Construction Dive’s Friday Punch List is a series dedicated to sharing major building headlines that contractors may have missed from the week.
It was another busy week for construction news.
JE Dunn Construction announced it was expanding its advanced technology group with a power generation unit, promoting a new leader internally to head it off. Meanwhile, the monthly construction spending report showed nonresidential construction outlays would be down if not for data centers.
Read on for other headlines execs should know about.
Turner marks $112M back-to-school completion
With Labor Day nearly upon us, back-to-school season is in full swing. Turner Construction marked the occasion by celebrating the completion of Central Middle School in Greenwich, Connecticut, according to a Tuesday news release.
New York City-based Turner provided construction management services for the $112 million, 135,000-square-foot facility that features energy-efficient systems and advanced electrical and plumbing technologies, per the announcement. The school welcomed its first students last week, according to the Greenwich Time.
“This milestone reflects the collaboration and dedication of Greenwich Public Schools, the Town of Greenwich, our design and trade partners, and the many skilled people who brought this project to life,” said Chad McCullough, Turner vice president and general manager, in the release. “We are honored to help create a learning environment that will serve students and educators for generations.”
—Joe Bousquin
NYC DOB launches overdose prevention outreach
The Big Apple moved to combat the overdose epidemic plaguing construction this week.
The New York City Department of Buildings and NYC Health + Hospitals highlighted International Overdose Awareness Day on Monday, using the marker as an opportunity to reach out to construction workers. The sector historically faces one of the highest rates of fatal drug overdoses of any profession in New York City, per a Monday DOB release.
The onsite effort included a free naloxone kit along with training on how to administer it in the event of an overdose.
DOB has also incorporated mental health and substance misuse awareness training as a prerequisite to acquiring a Site Safety Training Card, required for workers on larger and more complex construction sites. That’s in accordance with Local Law 10 of 2026, which took effect in May, mandating the training that includes topics related to mental health and wellness, suicide risk and prevention and alcohol and substance misuse.
—Zachary Phillips
ABC names former state labor official as workforce VP
Associated Builders and Contractors has tapped Tiffany Robinson, former secretary of labor for the state of Maryland, as a new workforce executive, per a Monday news release. Robinson will join ABC as vice president of workforce and safety policy to lead research, policy and strategic initiatives designed to advance health and safety.
Robinson served as Maryland’s labor secretary from 2019 to 2023 under former Gov. Larry Hogan. She pioneered Maryland’s skills-based hiring initiative, which removed requirements for four-year degrees for thousands of state jobs, per ABC.
Robinson then joined Gov. Glenn Youngkin in Virginia as deputy chief of staff in 2023, per her LinkedIn, before becoming director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation in 2024.
—Matthew Thibault
McCarthy, Caddell announce executive changes
McCarthy Building Cos. and Caddell Construction announced a series of executive moves in late August, according to news releases sent to Construction Dive.
St. Louis-based McCarthy promoted Nayan Bhakta to president of its national renewable energy group, which focuses on solar and battery energy storage system projects nationwide. Bhakta, who joined McCarthy in 2014, previously served as the firm’s chief operating officer and succeeds Dhruv Patel, who was recently promoted to COO of McCarthy Holdings, the parent company of the general contractor, according to the Aug. 28 announcement.
Caddell named Ike Keene senior vice president of commercial and Nathan Raycroft senior vice president of governmental, according to a Monday news release. The Montgomery, Alabama-based firm also appointed Brian Rogers to construction executive and Tom Csicsila to vice president of commercial for its Atlanta office.
Keene, who joined Caddell in 2021, has been instrumental in the growth of the contractor’s data center business, while Raycroft has helped lead its federal construction efforts, according to the release.
—Sebastian Obando
