Note 2 - Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Cash and Cash Equivalents Disclosure [Text Block]

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original or remaining maturities of

three

months or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents include cash balances held by our wholly-owned and less than wholly-owned subsidiaries and majority-owned construction joint ventures, as well as the Company’s VIE. Refer to Note

for more information regarding the Company’s consolidated VIE. Joint venture cash balances are limited to joint venture activities and are not available for other projects, general cash needs or distribution to us without approval of the board of directors, or equivalent body, of the respective joint ventures. At

March

31,

2017

and

December

31,

2016,

cash and cash equivalents included

$18.4

million and

$10.9

million, respectively, belonging to majority-owned joint ventures which generally cannot be used for purposes outside the joint venture.

Restricted cash of approximately

$3.0

million was included in “other assets, net” on the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of

March

31,

2017

and

December

31,

2016,

and represents cash deposited by the Company into a separate account and designated as collateral for a standby letter of credit in the same amount in accordance with contractual agreements. Refer to Note

for more information about our standby letter of credit. In addition, restricted cash of approximately

$2.0

million is included in “other current assets” on the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of

March

31,

2017

and

December

31,

2016

and represents cash deposited by a customer, for the benefit of the Company, in an escrow account which is restricted until the customer releases the restriction upon the completion of the job.

The Company holds cash on deposit in U.S. banks, at times, in excess of federally insured limits. Management does not believe that the risk associated with keeping cash deposits in excess of federal deposit insurance limits represents a material risk.