Texas & Louisiana City Scoop: Construction Starts in Houston
Total Construction Spending Forecast to Grow by More Than 10% in 2018
Residential, non-residential and non-building sectors are expected to continue to post healthy gains.
City Grill
Jerry Nevlud
President/CEO
AGC Houston
Houston’s construction markets are “kind of a mixed bag” these days, says Nevlud. While some larger projects and private development work has stalled, or fallen through, plenty of school projects are ongoing, he says, given the plentiful bond funding from the last several years. These projects include the $80-million High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, now under construction and slated for a 2018 completion, and the $107-million Lamar High School, also in progress and set to wrap up in 2019.
Medical and industrial construction also continues across the city, and some contractors are optimistic that work in those sectors will increase toward the end of the year, says Nevlud. However, because of the politics surrounding the Affordable Care Act, “there’s a lot of uncertainty within the medical community as to where they need to go,” he adds.
Workforce challenges remain in Houston, much like the rest of the country. Collaboration among AGC Houston, the Construction Career Collaborative and the Greater Houston Partnership is driving local initiatives to build and maintain a sustainable workforce, he says.
