Construction Dive’s Friday Punch List is a series dedicated to sharing major building headlines that contractors may have missed from the week.
It’s been another busy week for construction news.
A Philadelphia court awarded a hotel developer $174.6 million in damages from contractor Tutor Perini for breach of contract, and data centers are beginning to hit major hurdles in the form of power access and public opposition.
Read on for more construction news from this week that builders should know about.
Court affirms Biden-era PLA mandate
Former President Joe Biden’s project labor agreement mandate has won another battle, further cementing it as policy even after President Donald Trump’s administration assumed the White House.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction to halt the PLA mandate, which impacts projects receiving $35 million or more in federal funding. Associated Builders and Contractors and its Florida First Coast chapter filed the appeal for an injunction.
In the decision, Chief Judge William Pryor said that the appeal would likely not succeed because the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo confirming the Biden-era order would remain, even under the Trump administration.
ABC has long opposed the requirement of PLAs, saying the mandate unfairly locks out nonunion builders from winning federal contracts. In a statement shared with Construction Dive, ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman said the group will continue to fight against the mandate.
“At no point, under any administration, have federal contractors ever been prevented from voluntarily entering into a PLA when such an agreement makes sense for their workforce,” Bellaman said. “Every qualified contractor should have the opportunity to build America.”
—Zachary Phillips
Costs rise 4.87% from 2025, Turner says
Turner Construction’s boots on the ground have confirmed what economists have seen from afar: Data centers and other tech-aligned construction projects are in demand, but costs are also rising.
The New York City-based contractor issued its Turner Building Cost Index for first quarter of 2026, a metric that measures nonresidential construction costs. The index showed a year-over-year jump of 4.87% and quarter-over-quarter increase of 1.32%. That annual rate, if it continues for all of 2026, would mark the steepest calendar year increase of the gauge since 2023. The index notched a 4.1% year over year increase in 2025.
“High-growth areas such as data centers, manufacturing, and semiconductor facilities are driving strong demand, particularly in the Midwest and Southeast, while traditional commercial construction has softened in several markets,” said Attilio Rivetti, vice president at Turner. “Material costs such as steel, aluminum, and copper have experienced increases during the first quarter.”
The data set stretches back over 80 years, using labor rates, productivity, material prices and competitive local conditions from Turner’s projects across the country. It offers a different perspective from traditional economic yardsticks, Turner says, due to its broader inclusion of these factors seen on jobsites.
—Joe Bousquin
Skanska delivers healthcare facility
Sweden-based developer and builder Skanska has delivered a 53,000-square-foot healthcare facility in Redmond, Oregon, the firm announced Monday. The new St. Charles Cancer Center opened to patients on that same day.
The two-story facility is about nine times the size of the previous cancer center in Redmond and is designed to serve up to 300 patients per day. It hosts 36 exam rooms and a 5,000-square-foot chemotherapy infusion suite.
The project required some specialized work to support advanced cancer treatment technology, per the release shared with Construction Dive. The concrete vault housing the linear accelerator for radiation treatments measures 6 feet 6 inches thick, with ceiling thickness ranging from 4 to 8 feet. That work required about 5.6 million pounds of concrete.
Additionally, the structure incorporates mass timber, with 86 glulam beams and 30 cross-lamenated timber panels, which make up over 10,000 square feet of the roof and the second-floor structure.
Construction on the project broke ground in June 2024 and topped out in February 2025.
—Zachary Phillips
Gilbane Development taps new capital markets lead
Providence, Rhode Island-based Gilbane Development Co., real estate developer and sister company to contractor Gilbane Building Co., has named Andreas Vlahakis as head of capital markets, according to a Monday announcement.
Vlahakis will refine and execute Gilbane Development’s funding and capital strategy, per the announcement. He will also make investment decisions, develop and strengthen the firm’s relationships with its funding and equity partners and lead transaction structuring and negotiations. He will report directly to James Patchett, the firm’s president and CEO.
Before joining the developer, Vlahakis was managing director for capital markets at Thor Equities, a New York City-based real estate developer, where he led all equity raising efforts encompassing the firm’s deals and partners.
“I look forward to strengthening the firm’s capital partner relationships and helping unlock new opportunities across different asset classes,” Vlahakis said in the news release.
—Matthew Thibault
