ABC Florida Gulf Coast Chapter

Big Day, @RaysBaseball fans! Show up at @CityofTampa meeting at 9am! Time to make your voice heard!!!! #RaysUp

Our office is currently experiencing an internet outage, which has affected our phone lines. If you need to reach us, please contact our team via email and we will get back to you as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience while this issue is being resolved! https://lnkd.in/effHaXdZ

The recent Tampa Bay Times/John Romano article on the proposed Rays ballpark highlights an important reality for the construction industry: Project delays increase costs. As ABC Florida Gulf Coast President/CEO Steve Cona noted in the article, once a project receives the green light, contractors can begin locking in pricing, purchasing materials, and planning labor needs with greater certainty. In today’s construction market, material costs and labor costs remain two of the biggest drivers of escalation. The proposed Rays ballpark represents more than a baseball facility. It is a major construction and economic development project that could support jobs, attract private investment, strengthen the urban core, and expand the local tax base. ABC supports projects that create opportunity for the construction industry, grow our region, and put our members to work building the future of Tampa Bay. This is exactly the type of transformational project that requires leadership, certainty, and timely action. https://lnkd.in/eGYb8Cnc

The bidding landscape in commercial construction is shifting - and it's moving faster than most contractors realize. In the latest episode of Blueprints & Banter, Olivier Corizzi, Principal at Avenue Media, shares a telling data point from a recent conversation with an architect client: projects that once drew three or four competing firms are now attracting ten to fifteen. The reason is straightforward. AI is dramatically reducing the time required to generate a bid, build a proposal, and submit a full presentation - which means the barrier to entry has dropped significantly for firms that previously wouldn't have made the effort. The result is a market where more contractors are competing across more sectors, including ones they have little to no history in. Architects are feeling it. GCs are feeling it. And the firms that relied on familiarity and relationships as their primary differentiator are finding that's no longer enough on its own. For ABC members navigating this environment, the conversation Oliver raises is timely: when anyone can submit, what actually sets you apart? Watch the full episode of Blueprints & Banter with host Steve Cona III, President & CEO of ABC Florida Gulf Coast Chapter: https://lnkd.in/dJk62U7D #ABCMeritShopProud #ABCFLGulf #BlueprintsAndBanter #ConstructionIndustry

Associated Builders and Contractors Florida Gulf Coast Chapter supports the framework MOU between Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa, and the Tampa Bay Rays for a new ballpark and surrounding redevelopment. ABC represents more than 650 construction and construction-related firms across our region. Our members employ and support thousands of skilled tradespeople, apprentices, suppliers, contractors, and industry professionals who build Tampa Bay every day. This project is about more than baseball. It is a major public-private partnership that can create construction jobs, drive private investment, expand the tax base, support local businesses, strengthen the urban core, and help secure Major League Baseball in our community for future generations. Projects like this matter to our industry and our region. They create opportunities for local contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, design professionals, and skilled tradespeople. They also support apprenticeship and workforce development pathways that help train the next generation of construction professionals. Tampa Bay is a major league region. We should support projects that help us compete, grow, and build for the future. ABC respectfully encourages the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County to approve the framework MOU and continue moving this important project forward.

ABC Florida Gulf Coast strongly supports moving forward with the Rays MOU between Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa, and the Tampa Bay Rays. This is more than a ballpark. It is a major economic development opportunity that can expand our tax base, create thousands of construction jobs, drive private investment, and help grow Tampa’s urban core. For decades, our region has invested in baseball, built world-class spring training facilities, and produced some of the best talent in the game. Tampa Bay is a major league market, and it is time we act like one. This project keeps a regional asset in our community while creating long-term value for taxpayers, local businesses, workers, and future generations. ABC encourages Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa to approve the MOU and keep the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Yesterday, our Young Professionals in SWFL hosted a lemonade stand at the Skanska Lee Health Ft Myers Campus in support of Foster Village SWFL during Foster Care Awareness Month! Currently, there are over 400 children in foster care in Lee County alone. Foster Village helps to provide direct resources and encouragement to these children and their caregivers. What a wonderful mission! Thank you to Skanska for allowing us to host onsite and to everyone that stopped by and purchased lemonade! Your support was absolutely incredible🍋🍋 #ABCMeritShopProud #ABCFLGulf

ABC Members, We are pleased to share that Governor Ron DeSantis has officially signed HB 803, Building Permits and Inspections, into law. The legislation takes effect July 1, 2026. This is one of the most meaningful permitting and inspection reform bills passed in Florida in many years and represents a major victory for the construction industry, property owners, private providers, and taxpayers across our state. For far too long, contractors have dealt with inconsistent permitting processes, excessive delays, duplicative reviews, and unnecessary administrative costs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. HB 803 takes significant steps toward streamlining the system and improving efficiency while maintaining public safety standards. Some of the key benefits of the new law include: • Faster permitting timelines for certain residential projects • Expanded protections and flexibility for private providers • Permit fee reductions when private providers are utilized • Restrictions on excessive local government inspection fees • Statewide uniform permit applications by July 1, 2027 • More flexibility for manufactured and off-site construction • Virtual inspection protections • Easier permitting for temporary hurricane and flood protection systems The legislation also limits local governments from creating unnecessary barriers or additional fees when licensed private providers are performing plan review and inspection services. This bill is ultimately about reducing bureaucracy, creating consistency, lowering costs, and helping projects move more efficiently throughout Florida. These reforms will benefit contractors of all sizes and help support continued economic growth across our communities. I would like to thank the bill sponsors, Senator Nick DiCeglie, Representative Toby Overdorf, and Representative Dana Trabulsy for championing this important legislation, as well as the many industry leaders and stakeholders who worked throughout the legislative process to move these reforms forward. ABC Florida Gulf Coast Chapter will continue monitoring implementation of the law and participating in future rulemaking discussions related to the uniform permit application process and other provisions impacting our industry. Thank you for your continued support of ABC and our mission to build a safer, stronger, and more merit-shop-friendly construction industry throughout Florida.

We had a great turnout for YP Pickleball Night last Thursday at Pickleball Kingdom! Thanks to everyone who came out and made it a fun night! #ABCMeritShopProud #ABCFLGulf #YoungProfessionals

This Mother’s Day, we’re celebrating the incredible women who build strong families, strong communities, and a strong industry. 💙 To all of the hardworking moms balancing career, family, leadership, and everything in between — thank you for all that you do both on and off the jobsite. Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at ABC! #ABCMeritShopProud #ABCFLGulf #MothersDay #WomenInConstruction #ThankYouMoms