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.
Reflecting on this year, it sure has been one of the more chaotic and challenging years that I can recall in my career. Just this year, the construction industry has battled everything from record-high lumber prices, rapidly changing material price increases, supply chain issues, increase in labor shortages, and many other challenges. The old adage […]
December 28, 2021
Everyone knows that inflation right now is the highest it’s been in 30 years, which is shocking. Nearly all of my friends who run businesses can’t find workers, and they are paying dramatically more for those they find. The Toledo Blade picked up a story that showed one in five workers expect raises of 10% […]
December 7, 2021
Earlier this month several of us from The Douglas Company attended the annual NIC Fall Conference, held this year in Houston, Texas. It was encouraging to see more than 2,500 senior living professionals in attendance (in person) and optimistic about the future of the Senior Living Industry post-COVID. NIC has also released the 3rd Quarter […]
November 19, 2021
It’s a topic we seem to be answering daily, “Where are all the workers?”. While it’s an issue that spans more than just the construction industry, unlike those other industries, we’ve been trying to answer this question for decades. For those answers, we have to look at more than just the last 18 months. […]
November 11, 2021
The disruptions and unpredictability of the current supply chain environment have been well documented, and unfortunately, the forecast is that these disruptions will remain with us for the foreseeable future. While there is no silver bullet to insulate a construction project from the potential impacts, strategies can be deployed to mitigate delays caused by this […]
October 28, 2021
“..white lace and promises, a kiss for luck, and we’re on our way”. Yes, that is the opening lyrics by Carpenters, but what a common association when most people hear the word DESIGN-BUILD. If done correctly, Design-Build can be all sunshine and rainbows; however, We’ve Only Just Begun! DBIA forecasted that by 2025 design-build is […]
October 15, 2021
The Douglas Company, a recognized industry-leading general contractor in commercial construction, proudly announces becoming a 100% employee-owned company through a newly created Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP“) as of 2021. Founded in 1976 by Bruce Douglas, headquartered in Holland, Ohio, with a second office in Orlando, Florida. The Company was built by a team of […]
October 12, 2021
Developers often think of the actual construction schedule when the word “schedule” comes to mind. But before that, it is just as crucial that a project has a solid pre-construction schedule to even have the feasibility of breaking ground when desired. Of course, many things go into getting to that point of starting construction. Still, […]
October 6, 2021
The Douglas Company, an award-winning general contractor, is excited to announce that HarborChase of Shaker Heights has broken ground. The new 106,698 square-foot assisted living and memory care community is located within one of Cleveland’s most affluent suburbs, just eight miles from downtown. It is the first project of its kind to break ground in […]
September 28, 2021
As most people have experienced in the country, certain materials are tough to come by, whether in a personal or business realm. This is not a new development, but the scale of the issue has seemingly grown, and new challenges are presented in our industry every day. Some may ask, what is driving this? One […]
September 24, 2021
Recently, several developer clients of ours have mentioned a multi-family product type called Build-to-Rent (BTR). The concept is to develop and build single-family home communities where the houses are rented to tenants in lieu of being sold to homebuyers. According to Northmarq’s March 2021 report, strong consumer trends support the growth of this type of […]
August 27, 2021
The Douglas Company, General Contractor, celebrates the beginning of construction on its eighth project with the owner, Kaplan Development Group, LLC. The $12.3 million, All American of Enfield is a 55,992 square-foot, 58 unit assisted living and memory care community in Enfield, Connecticut. Designed by EGA Architects, All American of Enfield boasts several in-house amenities, […]
August 25, 2021
We continue to get buffeted by price increases, seemingly weekly, which puts pressure on our estimates and has a negative effect on feasibility for our clients. Though prices are being locked in for Fall starts up North, clients have repeatedly asked me what will happen to them for their Spring starts. It’s certainly understandable. I’d […]
August 17, 2021
Last month we wrote about how The Senior Housing Evolution Continues, specifically discussing the Active Adult concept. Last week, The Douglas Company attended an Active Adult conference hosted by Interface, where we heard from pioneers and visionary leaders in this new product. Three major conceptual questions stood out through all the sessions: How to Define […]
August 10, 2021
The Douglas Company, along with Pennrose, LLC of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Blanchard Valley Health System, celebrated the grand opening during a ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Eastern Woods Senior apartment community in Findlay, Ohio. Designed by architectural firm Moody Nolan, Inc., a Columbus, Ohio-based company, the development offers affordable housing to the growing senior population […]
July 26, 2021
The Douglas Company, General Contractor, announced the promotion of two of its partners to Vice Presidents. Mr. Bruce Douglas has been promoted to Vice President of Preconstruction, and Mr. Pete Zimmerman has been promoted to Vice President of Estimating. Both will be serving as members of The Douglas Company’s Executive Committee, establishing company policies, and […]
July 23, 2021
The resilience of active adult communities during the pandemic and resulting recession has resulted in many developers, operators, lenders, and equity investors taking another look at the product and determining how it fits their strategy for future growth. Many skeptics have become supporters after seeing the performance turned in by active adult communities through 2020. […]
July 20, 2021
Government regulations have been loosening up lately, but some impacts resulting from them are increasing as construction keeps moving forward. One specific item that comes to mind is material lead times. Items that we were accustomed to being readily available now seem to carry a 2-3 week lead time, and items that were normally 4-5 […]
July 9, 2021
The Douglas Company, an award-winning Toledo, Ohio-based general contractor, is proud to announce construction is underway on the new John Arthur Flats affordable living community located in Cincinnati, Ohio is a collaboration between neighborhood community development corporation Northsiders Engaged in Sustainable Transformation (NEST) and national developer Pennrose Properties, LLC. The 50,195 square foot John Arthur […]
