Milwaukee February2024 Key Take Aways!
• Jim Dash (Carlson Dash) – Seeing a national flattening of construction employment. Noted stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on employment, and spending. Concerned with the fall in union stats reported from Associated General Contractors.
• Michael Brush (Plunkett Raysich Architects) – Seeing a growing volume in PRA’s education work. Noted other teams in the firm (ie. healthcare, senior living, and corporate) are taking on education projects and referendums are upcoming. Concerned with the other slow markets and that costs are deterring work.
• Allen Witt (Terracon) – Seeing solar is continuing to develop rapidly and geotech reports are driving the pace. Noted the 10-year bill, ending in 2033, for tax credits as a main reason corporations are switching to solar and there has been a high demand for reporting. Concerned about the difficulties of being a specialty business and making the proper connections for clients.
• Paul Koszarek (Terracon) – Seeing Wisconsin as a hotbed for solar. Noted Illinois has a lottery for the solar tax credits, as opposed to being application based, making them further behind with development. Concerned clients are able to get accurate reports at every project stage.
• Brian Widened (MSA Professional Services) – Seeing clients looking to address housing affordability. Noted housing studies, zoning reform, and comprehensive plan updates are increasing, as well as Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority loan eligibility/availability developing. Concerned with current deficits and current communities not being prepared for loan requirements.
• Peter Nilles (MKE County Department of Administrative Services) – Seeing current projects in Germantown picking up. Noted an interest in today’s presentation on site selection. Concerned with the relocation of the current public safety building.
• Aaron Davis (Plunkett Raysich Architects) – Seeing estimated prices for bids actually coming in lower for projects. Noted different reasons higher prices might be being quoted. Concerned with project compromises based on price differences and if market pricing is coming down.
• Jennifer Green (Green Commercial Realty Advisors) – Seeing a rise in workforce housing development. Noted 501c3 money is available. Concerned with how the term “affordable housing” is perceived when getting communities to invest in new projects.
• Lucas Geiger (MSA Professional Services) – Seeing communities continuing to develop outdoor, park & rec, and trail projects. Noted the growth of communities are providing continuous work. Concerned with the impact of assembly bill 514 on engineering and consulting companies’ flexibility of liability and exemption from litigation.
Terracon presentation;
As a company Terracon;
• Prioritizes safety by documenting “near misses” and talking about/assessing future jobs
• Despite being a large company, conducts work as a local company
The focus is on;
• Specific stages in development (ie. Geotechnical, cultural resource checking, material/environmental/solar testing, and Karst surveys)
• How boring logs and data crunching provide a massive amount of information pre-development.
• Avoiding risk
• Site selection is made easier with Terracon’s extensive and easy to access GIS system.
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