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Construction Companies Click With Conway

3 min read

The city of Conway has been doing its best to keep construction companies close to home.

A flurry of construction activity in the past two years, plus a number of ongoing and planned projects, have had one of Conway’s major economic sectors at full throttle. The coronavirus pandemic has put certain plans on hold, but representatives of the industry say the city has been good for business and they are reasonably optimistic construction will shift back into high gear post-pandemic.

“I would say, pre-pandemic, the market in Conway has been very good,” said Corco Construction partner Justin Bennett. “It made up for a large part of our volume. Which is the reason we just actually relocated our office to Conway.”

There are nearly 350 businesses represented in the local construction industry thanks to commercial contractors like Corco, Car-Son Construction, Nabholz Corporation and Salter Construction Inc. The sector employs approximately 3,000 and generates $140 million annually in local payroll.

“The construction has gone really well the last two years,” said Car-Son owner Brian Fason of the local market. “I personally feel like it’s been one of the better economies I’ve ever seen. The work is at a better margin, you can pay your employees better and not have to fight as hard on projects as we have in the past.”

Conway resident and Nabholz South Region President Jake Nabholz said Conway’s efforts at growth and economic development have meant a lot less travel to work in the region’s five neighboring states.

“We’re actually pretty blessed right now. We’ve got more work going on in Conway than we normally do,” Nabholz said. “It’s great to have it in our backyard.”

Health care is one of Conway’s flagship industries, and its needs have meant new construction, building expansions or renovations.

Education is a pillar of the Conway economy. Both Hendrix College and the University of Central Arkansas are on the move with new facilities planned or underway.

The retail and restaurant sectors have also kept local firms busy.

“A lot of it is they’re constantly in growth mode,” Bennett said of the construction-friendly climate in Conway. “You’ve got a chamber of commerce that is working on the economic growth of our area. They’re good about sharing their plan with the city. They’re good about having common goals which is helpful for us to perceive the future of Conway. Some areas don’t have that.”

Fason said things like a low crime rate, good schools and low utility costs lend themselves to an environment in which people want to build and grow.

“It’s an attractive community,” he said. “It’s got colleges. It’s smart. It’s got a high income per person. It’s got plenty of job opportunities for people who graduate out of college.”

Fason said retailers, residential builders and restaurant owners have felt the pandemic’s effects most severely, while Nabholz said the hard-hit health care industry will also be cautious about capital construction.

“We won’t know the full impact of this for another six to nine months, Nabholz said.

There is agreement the local economy, and construction specifically, will have to take a hit, but the construction industry will be poised to resume at a level close to what was seen pre-pandemic.

“I don’t know that we can be as strong because I think there were some people that were affected too hard,” Fason said. “If we were running at 100 I could see us back in the low 90s.”


Outlook Conway Event Panelists

Jake Nabholz
Nabholz Corporation

Justin Bennett
Corco Construction

Brian Fason
Car-Son Construction

Nathan Salter
Salter Construction


See more of Outlook Conway.

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