Baton Rouge construction roundup: costs rise, firms expand

Baton Rouge, LA, October 8, 2025

News Summary

Rising material costs and federal tariffs have pushed budgets higher across Baton Rouge-area construction projects, forcing contractors and public owners to rework bids and pursue value-engineering. Family-run and regional builders are combining people-first service with modern tools and safety programs, while a large electrical contractor is rapidly expanding into data centers and semiconductor projects nationwide. Workforce development, internships and tighter contingency planning are common responses to a skilled labor shortage. Long-term road improvements funded by a half-cent sales tax continue delivering staged projects, with several completions and many more under construction.

Baton Rouge construction roundup: people-first builders, rising school costs, community projects, roadwork and rapid national growth

Quick summary: Local builders and contractors are adapting to a shifting market. A family-run firm that began with paper files and handwritten checks remains focused on relationships and slow, organic growth. School projects in East Baton Rouge Parish are facing material-price shocks tied in part to tariffs and pandemic inflation. A mid-sized developer emphasizes safety and community service, a city-parish road tax program is delivering completed corridors and active builds, and a Baton Rouge electrical contractor has grown into a nationwide player handling energy, semiconductor and AI-related work.

Top developments

Wesley Construction remains a people-centered business that blends tradition with selective modern tools. The firm was started in 1984. When Wesley Construction started in 1984 there were no computers and the company used paper files. Checks at the company were written out by hand in the early years. Business was conducted in person or on the telephone when the company began. An email address was eventually added for the company. Vice President Bryan Wesley has continued the hands-on, relationship-focused approach and joined the family business in 2019 after working in Houston. Bryan learned his father’s secret was surrounding himself with a strong team loyal to clients. Bryan has added direct deposit, social media, and Procore construction management software to modernize operations while keeping client trust central. Wesley Construction is based in Baton Rouge and has done work in 33 states. Wesley Construction just finished a project in Eugene, Oregon. Wesley Construction promotes a one-stop-shop approach that helps retain clients. Wesley Construction contact address is 10182 Patriot Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70816 and phone 225.753.5600 and its website is wesleyusa.com.

School construction and cost pressures

Rollover inflation from the pandemic, coupled with President Trump’s tariffs on wood and steel, has sent material costs through the roof. For government-funded projects, contracts are awarded through a bidding process based on estimated costs at the time of the bid. Unforeseen factors like tariffs can disrupt initial estimates and cause the final price to exceed the bid. East Baton Rouge Parish school officials and contractors report large increases in building materials and finishes, with recent examples showing budget growth of several million dollars. Brownfields Elementary was initially bid at $25.1 million in 2023 and now has a budget of $28.9 million. The Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts was budgeted at $28.1 million in 2023 and has grown to over $34.4 million. Banks Elementary demolition costs illustrate the trend: in 2021, EBR school system paid $290,000 for similar demolition work; costs for the current demolition and remodel job are expected to exceed $500,000 by completion. Managing budgets in the current environment requires careful planning and close coordination between owners and contractors.

Community-focused construction and safety at GEC

Grant Ethridge Construction, led by partners Carter Terral and Grant Ethridge, blends multifamily and commercial work with community involvement and safety programs. GEC started in 2012 with a focus on multifamily new construction and renovations. Commercial construction followed after the multifamily focus. GEC projects include Progress Park and Hollywood Acres and three local restaurants: Jubans, Soji and BLDG 5. Les Maison de Bayou Lafourche in Lockport received the first Fortified Gold Multifamily Designation by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety and was designed to withstand a Category 3 hurricane; the project saw minimal damage during Category 4 Hurricane Ida in 2021. GEC assigns a field superintendent and a project manager to each project and conducts biweekly owner, architect and contractor meetings. GEC uses Procore software for project management and has partnered with Essential Safety Partners to make safety a daily practice. GEC is also the presenting sponsor of the annual Maddie’s Footprints – Footprints Forever 5K race and plays an active role in the organization’s fundraising gala. GEC has a company internship program that trains construction management students and builds them up to become project managers, often resulting in a permanent position at GEC.

MoveEBR road program progress

Voters in 2018 approved a half-cent sales tax for 71 badly needed road projects. The sales tax went into effect on April 1, 2019 and will remain on the books until March 31, 2049. Proceeds of the tax can be spent only on the approved list of projects. Some of the original 71 projects were broken up into smaller, related projects for a total list of 139 MoveEBR projects. To date, 27 MoveEBR projects have been completed, according to the city-parish. The most recent project completed had a ribbon-cutting on Aug. 1 and is a new two-lane road from Picardy Avenue to Constantin Boulevard. Several other MoveEBR projects are now under active construction or will be soon as the long-term program continues.

MMR Group’s rapid national expansion

Founded in 1991 by James B. “Pepper” Rutland, MMR Group grew from an oil-and-gas electrical contractor into a national firm doing work for energy, semiconductor and data center clients. MMR cut its teeth in the oil and gas sector and in recent years has expanded into the tech-sector infrastructure boom. MMR has about 10,000 employees and annual revenue grew by 75% in 2024 to more than $2.3 billion. MMR is one of the largest privately owned electrical and instrumentation contractors in the U.S. and has more than two dozen offices across North America. MMR was an electrical contractor on the Venture Global Plaquemines LNG export facility and has also worked on Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass and Calcasieu Pass 2 projects. MMR has worked on large semiconductor and hyperscale data center projects, including a major hyperscale data center in Boydton, Virginia and a large-scale semiconductor facility in the southwestern U.S. MMR’s subsidiary SouthWestern Power Group was the original developer behind the SunZia transmission project concept and MMR retains rights to a parallel transmission line. MMR has a strong recruiting pipeline from LSU, launched MMR University in 2023 to accelerate workforce development, and has made multi-million-dollar donations to LSU programs and facilities. MMR’s founder intends to keep the company privately owned and based in Baton Rouge.

What to watch

• How contractors and school systems manage future contract bids as material prices shift.
• Progress on the list of 139 MoveEBR projects and upcoming ribbon-cuttings for active builds.
• Whether MMR’s national footprint expands further in semiconductor and AI infrastructure work while remaining privately held.
• GEC’s continued involvement in community programs and internship-to-career pathways for construction students.

FAQ

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Key features at a glance

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Deeper Dive: News & Info About This Topic

Additional Resources

• Business Report: Wesley Construction embarks on a second generation with a focus on quality, relationships and craftsmanship
• Wikipedia: Construction
• WAFB: Rising construction costs challenge school projects in East Baton Rouge
• Google Search: Baton Rouge school construction rising costs 2025
• Business Report: For the Record — GECs’ hands-on approach results in projects finished on time and on budget
• Google Scholar: construction cost escalation school projects
• 1012 Industry Report: Hut 8 breaks ground on massive data center north of Baton Rouge
• Encyclopedia Britannica: data center
• NOLA.com: Baton Rouge electrical contractor MMR expands into AI, data centers and LNG work
• Google News: MMR Group data centers Baton Rouge

Author: Construction NY News

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