May 2024 City Scoop: Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale
City Grill
Josh Umar
Executive Director
American Subcontractors Association of Arizona
Construction remains strong in the Phoenix area, and Umar expects that to continue into at least the near future. All markets are well represented, including infrastructure, manufacturing, industrial/warehouse, health care and biosciences, along with major residential developments such as multifamily and build-to-rent projects. The number of new contractors moving into the area from out of state underscores this strength, says Umar.
“We’ve adjusted some of our educational programming to empower our members who are working with these newer entrants into the market who may not be aware of some features of doing business here—Arizona’s prompt pay laws being a prominent example,” he says.
Finding sufficient labor remains the biggest challenge for contractors working in Phoenix. Companies, associations and government are doing what they can to invest in career awareness efforts and training, but these take time.
“The lack of skilled tradespeople obviously places a bottleneck on that growth and slows down projects,” he says.
