The construction site of SkyCenter One is one of the few places in the Tampa Bay region that looks much the same as it did two weeks ago, before the coronavirus pandemic brought most of the global economy to a standstill.
On Tuesday morning, about 90 workers were on site at SkyCenter One, a nine-story, 270,000-square-foot office tower on the grounds of Tampa International Airport.
"It does feel the same, just with a lot of proactive work early in the day to continue to clean the areas and maintain some social distancing to the greatest extent possible," said Jake Nellis, a vice president with JE Dunn Construction, the general contractor on SkyCenter. "If you came out here, you wouldn’t know anything is going on."
Construction in the Tampa Bay region is one of the least affected industries by coronavirus — at least for now, while it's too soon to say whether any disruptions in the supply chain could lead to a materials shortage. A group of Hillsborough County elected officials on Monday voted down a countywide shelter in place order, though Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said there are discussions around a citywide order.
Even if that happens, construction would be considered an essential industry, mayoral spokeswoman Ashley Bauman said Tuesday, because the city will use U.S. Homeland Securities' essential jobs list to guide its own.
In Hillsborough County, the construction industry represents nearly 36,500 jobs and an annual payroll of $1.9 billion, according to 2017 federal data. In Pinellas, it's just over 18,000 employees and an $870 million payroll.
The industry is taking several precautions to keep itself up and running, said Steve Cona III, president and CEO of the Gulf Coast chapter of Associated Builders & Contractors Inc. Employees who can work from home — like project engineers and administrators — are doing so, and Cona said fewer trade workers are on job sites at a time.
As SkyCenter One, Nellis said each worker checks in and confirms that they are healthy at the start of their day, though they aren't yet checking temperatures before admitting workers to the site. There will always be times when workers have to be closer than 6 feet apart — the distance recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for slowing the virus' spread — but Nellis said they're trying to keep as much distance as possible between them.
It helps that SkyCenter is still going vertical and is not yet enclosed.
"What’s different is the first hour of work," Nellis said. "We're checking in, making sure everyone’s feeling well, and wiping down offices, trailers, handrails."
Cona points out that it's not just flashy new construction projects that are keeping the industry open for business; emergency repairs and maintenance have never been more important for health care facilities.
"The construction industry is essential to ensure we keep things moving for first responders and hospitals," Cona said. "The businesses that have to remain open — they need to be maintained as well."
Since Walt Disney World halted construction on all of its Central Florida projects on March 17, Nellis said he's hearing of more trade workers heading to the Tampa Bay region looking for work. That would be a boon to the construction labor market, which has suffered from a shortage of skilled laborers for years.
"It just goes to show that there’s been a shortage of people entering the trades for the last 20 years and more people exiting than entering," he said, "and now under these circumstances, here it is a job you can come to every day."