As the US economic downturn began to take shape in 2008, many funds began scanning the landscape to position themselves to steal a distressed asset deal. Consequently, being financially positioned to take advantage of a down market, all the funds had to do was wait a little while for the banks to begin unloading distressed properties. Undoubtedly, lenders would need to clean house and divest themselves of bad debt now sitting on their books. However, the thirty-cents-on-the-dollar deals just didn’t materialize. What happened? Read more »

April 1, 1979, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was established by Presidential Order to assist individuals and local and state authorities in dealing with disasters. The overarching role of FEMA is to coordinate the response to disasters and provide state and local governments with experts in specialized fields and funding for rebuilding efforts and relief funds for infrastructure, in conjunction with the Small Business Administration. FEMA’s assistance includes low interest loans or providing funds for the training of response personnel throughout the United States and its territories as part of the agency’s preparedness effort. Read more »

Robert S. Vance Federal Courthouse Building
Birmingham, AL

The General Services Administration (GSA) was tasked to administer the proposed ARRA-funded building projects. In August 2009, Hill International was selected as the Construction Manager as Agent (CMa) for the $42 million modernization and renovation effort of the Robert Smith Vance Federal Courthouse facility in Birmingham, Alabama.

The main challenge is to convert an historical 1920s-era building into a “high-performance green building” that is LEED-Certified and provides a model workplace, incorporating sustainable design while retaining the building’s historical character. Read more »