Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. I I L andry/French Construction is gearing up for the start of con- struction of the fi rst phase of Portland Foreside. e major mixed- use development, at the 10-acre for- mer Portland Co. complex at 58 Fore St. in Portland, will include a hotel, marina, residential units and more. e $200 million project is expected to employ hundreds of workers, with phase one, the marina, expected to break ground in the spring. How does a Scarborough fi rm already engaged on other projects around the state win and execute such a major contract? By entering into a partnership with a larger contractor. Gilbane Building Co., in Providence, R.I., is a national construction and facility management company. is is the fi rst time Landry/French has entered into a partnership of this kind, and the express goal is to keep Maine jobs for Maine workers. e partnership allows the fi rms to pool resources, says Landry/French Principal Kevin French. "If we took on that project by ourselves, it would exhaust a lot of our resources," French says. "Pooling resources allows our group to main- tain our current clients and also take on new work." e strategy also allows Landry/ French to employ Maine workers on Maine jobs. "Otherwise, larger jobs typically go to out-of-state contractors, and many Maine workers and subcon- tractors get little out of it," he says. As the local general contractor, he says, Landry/French can ensure Maine workers and subcontractors get fi rst pick on available work. "We're overseeing our destiny by getting as much work back into Maine as we can," French says. Labor crunch Maine's construction industry faces a couple of major workforce issues. One of them, exemplifi ed above, is about placing Maine workers on big Maine projects that might otherwise go to out-of-state contractors. en there's the other side of the issue — fi nding enough workers to fi ll those jobs. Firms are tackling these challenges in a variety of ways, from partnerships to workforce training to recruiting campaigns. Experiencing strong growth in a strong economy, contractors are look- ing to hire in all positions. But the labor pool is tight. "Like everyone else, we've seen the workforce market tighten in the last 18 to 24 months," says Jeff Zachau, president of Zachau Construction, the Joining forces In a tight labor market, contractors strategize to meet demand B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r C O M M E R C I A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O C U S P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY JA N UA R Y 2 2 , 2 0 1 8 20 Jeff Zachau of Zachau Construction in the expanded area his company built at Maine Beer Co. in Freeport.

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