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.
In the Pre-Construction Department, we often get asked about when’s the best time to price a new project. I’ve recently returned to the department with my latest promotion and have already been asked this question several times. While I often joke about looking to my Magic 8 Ball for answers, we can also look to […]
September 27, 2023
A common sentiment we seem to keep hearing is, “We’re holding on any new development until construction costs come down.” And while we know it will be fantastic when that day comes, the question of when that will be hangs heavy. Recent data tells us… something, right? Unfortunately, we’re not seeing much relief anywhere […]
August 8, 2023
This year kicked off with promising developments and displays of artificial intelligence (AI) – namely programs such as ChatGPT and Remini. From software developers to photo editors to writers, there has been a question of what role this technology will play throughout their respective industries. And while the construction industry is historically slow on the […]
August 1, 2023
This week basketball practice started for my son’s 1st-grade team, The Clippers, whom I get the opportunity to coach. At first glance, outside of the very dissimilar physical differences, I thought I was in one of our weekly subcontractor progress meetings. Four kids locked in and focused on having a productive practice. One kid did […]
January 24, 2023
Thanks to the surge in attention to construction technology over the last few years, our once dark and analog industry has benefited from many tools that help produce higher quality projects more efficiently. Here are some of the solutions The Douglas Company is making a focus this year: Scheduling Software – Supply chain issues and […]
January 13, 2023
Some of the best teams in sports history had some Hall of Fame individual players on them. But if you don’t have a collaborative group working toward the same goal and carrying their weight, finding success can be elusive. The same goes for preconstruction planning and execution. Owners/developers first need to align with the best […]
December 20, 2022
Behind the critical milestones of building dry-in and completion of drywall hanging, the date of permanent power provides a key indicator of a project’s schedule trajectory towards completion. Unfortunately, the current construction industry is being severely impacted by major challenges within the electrical gear industry driven by demand, labor issues, and electrical component shortages. Critical […]
September 20, 2022
Inflation, fuel prices, material escalation, and material shortages are pushing construction prices to record highs. Already tight project budgets are being value engineered, tabled in hopes that pricing will come back to earth in the future, or just abandoned. Like everything else these days, the typical value engineering process is not as effective as it […]
September 8, 2022
“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it.” Famous quote by H.E. Luccock. Closing a job and seeing it to the finish is not easy. Most in our industry would tell you it can be the least favorite part of the project. Most would also tell you it is impossible […]
August 25, 2022
Wood structures seem to have gotten a bad rap the last few years. It’s not entirely their fault. The skyrocketing land costs have pushed projects to go to more stories than a conventional wood frame building allows to get the number of units needed. Massive price hikes and volatility of material costs have also made […]
August 11, 2022
It is easy to focus on the building cost per square foot in the preconstruction process, but the site costs can make or break a project. Too often we see scope creep on the project site after the initial site plan, and it takes asking the right questions and getting creative to bring these costs […]
July 14, 2022
Holland, Ohio, June 21, 2022 – The Douglas Company is pleased to announce that Andrew Barger, Rey Rodriguez, and Matthew Upton have all been promoted from project estimator to lead estimator. These well-deserved promotions come as the company’s preconstruction departments are working harder than ever to keep projects on track in preconstruction through a challenging […]
June 21, 2022
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, General Contractor, is pleased to announce the promotion of Bruce Douglas, PMP, PMI-SP, LEED AP BD+C to Director of Preconstruction Services. In this new role, Bruce will lead the Estimating and Business Development teams, initiating client engagement early in the project development process and setting projects on a path for success by […]
December 7, 2020
It is the question everyone is asking in the construction industry right now, “What’s happening with prices, and when will it come back down?” The short answer is, no one can say for certain. What we do know are a few key principles that can help all of us be more discerning consumers of current […]
October 2, 2020
Who is ready to turn the corner on everything that has been in front of us in the last couple of months? I know I am. While The Douglas Company has been fortunate and grateful to continue operations as an essential business during this pandemic, it has, of course, prevented me from getting out and […]
May 14, 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 […]
