City Grill

David Helveston 
President & CEO
ABC, Pelican Chapter

The construction market has been heating up in the Baton Rouge area, with construction employment up more than 9% in the past year, says Helveston. 
“We see more growth on the horizon as several large industrial projects are awaiting final federal regulations related to the Inflation Reduction Act and its lucrative tax credits,” he adds. 

In February, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber said the local construction sector is growing rapidly and needs more workers. 

The chamber forecasts in 2024 that metro Baton Rouge will see 10 expansion construction projects, 1,383 new jobs and $17.8 billion in capital investments. This year, the area was responsible for two-thirds of all new construction jobs in the state, the chamber said. 

The capital city’s MOVEBR, the largest road and transportation improvement program in East Baton Rouge Parish history, not only completed 22 voter-approved road, lighting and sidewalk projects last year but also anticipates that 46 more voter-requested improvement projects go into construction in 2024.