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Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (7/8/26) – Data Centers Negotiate Flexibility for Speed, Hotel Deal Activities Focus on Luxury, and DC Sues Apartment Owners

July 20, 2026 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
In our latest roundup, rail projects gain steam across the U.S., AI optimizes building operations, a modular approach speeds data center construction, and more!

• Hyperscalers want their data centers online, and utilities want to provide interconnections, but both are still looking for common operating guidelines. (Herman K. Trabish, Construction Dive)
• Contractors are taking advantage of multibillion-dollar train and transit contracts, even as funding challenges create hurdles for project execution. (Matthew Thibault, Construction Dive)
• Although hospitality and leisure M&A deal volume was down 2.5% in the first half of 2026 compared to the prior six months, investors are concentrating on the upper end of the market, including luxury hotels, wellness resorts and gaming, or “data-rich,” platforms. (Noor Adatia, Hotel Dive)

Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

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AI Adoption in Construction: A UK Practitioner’s View

April 20, 2026 — Aarni Heiskanen - AEC Business
I recently talked with Chris Brady, an AI adoption consultant based in Birmingham, UK, who has spent 18 years working in construction. Two years ago, he began integrating AI into his work with contractors and SMEs, initially as an add-on service, and it has since become his main business. Chris now runs Metrix, an AI consultancy focused on UK construction companies, alongside two other ventures: Trade Upskill, an education platform for construction professionals, and ctrldash.ai, a compliance-automation SaaS for construction SMEs, both of which are soon to launch. What struck me most in our conversation was how grounded his approach is, built on years of direct industry experience rather than arriving from outside with a technology solution looking for a problem. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Aarni Heiskanen, AEC Business
Mr. Heiskanen may be contacted at aec-business@aepartners.fi

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Southwest Super Lawyers Recognizes 50 Snell & Wilmer Attorneys in 2026 Rankings

June 15, 2026 — Snell & Wilmer
PHOENIX (April 22, 2026) – Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that 50 attorneys in the Phoenix and Tucson offices have been selected for inclusion in the 2026 Southwest Super Lawyers publication. Of those 50, four were recognized for the first time and 24 were recognized as Southwest Rising Stars. Super Lawyers is a listing of lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations. Super Lawyers was first published in 1991 by Law & Politics and was acquired by Thomson Reuters, Legal in February 2010. Thomson Reuters is a leading source of information for businesses and professionals. The below Snell & Wilmer attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the 2026 Southwest Super Lawyers rankings. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Snell & Wilmer

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Flatiron Said Disputed Concrete Mix Cost Millions on Large Caltrans Project

June 22, 2026 — Elaine Silver & Richard Korman - Engineering News-Record
For awhile in 2023, part of the California Dept. of Transportation's (Caltrans) Fix 50 HOV lane and resurfacing project in Sacramento itself needed to be fixed. Reprinted courtesy of Elaine Silver, Engineering News-Record and Richard Korman, Engineering News-Record Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com Read the full story...

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Lewis Brisbois Welcomes Clients and Community Leaders to New Garden City Office Opening

July 27, 2026 — Lewis Brisbois
On July 15, Lewis Brisbois hosted a ribbon-cutting event for its new Garden City office, which opened in April to serve the Long Island community and beyond. The event was attended by more than 100 people, including Lewis Brisbois attorneys and staff as well as clients, local business and government leaders, Nassau County Supreme Court judges, and members of the press. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman delivered remarks and cut the ribbon for the office. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Lewis Brisbois

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Ahlers Cressman & Sleight named one of the Top 50 Construction Law Firms

August 11, 2026 — Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC is pleased to announce its fifth consecutive year of recognition by Construction Executive as one of The Top 50 Construction Law Firms. Since its first publication in 2003, Construction Executive magazine has served as the leading source for news, market developments, and business issues impacting the construction industry. Construction Executive established the rankings by asking over 600 U.S. construction law firms to complete a survey. Constructive Executive’s data collection includes: 2025 revenues from the firm’s construction practice; the number of attorneys in the firm’s construction practice; the percentage of the firm’s total revenues derived from its construction practice; the number of states in which the firm is licensed to practice; the year in which the construction practice was established; and the number of construction industry clients served during the fiscal year 2025. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC

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Seventh Circuit, With an Assist From the Illinois Supreme Court, Finds That “Pollution Exclusion” Bars Coverage For Emissions Allowed Under Regulatory Permit

April 20, 2026 — Jason Taylor - Traub Lieberman Insurance Law Blog
In Griffith Foods Int’l Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, 24-1217 & 24-1223 (7th Cir. Mar. 13, 2026), the Seventh Circuit addressed the meaning and scope of a pollution exclusion in a standard-form commercial general liability insurance policy for underlying injuries caused by ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions. The insurance dispute arose out of underlying tort litigation involving bodily injury claims, including cancer, allegedly caused by emissions of ethylene oxide over a 35-year period from 1984 through 2019 by Griffith Foods International and later Sterigenics U.S. The pollution exclusion at issue generally barred coverage for “bodily injury” arising out of the discharge, dispersal, release or escape of smoke, vapors, soot, fumes, acids, alkalis, toxic chemicals, or other irritants, contaminants or pollutants. Interpreting similar exclusions, the Illinois Supreme Court has previously held that the standard CGL pollution exclusion bars coverage for bodily injuries caused by traditional environmental pollution (essentially industrial emissions of pollutants), but not by more commonplace emissions (such as carbon monoxide from a residential furnace or excess chlorine in a backyard swimming pool). See American States Insurance Co. v. Koloms, 177 Ill. 2d 473 (Ill. 1997). In Griffith Foods, the District Court initially concluded that the pollution exclusion did not apply because the companies emitted EtO pursuant to a permit issued by the IEPA. The District Court reached this latter conclusion by applying Erie Insurance Exchange v. Imperial Marble Corp., 957 N.E.2d 1214 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011), an Illinois intermediate appellate court decision finding it ambiguous whether a CGL policy’s pollution exclusion barred coverage for emissions authorized by regulatory permit. Read the full story...
Reprinted courtesy of Jason Taylor, Traub Lieberman
Mr. Taylor may be contacted at jtaylor@tlsslaw.com

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Steel Cooling: Steel Costs Steadily Decline After Pandemic Price Shock

May 12, 2026 — Construction Executive
Steel prices have continued trending downward after several years of volatility, according to Gordian’s latest analysis based on RSMeans Data. After dramatic spikes during the pandemic-era supply disruptions, the market has gradually stabilized as supply chains improve and demand softens in some construction segments. However, selective volatility and tariff uncertainty continue to influence pricing across the sector. Key findings from the report include:

• Steel prices declining: The national average price of structural steel fell to about $2,343.93 per ton in January 2026, down 5.38% from the previous quarter and 7.18% year over year.
• Longer-term price correction: Steel costs have been trending downward since 2024 after earlier volatility driven by inflation, supply shortages and global demand swings.

Reprinted courtesy of Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the full story...

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