Grand Central at Kennedy

The Tampa Division of Tri-City Electrical Contractors, Inc. completed work at The Grand Central at Kennedy, a new 1.4-million-square-foot mixed-use development in downtown Tampa, under its contract with Hardin Construction Company. Featuring two high-rise towers with spectacular views of downtown Tampa, the Channel District and historic Ybor City, the project included 392 luxury residence units, 125,000 square feet of retail space, 55,000 square feet of office space, and 1,350 parking spaces.

Construction Outlook

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) sees the decline in employment in today's report as an indication that the sagging housing market and the turmoil in the credit and financial markets are beginning to affect the wider economy, as well as the nonresidential construction segment, where signs of weakness are beginning to emerge. On the brighter side, the average hourly earnings increased to $17.50 and are up 3.9 percent over the past 12 months. This is expected to support a moderate pace of consumer spending over the near-term. For more information, check out the Construction Economic Homepage.

TIA's 20 Year Master Plan

Louis Miller (Executive Director TIA) was the guest speaker at our 3Q Lunch & Learn. Mr. Miller spoke to a crowd of over 170 people and unveiled TIA's 20 Year Master Plan. The plan consist of close to 1 Billion dollars worth of construction projects. The projects include a new terminal, parking garages, runway, and a regional transit station.

Click here to view the presentation.

GATES Goes Global

GATES, the Southwest Florida based construction, development, and real estate services company, recently signed a partnership agreement with Panama-based construction giant COCIGE – one of the largest construction companies in Central America with close to 3,000 employees. The partnership was created to help facilitate the construction and development for United States and European companies wanting to expand into this enormous emerging world market. The company name within Panama and Central America will be called COCIGE – GATES. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL), along with Representative Garrett Richter (District 76 Representative for the state of Florida), the Naples Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Collier County, made the public announcement. “I am extremely excited to have helped shepherd this exciting partnership between GATES and COCIGE, which will open many future doors for prosperous and positive commerce to take place between the two world powerhouses, the US and Central America,” commented Senator Mel Martinez (R). “I am very proud of the contributions that GATES and this partnership are making to the economic vitality of the state of Florida, and I am honored to call Todd a friend and congratulate him on a job well done,” commented Representative Garrett Richter, District 76 Representative for the state of Florida.

Rick Nafe Provides Laughs at Monthly Meeting

Rick Nafe, Tampa Bay Devil Rays Director of Operations, provided some big laughs to our August Membership Meeting. Nafe talked about his career working with the Tampa Sports Authority and Devil Rays. The meeting was well attended by over 135 members.