2015 East South Central Region Forecast

Arkansas Business magazine reported that a $1.3 billion steel mill project in Osceola, Ark., was ready to break ground last month and will eventually employ more than 2,000 construction workers. There was also a radio report from WFPL-FM that the University of Louisville plans to build a 39-acre research park with 1 million square feet of building space on the campus, and a television report from WBIR-TV that the University of Tennessee has started a $1 billion modernization program that will include a new resident hall, student union and parking garage. McGraw-Hill Construction logged a $94 million new high school in Centerton, Ark.; and Arkansas Business said a $50 million museum in Ft. Smith, Ark., will open in 2017. Nashville solidified its position as a Top 25 housing market with over 8,000 total housing permits pulled through August and the 31,000 new residents it attracted from August 2012-2013. CBRE reported that Nashville’s downtown vacancy rate decreased in Q3 2014, but it still sits at a relatively high 19.1%.