Commercial construction is heating back up, and the numbers are starting to show it.
After a slow April, groundbreakings across the U.S. surged in May, with nonresidential construction starts jumping 18%, and commercial starts alone climbing 28%, according to Dodge Construction Network. Retail, office, and warehouse projects all posted solid gains, while institutional work ticked up 19% thanks to a spike in healthcare builds.
Translation: Big jobs are hitting the street again. If you’re not chasing them, someone else is.
This rebound couldn’t come at a better time. Crews have been stretched thin, backlogs are unpredictable, and the stop-start pace of public and private funding has made forecasting a headache.
But in May, the green lights flipped on across multiple sectors, and contractors paying attention are already locking in the next six months of revenue. Forward-looking GCs are treating this as a reset, getting aggressive on estimating, tightening partnerships with subs, and fast-tracking tech adoption to keep pace with demand.
Here’s where the biggest commercial and institutional action broke ground last month:
- $1.5B Sierra Solar + Battery Storage Project – Fallon, Nevada
- $1.2B Delta Blues Advanced Power Station – Greenville, Mississippi
- $1.2B BART Train Control Modernization – Oakland, California
- $900M SpaceX Starship GigaBay Facility – Brevard County, Florida
- $780M Markey Cancer and Surgery Center (UK) – Lexington, Kentucky
- $720M Pfizer HQ Residential Conversion – New York, NY
- $705M Western State Forensic Hospital – Lakewood, Washington
- $403M Domino Sugar Redevelopment – Williamsburg, NY
- $290M Monmouth Square Development – Eatontown, New Jersey
That’s over $8 billion in major project starts all in one month. And that’s just the top of the pile. There are hundreds of mid-size projects in preconstruction, many still looking for the right subs, trades, and teams. If your estimating team’s been quiet lately, this is your sign to ramp up.
The takeaway? There’s work out there. And not just any work. The kind that fills your schedule, books your best crews, and builds your backlog with predictable, profitable hours.
If you’re still waiting to see how the market shakes out, you’ll be watching from the sidelines.
Yes, uncertainty still looms. Year-to-date, overall construction starts are slightly down from 2024. But commercial construction is holding firm. Even with interest rates, trade policy shifts, and supply headaches, contractors who stay aggressive are still landing work.
And here's the other pressure point: labor. With many GCs and subs already short on skilled trades, the firms that line up jobs early will be the ones who can staff up without scrambling. Early wins mean better crew planning, less overtime, and fewer last-minute hires.
This moment also gives savvy firms a shot to recalibrate, investing in prefabrication, layout automation, or scheduling tools that pay off in tighter timelines and fewer change orders.
Here’s the bottom line: May’s rebound wasn’t a fluke; it was a signal. The pace is picking up. Owners are pulling the trigger. And the bids going out today are the work your crews will be doing in Q3 and Q4. If you want in, now’s the time to move.
