CD NOTES / New Demands

  1. NYC Launches Circular Construction Hub

    New York City unveils its first-ever circular construction hub today called MADE at Bush Terminal. It has been enabled via NYC EDC funding and is explicitly part of the city’s goal to shift the material supply chain for the built environment. Love to see the Pause scenario becoming real, bit by bit.

    “Construction and demolition debris accounts for 40% of the City’s total waste generation and represents a major stream of carbon emissions and economic value that can be recaptured and reused,” said NYCEDC’s Interim President and CEO Jeanny Pak. “Cities have a responsibility to create the conditions for innovation to succeed, and by partnering with Our Temenos through this pilot, NYCEDC is helping de-risk new approaches to material reuse and generating the real-world data needed to understand how circular construction can shape the future of building in New York City.”

    Also happy to see Chain Drain informant Sydney Mainster recognized in the press release for her great work on glass recycling in commercial construction! *BB-9/2/26

  2. Where the Rentals Meet the ROAD

    Congress spent most of this year threatening to lock institutional investors out of single-family rentals before finally relenting. But the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act still bars large-scale owners from acquiring further properties, with the exception of newly constructed build-to-rent (BTR) housing. You’ll never guess what happened next — investors that spent a decade outbidding first-time buyers of existing homes are now underwriting entire master-planned BTR communities, CRE Daily reports.

    While single-family rental owners have come under heavy criticism for aggressively evicting vulnerable tenants and squeezing renters, BTR potentially holds more promise. A vertically-integrated owner that entitles, designs, builds, and then holds entire communities for thirty years would have something everyone else in the AECO chain covets — a learning horizon long- and wide enough to learn from. Coupled with the access to capital necessary for making long-term investments in more efficient and resilient infrastructure, BTR might just have the makings of a virtuous circle.

    The caveat is whether the business model survives contact with the markets. According to a survey by the National Apartment Association, 84% of respondents name rising construction costs as their top concern, while yields are already compressing under new supply. (Good if you’re a renter; bad if you’re an investor.) *GL-8/27/26

  3. What If We Never Built Another New Building?

    Great example of the Pause scenario today from Reasons to be Cheerful: If [architect Barbara Buser] were in charge, “I would stop every project,” she says emphatically, “then review them all through the lens of sustainability. If a project cannot meet strict carbon targets, it shouldn’t be built.” Instead of measuring success in Swiss francs, she argues, “the currency should be CO2.” There’s a new film about her work coming soon. *GL-8/24/26