With all the recent announcements of big projects in the pipeline, it’s hard not to be bullish on construction in Western PA; however, the current market is less than target-rich. Bidding has slowed significantly, even for Memorial Day, and it appears that the early summer period will be slower than last year until some of the projects that are in preconstruction are put out by the CM.

Among the projects awarded recently are the $9.8 million CCAC West Hall, awarded to Allegheny Construction Group; a $1.7 million renovation and expansion of Riverview Children’s Center in Verona, which will be built by A. Martini & Co. and the St. Sebastian’s Narthex expansion in Ross that Rycon Construction is building. PJ Dick has started work on the $100 million+ research and office for Johnson Controls in York PA.

Two interesting real estate deals announced this week should bring construction opportunities as early as the end of summer. Uber Technologies signed a lease in the 53,000 sq. ft. former Restaurant Depot space in Lawrenceville. Strada Architecture is designing the fit-out. Uber is in the process of selecting a CM. A list of contractors could not be confirmed but the company is rumored to be talking to Continental Building Systems, PJ Dick and Franjo. Faros Properties unveiled its plans for the former Allegheny Center Mall yesterday, branding the 1.2 million sq. ft. space as Nova Place. Estimates of the investment needed were in the $200 million range.