• The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced its plan on November 4 to parcel out $1.5 billion to upgrade the network of national laboratories it manages, including funds for cutting-edge technological tools and some facilities that house them.
• DOE said some new funds from the just enacted Inflation Reduction Act would go toward major equipment projects in areas such as high-energy physics, fusion energy, nuclear physics, and science laboratories, while other portions will underwrite construction and lab facility upgrades.
• The administration intends that the labs will play a major part in clean-energy and climate-related work and that the new funding will provide “a long overdue boost” for DOE’s national labs, with some funds to be used to “build and upgrade scientific facilities, modernize their infrastructure and tackle deferred maintenance projects.”

• U.S. real-estate developers are delaying major office projects already underway or in the planning stages, discouraged by high vacancy rates and reduced workspace demand resulting from remote work.
• Property developers view periods of economic uncertainty and weak office demand as good times to launch new projects, but soaring interest rates and the slow pace at which workers are returning to offices have even some risk-taking developers wary about the future.
• Developers forging ahead say demand remains strong for the highest-quality space with great locations and amenities such as restaurants, good views, fitness centers, and daycare.
• Businesses adopting new workplace strategies feel it is worth paying higher rents for this space partly because they are leasing less and partly to encourage workers to return to the office for more days.

DCCM, LLC (DCCM), a Texas-based design, consulting, and program & construction management services firm, has acquired Urban Engineering, LLC (Urban Engineering) and Urban Civil, LLC (Urban Civil), both of which are Texas-based providers of public works, land and site development, and surveying work for public and private clientele along the Texas Gulf Coast and other regions. The combined organization will continue to operate under the Urban Engineering name and allow DCCM to expand its service capabilities, particularly within Texas and the surrounding region. 

Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (Bowman), a Virginia-based engineering services firm delivering infrastructure solutions to customers who own, develop, and maintain the built environment, has acquired SEI Engineering, LLC (SEIE), a Colorado-based provider of technical services to developers and owners of utility and commercial scale solar energy facilities. The acquisition of SEIE will help expand Bowman's solar engineering services with the addition of SEIE's team of photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage system designers, engineers, and technicians.