The Great American Bread Machine and Future Prosperity
Getting Started With America’s 250th birthday soon to be celebrated, we stop momentarily to see how the Great American Bread Machine, the economy, cheers us on as we pursue life, liberty and happiness. So far, so good, I would say. In fact, in spite of much done politically to direct the economy from the top…
Technology that Builds Trust: Supporting Owners and Communities from the Start
Construction technology at Harper General Contractors has evolved from a concept into a core driver of how the company builds. Today, it stands as a defining element of every project. The foundation for Harper’s Construction Technology Department (ConTech) was laid in 2015 during Harper’s first Building Information Modeling (BIM) coordination effort at the Greenville Country…
Midterm Wake-Up Call for Trump: Study Shows Nonunion Construction Workers Built the GOP Coalition
Associated Builders and Contractors today released the results of a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll in six battleground states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—which found that nonunion skilled trades workers—who make up nearly 90% of the construction workforce—are an influential voting bloc in elections and were the driving force behind Republicans’ success in 2024, including the election of…
Urban New Construction Is Scarce, Expensive, and in High Demand
Realtor.com® today released its first quarter 2026 New Construction Insights Report, revealing a tale of two housing markets: an urban new construction market defined by scarcity and steep premiums, and a suburban one marked by stability and competitive pricing. The report finds that while new construction has shown remarkable resilience overall, where new homes are being built is shaping who…
NAIOP CRE Sentiment Index: Outlook Remains Positive Though Cost Pressures Persist
The latest NAIOP CRE Sentiment Index shows respondents continue to expect improvement across several key commercial real estate (CRE) indicators, but optimism has moderated as ongoing cost pressures and uncertainty weigh on development feasibility and near-term decision-making, according to the report. Published by the NAIOP Research Foundation, the Index is designed to predict general conditions in the CRE industry over the next 12 months by surveying industry…
AbbVie Selects North Carolina for New $1.4 Billion Manufacturing Campus
AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) today announced a $1.4 billion investment to build a 185-acre pharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Durham, North Carolina. The state-of-the-art campus will integrate advanced manufacturing and laboratory technologies with artificial intelligence (AI) to support the production of AbbVie’s immunology, neuroscience and oncology medicines. This is AbbVie’s first major investment in North Carolina. The AbbVie…
Richard Alsop, Jr., FAIA: What I Learned about Life Balance from the Oldest Person I Ever Met
What I learned about life balance from the oldest person I ever met. On Friday, March 27, I spent the day with the oldest person I have ever known, my dad, celebrating his 101st birthday. Raised during the Depression, he enlisted in the US Navy in June 1942 at just over 17, the same age…
CarolinaPower’s Becca Holleran, Assistant Project Manager, Reflects on Career in Construction
Becca Holleran is an assistant project manager with leading regional electrical contractor, CarolinaPower, in Columbia, South Carolina. Becca moved into project management from field administration, bringing a strong understanding of onsite operations, documentation control, and team coordination. In a short interview during Women in Construction month (March), Becca discussed her career path history, what she enjoys…
With War Raging and Oil Surging, What is the Economic Outlook?
With a war raging in the Middle East, trade wars at play elsewhere, crude oil prices rising above $100 a barrel, the White House threatening a Cuba takeover and U.S. saber rattling directed toward Greenland, economic policy uncertainty is peaking and major investment decisions are being put on hold. Is there anything meaningful that we…
The Skilled Trades Moment: Why This Is an Opportunity We Should Lean Into
BlackRock’s recent $100 million investment in skilled trades training is more than a philanthropic announcement. It is a clear signal about where the U.S. economy is headed—and what it will take to sustain growth over the next decade. At a time when headlines are dominated by artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and massive infrastructure spending, BlackRock’s…
