Between a rock and a hard place┬áAlthough thereÔÇÖs plenty of lucrative building work in Las Vegas, itÔÇÖs not always possible to get complete and unfettered access to the site, as Alan T Swaby learns. From a vacationerÔÇÖs point of view, possibly one of the biggest turn-offs possible is to find construction work taking place at the resort youÔÇÖve chosen. By the same token, few if any resort owners can afford to shut their premises down while major refurbishments are taking place.

The long viewThe Three-Sixty Residences luxury high-rise condo development in downtown San Jose, California, is a positive public-private partnership in an urban setting, Gary Toushek discovers. Chicago-based Mesa Development is providing San Jose, California, with one of its first downtown luxury condo high-rises, and it happens to be one of the tallest residential buildings in the city. It also happens to be on a previously underutilized parking lot that the city had slated for redevelopment, so everyone wins.

A whole new crossing┬áBrendan A. Smith learns about the contribution being made to a new mixed use property development by a local site developer, McManus Excavating Company. The famous town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, will soon be Cape AnnÔÇÖs premier retail destination, and a local site work development company is playing a vital role.

In the pipeline┬áMacro Industries is at the heart of the oil and gas extraction that is driving CanadaÔÇÖs economy from some of its remotest regions: terrain that demands special expertise and flexibility. John OÔÇÖHanlon looks at the company and the industry. The stone flung into the world economy has rippled every part of it, and the energy sector is no exception.

Heart of the city┬áThe face and appearance of Louisiana is being renewed after the devastation of hurricane Katrina, and Lemoine Company is very much part of it, Ruari McCallion discovers. When Hurricane Katrina blew into town in August 2005, with 175-mph winds and a record storm surge, it devastated New Orleans and cut a swathe of destruction across Louisiana and west into Texas.

Joining up┬áPeriods of financial difficulty are often good times for military recruitment, but Ledcor San Diego Construction Group is finding the military helpful in overcoming its own difficulties, as Alan T Swaby learns. Despite being 80 percent complete, when Lehman Brothers went under on September 15 last year, work on a new Ritz-Carlton hotel near Palm Springs, California, stopped overnight.

Living┬álarge┬áField construction manager Phil Gardner tells Gary Toushek some of the challenges Ledcor Construction faced in building VancouverÔÇÖs tallest tower, with its five-star luxury hotel and high-priced condos, during a major construction boom. Phil Gardner is Ledcor ConstructionÔÇÖs field construction manager for the Living Shangri-La project, a 62-story tower with a five-star hotel up to 15 stories and 47 floors of the most expensive condos in the city (the penthouses are each in the $10ÔÇô15 million range) during one of the most explosive con

Track record┬áNASCAR Plaza, a new addition to the skyline in Charlotte, North Carolina, is both an international architectural icon and a pinnacle of project management and green design for owner and developer Lauth, as John OÔÇÖHanlon finds out. Lauth is renowned for its industrial and office developments and as the builder, owner and manager of countless projects across the United States. Since its founding in 1977 it has grown to become one of the largest real estate development companies in the country.

The┬ágreen office┬áOffice systems manufacturer Knoll has positioned itself at the forefront of environmental technology, Andrew Pelis discovers. Knoll is recognized internationally for creating workplace furnishings that inspire, evolve and endure. Headquartered in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, the roots of the company can be traced back to 1938, and its visionary approach to furniture design has always been apparent.

Healthcare construction is a vital part of primary patient care at Kaleida Health, an outstanding hospital group, as John OÔÇÖHanlon discoversBuffalo, New York, is a favored city from the point of view of healthcare, and not only if you are sick, because who doesnÔÇÖt appreciate having hospitals and medical research equal to the best in the US right on their doorstep?