New owners Mark Steckly and Scott Porter. From their Central High School days as best friends, Mark Steckley and Scott Porter have come a long way. “If I’d go in a restaurant without Mark, people would say, “‘Hey, where’s your brother?’" said Porter, the new co-owner...
[caption id="attachment_14596" align="alignleft" width="300"] Smith's rendering of Tom McIntyre's Peninsula Place condominium project.[/caption] Before he was a go-to partner for architects, engineers, builders and property developers, J. Scott Smith was a kid growing up in Traverse City. Now, Smith helps people see the potential future of his...
Business is booming for local builders, plumbers, electricians and other subcontractors — to the point that many say they regularly turn down work. The number of residential building permits issued in Grand Traverse County has nearly tripled since the Great Recession, from 164 in 2009 to...
Construction material prices are on the rise as residential and commercial building activity escalates during the spring season. Local building products suppliers say annual materials price increases of about five percent have been typical for the past few years. They’re expecting similar increases this year and...
After a couple years of promise, 2017 looks to be when it all comes together for commercial construction. That’s a far cry from the depths of the recession just a few years ago, when the construction industry all but collapsed, and building anything was nearly...
Who doesn’t want to be kind to the environment? When building green became a thing, everybody jumped on board. People embraced the terminology, though without much in the way of standards or definition. “Everybody’s got ‘green’ something,” said Ryan McCoon of Endura Performance Homes. Today, “green building”...
By Michael R. Brown I have an idea for a new celebration… “The Construction Due Diligence Awards: Projects That Never Happened!” With all of the successful and exciting building development occurring in northern Michigan, it’s easy to forget that we have also seen our share of ill-fated...
