mid-2014. Among those defending the The environmental compromise we make to accept three ethane industry were leaders who took the position that the issue is not a crackers and a thriving chemical industry will be a much better binary “jobs or environment” choice. one than the compromises made to build a thriving steel industry. I think that’s a tough argument, but one worth making. Intentionally The compromise of today can be diminished further over time if or not, Mayor Peduto may have started a civic (and civil) the leaders and residents of Western PA are vigilant in pressing conversation about the rebirth of heavy industry in Western PA. It’s manufacturers to improve and if better manufacturing technology a topic that is controversial and messy, but it’s a conversation that emerges. That’s on us. But chasing manufacturing away won’t should take place. eliminate the environmental threat of economic growth. The compromise will just be different. The binary argument, that you can either have a clean environment or a robust petrochemical industry, but not both, has a lot of Bill Peduto is just the mayor of Pittsburgh. He can’t keep PTT from historical backing. Pittsburgh is known as a steel town, but the building in Ohio, or Exxon Mobil from building in Beaver County, chemical industry also had a large presence in the Tri-state area. let alone stop hundreds of other companies from making stuff here Anyone over the age of 55 can tell you what this part of the world as a result of the economic resources. He can’t even stop them looked like in the 1960s and 1970s. It was not a garden spot. from building within the city limits if the council doesn’t agree. He’s Heavy industry produced goods and jobs, but it also polluted the a civic leader expressing a strong conviction. Even if you disagree environment. It’s not liberal fearmongering to express concerns with the conviction, isn’t it refreshing to have an elected official take that revitalization of one heavy industry could be bad for the a potentially unpopular position based upon conviction? environment. As if to make that point, the Keystone Pipeline leaked The mayor is just talking. Let’s keep the conversation going. And 338,000 gallons of oil in North Dakota at roughly the same time let’s be honest about it. Peduto was issuing his warning. It’s also true that the oil and gas industry has become a much better environmental citizen. At considerable cost, oil and gas companies have invested to prevent environmental disasters and day-in day-out damage. Those companies also have the highest safety Jeff Burd standards going. Even with extraordinary efforts to clean up, the industry is a dirty one. There will be spills. There will be explosions. BreakingGround January/February 2020 5 Industry Intelligence. Focused Legal Perspective. HIGH-YIELDING RESULTS. Meet our construction attorneys at babstcalland.com. Whether it’s negotiating a construction contract, litigating a mechanics’ lien or bond claim, resolving bid protests or dealing with delay, inefficiency, or acceleration claims, we help solve legal problems in ways that impact your business and add value to your bottom line. PITTSBURGH, PA I CANTON, OH I CHARLESTON, WV I HOUSTON, TX I SEWELL, NJ STATE COLLEGE, PA I WASHINGTON, DC Babst_Construction_DEVPGH_8.625x11.125.indd 1 7/3/19 6:02 AM REGIONAL MARKET UPDATE he start of the fourth quarter saw the short-term Pittsburgh rebounded last year. After declining in 2016 and economic outlook for Western PA dim slightly, as data growing only 1.7 percent in 2017, Pittsburgh’s gross domestic on employment and unemployment showed the U.S. product (GDP) was 3.0 percent higher in 2018, outpacing economy outperforming Pittsburgh.