2010 Top Specialty Contractors
Subdued forecast leaves little room for optimism.

Top Project Starts
Midwest Construction presents its annual list of Top Project Starts, which ranks projects that broke ground in 2009 by their contract cost.

2010 Owner of the Year
Midwest Construction introduces the 2010 Owner of the Year, the City of Carmel, Ind. Rapid growth and change have presented the city with the opportunity to literally construct its own future.The city has orchestrated some $300 million worth of infrastructure projects in the past five years or so, along with hundreds of millions of dollars in brickand-mortar projects of all types.

Higher Education Construction
In a year when most segments of the construction industry are in the doldrums, many colleges and universities are keeping up some level of maintenance, renovation, and construction activity. Though only Illinois showed a rise in highereducation construction starts from 2008 to 2009, colleges in Indiana and Wisconsin also continue to renovate and build.

Regional Outlook: 2010 a Bit Better than 2009
Industry indicators show that the construction industry’s decline has slowed and many industry experts expect the upturn to start sometime in 2010. Although many factors can affect the recovery, nearly every expert we interviewed thinks the industry faces a long slow climb back to prosperity.