ENR's Southwest City Scoop: Tucson

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the value of new contracts was expected to climb 38%

Healthy increases had been forecast for the non-residential, residential and non-building sectors.

City Grill

Brad Lloyd
Vice President
Lloyd Construction Co.

While the buzz across Southern Arizona remains the COVID-19 pandemic, the election and ongoing uncertainty, there remains plenty of activity to help the industry maintain its financial strength, Lloyd says.

“Nobody knows how COVID is going to affect us in the end,” he says. “For right now, it’s a matter of keeping projects as safe as possible and trying to stay up with the latest methods of cleaning and disinfecting.”

Although local tourism has taken a hit, other industries such as aerospace, defense and health care are thriving, he adds.

Southern Arizona has also continued to attract anchor businesses such as Amazon, Whole Foods and Caterpillar. The Tucson Airport Authority just broke ground on a $300-million master plan that will revamp Tucson International, he notes. Lloyd Construction is working with Walbridge on the Lucid Motor Plant in nearby Casa Grande and on the first of a multiphase bond improvement project at Tucson’s Reid Park Zoo, finishing in 2022.

“What I see in Southern Arizona is at least two years of stability, if not maintaining a modicum of growth,” Lloyd says. “There’s just too much on the books for the train to be completely stopped.”