Beacon News

Aug 2022: Beacon's Team Participates in ABA Fidelity & Surety Law "Midwinter Meeting" (*Held Aug. 17-20)

Earlier this month, this year's ABA Fidelity & Surety Law (FSLC) "Midwinter Meeting" was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Nashville, TN. Because of Covid-19, the FSLC's midwinter meeting was postponed until August this year. Beacon's team was very active at this year's meeting. Dennis O'Neill was a featured speaker on a panel discussion entitled "Investigation / Completion Options: Completion Agreement—Technical, Engineering, Legal." The panel focused on the many challenges associated with investigating and finishing up troubled construction projects where the surety company (and its construction consultants) must step in to ensure a project's completion...

Beacon Sponsoring Run Medford Charity Road Race & Fun Run - Sunday, Sept. 18th

Beacon Consulting Group is proud to be sponsoring (and participating in) "Run Medford," a charity Road Race / fundraiser to be held on September 18th in Medford, MA. Beacon's Boston area office is in Medford, a city located less than 5 miles northwest of downtown Boston. Medford's population is now over 59,000 people and it's home to many thriving businesses, as well as Tufts University. Medford was on the route of Paul Revere's famous midnight ride, which is celebrated with a reenactment every year. Past residents of Medford include such well-known figures as former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, aviator Amelia Earhart, and Beacon's President Dennis O'Neill!...

Beacon President's Message, July 2022

I hope your summer is off to a good start. It's hard to believe we are already halfway through 2022 (our 20th year in business). June was a busy, highly productive month for Beacon. Our team members (including myself) spent many days and weeks traveling to construction project sites around the country to help our clients track and manage a wide range of projects. Click below for full message...

Bio Concrete: An Emerging Construction Technology With Great Promise for Concrete Life Extension & CO2 Reduction

Bio concrete is a self-healing concrete designed to repair its own cracks. It was invented by a Dutch researcher, Hendrik Jonkers, at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Bio concrete is concrete with the addition of limestone producing bacteria utilizing a biochemical process called Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP). This article, written by Beacon Project Manager Myat Cyn, provides a great overview and introduction to this new technology...

Construction Loan Monitoring Project Profile: Beacon Team Attends Ground Breaking Ceremony For NJ Project

Beacon Consulting Group has long provided construction loan monitoring services to leading banks and other financial institutions. Earlier this year, Beacon started work on a construction loan monitoring project for a leading privately-held bank based in New York City. The project is a large mixed-use (residential / commercial) development project located in Parsippany, NJ. Beacon's team was retained to provide construction loan monitoring during Phase 1 site development work related to the PARQ project in NJ.

Photo Gallery: Beacon Leadership Team Attends Surety Claims Institute Annual Meeting in Asheville, NC

The Surety Claims Institute (SCI) held its annual meeting last week (June 22-24, 2022) in Asheville, NC at the historic Omni Grove Park Inn. Beacon's President Dennis O'Neill (currently Treasurer of the SCI) was in attendance, along with Beacon Vice Presidents Jim Bruno and John Yeung. This year's meeting included some informative presentations by a wide range of surety claims experts, great networking events, and opportunities to explore the hotel's beautiful natural surroundings and awesome views of the Great Smoky Mountains. It was great to see so many old friends, clients, and partners at this year's event...

Beacon President's Message, May 2022

It's hard to believe that Memorial Day weekend is here already. It's a great time of year, with graduation parties, barbecues, baseball games, and all kinds of outdoor sports and activities. After a long winter in the Northeast, the hot weather seems to come up all at once. The temperature in Boston hit 88F this past weekend and in New York City it topped 90F on Saturday! Wherever you will be this coming holiday weekend, I hope you have great weather and a great time. Click below for full message...

Beacon Staff Profile, Kieran O'Connor, Vice President, Southeast U.S.

Having worked on assignments across the U.S. for Beacon over the past 11 years, in 2020 Kieran O’Connor welcomed the opportunity to take the lead role in Beacon's new Florida office, where he now serves as Vice President, Southeast U.S. In addition to serving as the lead consultant on many projects, Kieran has extensive experience managing teams of project managers, superintendents, project engineers, and other consultants to complete projects in an efficient, professional, and cost-effective manner. Kieran has also served as an expert witness related to construction claims litigation and has participated on expert panels at industry conferences. Click below for full article...

Beacon Construction Consulting Project Profile: Carmel, NY Fire Station Expansion & Renovation

Beacon Consulting Group was retained by a leading Surety company to provide construction consulting services related to a Firehouse expansion and renovation project in Carmel, NY. The town is located approximately 50 miles north of New York City, has a population of 34,000 people, and is served by an all-volunteer fire department. In the summer of 2021, construction started on the 11,000-sf expansion to the town's main firehouse. Notable features of the $4.5-million project are the construction of a large new building directly behind the existing firehouse...

Construction Industry News: Mutual of Omaha Plans New Headquarters Tower for Downtown Omaha, NE

Earlier this year, Mutual of Omaha and the Mayor of Omaha announced plans for a new $433-million skyscraper to be built in downtown Omaha. Although the project must still be formally approved by the Omaha City Council, many details about the project have been released by the city and Mutual of Omaha. The proposed tower (known as "Project Beacon") would be between 40 and 50 stories tall, up to 650 feet in height, with 800,000 square feet of office space and 2200 parking spaces. Depending on the final approved design, the tower could end up being the city's tallest building...