You’ve probably seen one – an abandoned and ugly vacant big box store. Usually, there is graffiti covering broken glass doors and a huge, empty parking lot. These buildings have been designated “ghostboxes.” When big box stores and super centers hit hard times, many were simply were shuttered. The result was lots of large empty […]
There’s a $36 billion marketplace that may double in size in the near future. It’s the renewable energy sector – and it’s definitely worth watching. The United States ranks second only to China in leading the world in electricity generated from renewable sources. And, interestingly enough, Texas is home to one of the world’s largest […]
America’s infrastructure is crumbling – our roads, bridges, schools and water plants. While government officials are eager to address these growing needs, funding sources are scarce. There is an alternative solution to paying for infrastructure projects with funding other than local, state and federal allocations. But, according to a report released this week by the […]
Calling American infrastructure “a necessary input to every economic output,” a report this week released by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) addresses how failure to invest in the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure is affecting the economy, jobs, personal disposable income and business sales. The report, Failure to Act: Closing the Infrastructure Investment Gap for […]
Fifteen years ago, New York City leaders looked at an abandoned, aging elevated rail line that stretched about 20 city blocks along Manhattan’s western edge and wondered if something could be done with it. Today, the city can point to a unique public park that attracts 6 million visitors each year. It also generates an […]
In election years, especially this one, it’s easy to focus only on national politics. The media could easily lead us to believe that everything important is happening nationally. But, that is definitely not true! In fact, it appears that more good things are happening at the local levels of government. Counties have particularly been interesting […]
Three years after passage by Texas legislators of a narrowly focused bill, a Gulf Coast state college is taking advantage of that legislation – and a public-private partnership (P3) – to build campus housing. Lamar State College-Port Arthur (LSCPA) recently announced an agreement with a developer for construction of a $6.6 million campus housing complex for […]