Along with high-tech, owners want high quality. Whether it's a retirement community in Springfield or a research park near Charlottesville, new construction in Virginia stresses green designs, sprawling campuses and village atmospheres. That same concept is behind the village-type design of the U.Va. While the building boom is welcome, there are some construction trends that contractors could do without. They are dealing with a shrinking pool of workers and increasing demands that projects be built faster and cheaper.
Time frames are tighter and tighter.
Time is money, and the contractor is caught in the middle. There was a time when hard, hands-on work outdoors was appealing. For a young man trying to get a summer job in construction, it was tough. It was an employers' market. Today, the roles are reversed.