“The strength of the market is the growth [taking place] in northern Colorado and into the southwest portion of Wyoming, with development in housing and businesses,” he says. 

 “We have seen the beginning of the downtown railroad corridor revitalization project with the completion of Westby Edge Brewery and the current construction of the Children’s Museum,” Benford says. He also noted the “continued progress” that is being made on the Hitching Post Development.” 

“There is an expectation to have new computing/data centers join Microsoft in Laramie County,” he says, adding that the Northrup Grumman GBSD upgrade is likely to keep the construction sector running strong “for years to come.” 

“The weaknesses [in this market]continue to be the lack of workforce to do the work,” Benford says. The shortage makes it difficult to fill both unskilled entry level jobs as well as the skilled trades jobs, he says.