Briefcase

Six Vie for Project Manager Services for Union Station
SPRINGFIELD — The City of Springfield recently received six responses to the Springfield Redevelopment Authority’s (SRA) request for owners project manager (OPM) services for the Union Station Regional Intermodal Transportation Center. The services requested also will apply to the transfer of funds from the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority for a portion of the project. The SRA owns Union Station, including the former terminal and adjacent baggage building and the site of the former Hotel Charles, and is retaining the services of an OPM to represent its interests in the design and construction of the proposed transportation center. The firms interested in the project are Arcadis US Inc. of Atlanta, Ga., with a Springfield office; HEERY International Inc. of Burlington; the Louis Berger Group Inc. of Needham; SKANSKA USA Building Inc. of Boston; URS Corp.-New York of Boston; and Western Mass. OPM Services, LLC of Holyoke. Those that meet the minimum qualifications stated in the request will be evaluated and ranked by a review committee designated by the SRA governing board. Top-ranking firms may be interviewed by the committee, which then will submit its list of the top three firms to the governing board. The process is expected to take four weeks. The fee for services will be negotiated between the SRA and the selected firm. Plans call for restoring the main terminal building and using the adjacent site of the former baggage-handling building for construction of a 23-bay bus terminal with a 400-space public parking garage located on the upper levels.

August Retail Sales Up
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Census Bureau recently announced that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for August, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $363.7 billion, an increase of 0.4% from the previous month, and 3.6% above August 2009. Total sales for the June through August 2010 period were up 4.7% from the same period a year ago. The June to July 2010 percent change was revised from +0.4% to +0.3%. Retail trade sales were up 0.5% from July 2010, and 3.7% above last year. Non-store retailers’ sales were up 10.5% from August 2009, and gasoline stations were up 9.6% from last year. The Advance Monthly Retail Sales for Retail and Food Services for September is scheduled to be released Oct. 15.

Energy-efficiency Training Courses Set
BOSTON — The Mass. Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) recently announced the second round of weatherization workshops under the MassGREEN Initiative, which provides energy-efficiency workforce training for individuals and contracting firms throughout the state. Four state community colleges will host the program’s course for people with little or no background in weatherization concepts or practices, including entry-level workers and residential construction trades seeking to expand their knowledge and services in energy efficiency. Upcoming local training sessions are planned at Springfield Technical Community College, One Armory Square, from Sept. 30 to Dec. 16; and at Greenfield Community College, Franklin County Technical School in Turners Falls, from Sept. 30 to Nov. 20. Successful graduates of the course will be prepared to take the Building Performance Institute Installer exams for air sealing and dense packing, which are up-to-date insulation techniques. For more information on the class schedule, visit the web sites of the local colleges. For more information on MassCEC, visit www.masscec.com