Welcome to the blog
Home of our portfolio, press releases, and employee blogs
Here, you’ll find a library of blog posts dedicated to different aspects of the commercial construction industry -- news and updates, upcoming trends, and past projects built by us at The Douglas Company.
Some developers and investors are unsure about committing to new senior living developments amid rising construction costs and interest rates, while others remain bullish on building new communities figuring that demand will be outpacing supply for the foreseeable future. I have even heard from some clients that they really push to get new developments going […]
May 25, 2022
As we move into the rainy season, it’s important to revisit best practices of protecting wood from the elements during construction. Previously, we used to rely on just-in-time deliveries which would limit the amount of time our framing materials were subject to the weather prior to being covered up. With today’s market environment, we find […]
May 12, 2022
I thought I’d write a blog about some good news, at least for multi-family developers. No, costs aren’t coming down, nor are interest rates. But rents for multifamily are going up! According to rent.com through April 2022 apartment rents nationwide for two bedroom apartments are up 22.8% in a twelve month period. In some areas […]
May 4, 2022
Everywhere I go people are asking what’s going to happen with construction prices, and they are right to ask. I visited with a prospective client this month and he told me that construction prices on his prototype increased 46% in two years, which was shocking to him and a little surprising to me. We are […]
April 13, 2022
The multi-family market has certainly evolved over the last several years. From the types of amenities renters demand, to an influx of new single family build to rent communities. Not to mention the changing renter demographic. While millennials make up one of the largest rental cohorts, the age 55+ Baby Boomers are selling their homes and […]
April 7, 2022
Perhaps one of the largest issues builders and developers are currently dealing with is the recent surge in lumber prices coupled with the scarcity of lumber materials. According to Nasdaq’s lumber report, lumber has increased 87% since the beginning of the year, which is a staggering increase. However, what is more, shocking is that lumber […]
August 27, 2020
Last week I was sitting in a presentation with an experienced developer for a project we will be starting soon. This same developer is currently building a facility in Columbus, Ohio, with an institutional contractor, which is not going well. Over and over, he said, “how much of a pleasure it is to be working […]
March 4, 2020
When you hear the word exoskeleton you probably start thinking of something out of a sci-fi movie like Alien or Avatar, but they are starting to make a presence in construction. Exoskeletons or exosuits are a wearable technology typically made from metal and other fabrics that attach to the body. They are aimed to help […]
November 19, 2019
With a continued labor shortage across the country and no signs of change in the near future, some firms are looking to/have implemented robots into their workforce to help combat this issue. Robots in their present capacity are being used to perform repetitive tasks like laying brick, tying rebar, hanging drywall, etc. They are also […]
August 12, 2019
Construction is an industry obsessed with productivity – And for good reasons. The more productive our field operations, design teams, and management work is, the faster and less expensive the projects are. Unfortunately, construction has suffered from losses in productivity over the last decade, particularly at the field level. Major trades like framing, drywall, and […]
July 25, 2019
With the number of new senior living communities recently opened or currently under construction, there is a growing need to update and refresh existing facilities to help improve their viability in the marketplace. As new senior housing communities, with all of the latest amenities and design trends, are coming online, older facilities need to position […]
June 21, 2019
Development is risky. There is market risk, pricing risk, weather risk, governmental risk factors and perhaps most importantly, development partner risks from team members. Probably the first two decisions to be made by a developer are a selection of site and selecting who your service partners will be-architect with engineers and general contractor. The starting […]
