NEW LOCATION! Omni Houston, Four Riverway, Houston, Texas 77056. For sponsorship and registration details, click on the link below.

Save the date! Join us for the first AGC member mixer of 2015! Held at Crisp in The Heights, this popular event attracts Houston's commercial construction industry professionals, and is a great networking opportunity. 

Interesting in sponsoring this event? Contact Amy Collins for more information and click here to register.

Do you know a deserving recipient? The AGC Houston Standard of Excellence Award is presented annually and gives special recognition to a construction industry employee who most exemplifies the highest standards of excellence: commitment to quality, customer service, cooperation, teamwork and professionalism.

All construction industry employees are eligible – employees of general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, service companies, architects and engineers. Nominate a deserving individual today. Deadline for application is January 31, 2015.

The AGC Safety Committee will be kicking off 2015 with their first meeting on Friday, January 30, 2015 at 7:00 a.m. at the AGC Houston office. Interested in attending or learning more? Contact Safety Director, Kim Mason, for more details.

OSHA's new, reporting requirements take effect on January 1, 2015. Employers will have to report any inpatient hospitalizations, amputations or losses of an eye affecting any one employee within 24 hours.

Non-farm payrolls were up 321,000 in November, according to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was far above economists' expectations of around 230,000. The construction sector added 20,000 jobs, while architectural and engineering services added 5,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.8 percent. The number of jobs added in September and October was revised upward by 44,000 as well.

AGC Houston members are now eligible for even more discounts thanks to our new membership with National Purchasing Partners! AGC Members Enroll Today! Visit the Membership Discounts page on the AGC.org for more information. Sign up today with NPP to access some of these great savings opportunities:

• AGC members collectively saved more than $4,941,000 last year off the purchase or lease of new GM, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ford vehicles.
• AGC Members collectively saved more than $2,217,232 last year off shipping and freight through AGC’s shipping programs.
• iSqFt: A decade ago, ISqFt forged a strategic partnership with AGC providing members with online plan room services and leads.
• Verizon: Access the nation's largest and most reliable 4G LTE network. Members receive 22 percent off of corporate calling plans. Contact the National Purchasing Partners at 800-810-3909 for more information.
• Reliant Energy: Discounted prices, one-stop-shop service to install temporary meters and more.
• LegalZoom: Personalized, affordable legal protection. 
• Ram Commercial Trucks: AGC members can receive up to $500 cash allowance toward the purchase or lease of many of the most popular vehicles in our lineup.

Interested in posting a résumé on our website? Contact Jaclyn Lee to have yours posted today.

Firms included in the 2015 "Best Law Firms" list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. Congratulations on your continued success!

The American Institute of Architects recently held its Sixth Annual Gingerbread Bake-Off at City Hall's Hermann Square on Saturday, December 13, 2014. More than 30 teams gathered to create their edible masterpieces.  For an event arranged by Houston's branch of the American Institute of Architects, there was much consternation that a team made up of neuroscientists took the top prize with their Grand Gingerbread Hotel, a completely edible model of the centerpiece from the Wes Anderson movie "The Grand Budapest Hotel."

"It was just visually stunning, the scale and the execution. There was great craftsmanship, creative use of materials - the whole presentation was clever," said AGC's Charlene Anthony, who served as a judge for the competition.

McGraw Hill reports that $26.7 billion in construction contracts were awarded in the metro area in the first ten months of ’14. That compares to $10.6 billion in contracts awarded during the same period in ’13. 

Only a handful of Class B office buildings in Houston are LEED certified. While 28 percent of Houston's 296 Class A properties have LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, just 2 percent of Houston's 571 Class B buildings can say the same, according to CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBG). A recent CoreNet Global meeting focused on how Houston could help Class B commercial property owners understand the benefits — and financial payoffs — of going green. These improvements can boost the value of Class B buildings, which helps when it comes time to refinance or sell, said Dougal Cameron, Cameron Management's president and CEO. Improvements, like LEED certification, can lower the capitalization rate, which real estate investors use to compare commercial properties.

"A lot of our workforce doesn't have the proper work papers," said AGC Houston President, Jerry Nevlud. "Now they'd be able to stay on payrolls, and companies can invest in training and development. That stability will encourage workers to consider construction as a career, not just a short-term job. The bottom line for the industry is that it's a good thing."