The interiors contractor reports continued activity in the public sector—higher education, K-12 and military work—but little activity on the private side. The company is working on the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in South Florida, but that’s the exception.

“A lot of the work is in smaller projects, not large-scale projects,” says Dominici, adding that his firm’s average job has decreased from more than $5 million to less than $1 million.

President Tony Guzzi of EMCOR, which is headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., but has local mechanical and electrical operations throughout the Southeast, says the market has settled down, with an uptick in some energy-efficient retrofits.

“We are bumping up against the bottom with some signs of life,” Guzzi says. “The public-sector spending and health-care spending is clearly what’s driving [it].”

He expects continued federal investment at Fort Benning, Ga., Fort Stewart, Ga., and Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, as well as water-management projects, including Everglades work, in South Florida.

However, Guzzi says that’s not the case on the private side. He called Florida significantly overbuilt, with little activity on either coast or in Central Florida’s hospitality industry.

“Private investment in Florida is pretty bad,” Guzzi says. “The public story is a good story, and the private story will be a challenge for the next 24 months.”