Construction Industry Trends: April 2024 Roundup
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April was a month of planning and progress for the construction industry. Major projects were proposed while others’ preliminary plans were approved. Federal funds continued to push on-shore chip manufacturing, while Key Bridge rebuilding planning moved forward. Here’s what happened in April 2024.
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Skanska Awarded $861M Empire Wind Project Contract
Skanska will be making big waves in the offshore wind energy industry. The Sweden-based contractor and developer was just awarded the $861M contract to turn NYC’s South Brooklyn Marine Terminal into one of the largest offshore wind ports in the US. This section of the project is the first of two facilities of an offshore wind farm, with Skanska’s phase dubbed Empire Wind 1.
Empire Wind 1’s functions will include the operation and maintenance of the wind farm’s infrastructure as well as storing and integrating power for NYC’s electricity grid. Skanska’s scope includes demolishing buildings that currently stand on SBMT, improving the site for staging wind turbine components, and installing underground utilities. The contractor will also install two heavy-lift crane pads for loading and unloading, upgrading bulkheads, installing new docks, and constructing an 85,000-square-foot operations warehouse, office, and parking facility.
Chicago Bears Newest Game Plan? A $4.2B Stadium
The Chicago Bears drew up a new plan recently, but there aren’t any X’s, O’s, or passing routes to discuss. The new plan is a brand new stadium, including state-of-the-art facilities, a fixed-roof enclosure, and multi-sport flexibility on Chicago’s lakefront. The project’s name? The Burnham Park Project.
The Burnham Park Project’s plans were released in late April and include 14 acres of recreational and athletic space. There will be several soccer and baseball fields, providing high-quality and safe spaces for local youth programs to play. There will also be lakefront shopping and outdoor experiences available for visitors, as well as the potential for a new hotel. Inside the new facility, there will be room for Super Bowl-level attendance, college Final Four tournaments, and more.
The project should total $4.2B. The Bears are investing $2B of their own, while public infrastructure funds and the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority are prepared to invest $1.5B and $900M, respectively.
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DisneylandForward Takes a Big Leap… Forward.
The exciting DisnleylandForward project, which includes the entertainment and hospitality giant’s purchasing of municipality streets and major improvements, just took a significant step in the right direction. Walt’s company was just granted preliminary approval to invest $1.9B in its California home city of Anaheim.
DisneylandForward first proposed its idea to expand its existing theme park’s footprint in January 2024. The plan includes investing $1.9B in the resort to create new attractions, rides, experiences, and shopping facilities. This also includes investing $85M in City of Anaheim streets, $30M for affordable housing projects, $10M in sewer upgrades, and even $8M in city parks. Also, Disney agreed to invest up to an additional $2.5B in the resort over the next 10 years, or it will be responsible for paying Anaheim $5M in cash.
The exact plans for DisneylandForward aren’t released yet. However, there are reports of potentially bringing the fictional worlds and countries from its movies to life. Regardless of what the project brings, it’s clear Disney is all in on its California location.
Key Bridge: Six Weeks Later
Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being struck by a container ship on March 27, 2024. The lives of six construction workers were claimed in the accident, and the ninth-busiest port in the country, the Port of Baltimore, came to a screeching halt. It was a tragic accident, and the current infrastructure issues have the focus of local municipalities, city, and federal governments. Here’s where things stand nearly six weeks later:
- Five of the six workers’ bodies have been recovered from the water. The sixth worker, Jose Mynor Lopez, hasn’t been found yet.
- In early April, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a tentative timeline that could have the port reopened to shipping traffic within four weeks. As of the time of this report, there are four temporary channels open.
- President Biden has promised that the federal government will pay to rebuild the bridge with union labor and American steel. Estimates for the total cost are between $1.7B and $1.9B, with a completion date of fall 2028.
- There will be a virtual industry forum held on May 7th to further discuss the bridge plans.
The Dali, the ship out of Singapore that struck the bridge, was loaded with containers. Crews have been working tirelessly to remove the containers so the ship can float again. It is believed that enough containers have been removed to allow the ship to float once the steel on top of the ship is removed.
Billions in Government Funding Offered for Onshore Chip Manufacturing
Onshore microchip manufacturing continues to be a focus of the current presidential administration. Two massive agreements offered $11B in funding to two major manufacturers in order to increase interest and spending in their corresponding states.
The first manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, was offered $6.6B in federal funding, as well as an additional $5B in low-cost government loans, to build an additional fabrication facility in Arizona. This facility will be the third of its type, which the Biden administration hopes will help the U.S. catch up to offshore chip manufacturing and can create up to 20,000 unique construction jobs.
Samsung will also receive federal funds for its Texas fabrication facility construction, to the tune of $6.4Bin direct funding. This investment aims to supplement Samsung’s $40B investment, which includes two facilities that will be operational by 2026 and 2027. Construction job creation estimates are around 17,000, while manufacturing job creations are estimated to reach 4,500.
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