Federally-Funded Trophy Jobs Fill Construction Pipeline Again in Early 2024
Developers of projects in the rail/transportation, semiconductor chip and EV construction verticals continue to enjoy federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Acts.
While updating Electrical Marketing’s construction project database, EM’s editors were surprised at the continuing surge of rail, semiconductor and EV projects breaking ground or on the drawing boards (see chart below). The Albany Nanotech research center in upstate New York, which is expected to eventually attract $10 billion in investment in new manufacturing facilities, research and development labs and training from a consortium of semiconductor manufacturers including IBM, Micron, Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron for the construction of a cutting-edge High NA Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Center, which is said to be the first and only publicly owned High NA EUV Center in North America.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey also has big construction plans, with a $3.6-billion capital expense budget to fund several major projects, including the ongoing construction at John. F. Kennedy Airport; the replacement of the Port Authority Bus Terminal; and the development of a new AirTrain system at Newark Airport.
Other trophy jobs include the Willets Point redevelopment in Queens, NY, which will include several hundred units of affordable housing and a $780-million soccer stadium; the $1.9-billion Children’s Hospital inpatient tower in Philadelphia now underway; and the $1.6-billion LG Energy battery plant in Queen Creek, AZ.
There’s also an intriguing mixed-use project planned for downtown Oklahoma City. According to an article in The Oklahoman, the $700-million Boardwalk at Bricktown would include a $480-million Hyatt Hotel; and a 134-story apartment tower.
Other projects of note include the $480-million Project Cosmo data center in Cheyenne, WY, now in the planning stage; the $406-million Sherco Solar Farm underway in Becker, NM; the $315-million Florida State University Health Hospital, Tallahassee, FL, now being planned; and the Sherwin Williams headquarters in Cleveland on the drawing boards.
About the Author
Jim Lucy
Editor-in-Chief
Over the past 40-plus years, hundreds of Jim’s articles have been published in Electrical Wholesaling and Electrical Marketing newsletter on topics such as the impact of new competitors on the electrical market’s channels of distribution, energy-efficient lighting and renewables, and local market economics. In addition to his published work, Jim regularly gives presentations on these topics to C-suite executives, industry groups and investment analysts.
He launched a new subscription-based data product for Electrical Marketing that offers electrical sales potential estimates and related market data for more than 300 metropolitan areas, and in 1999 he published his first book, “The Electrical Marketer’s Survival Guide” for electrical industry executives looking for an overview of key market trends.
While managing Electrical Wholesaling’s editorial operations, Jim and the publication’s staff won several Jesse H. Neal awards for editorial excellence, the highest honor in the business press, and numerous national and regional awards from the American Society of Business Press Editors. He has a master’s degree in Communications and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Glassboro State College, Glassboro, N.J. (now Rowan University).