Elgin Development Group

06/17/2026

How the nation's architects are using AI, robotic parking and new skylights

Architect Tarrah Beebe traveled to her industry's biggest trade show in the vacation spot of San Diego this past week, only to lock herself away for a full-day symposium on artificial intelligence. She says it paid off.

Beebe thinks AI can help her Los Angeles-based firm, KFA, catalog data from all 60 employees in a format everyone can access. That way, KFA won’t lose what its architects have accumulated when they leave the firm or retire.

“I think AI can help leverage the collective knowledge of the firm,” Beebe told CoStar News at this year’s American Institute of Architects conference.

About 5,000 architects and design professionals, as well as engineers, general contractors and developers, descended on the seaside city for four days of seminars, building tours and speeches from industry leaders at the AIA conference.

The AIA, based in Washington, D.C., warned those who flocked to the vacation spot of San Diego that things could get pretty wonky, saying in a statement: “Attendees will dive into the topics shaping the profession's future — from net zero energy and adaptive reuse in revitalizing downtowns to the growing role of AI and the push to design healthier buildings that strengthen communities.

Perhaps the most highly anticipated part of each year’s AIA conference is the Expo floor, where about 600 companies pitch their wares to architects and other industry players. The roster of Expo presenters includes providers of seemingly every possible type of building material or component imaginable.

From RCP Block & Brick in Lemon Grove, California, showing off its hardscape and masonry supplies to Englewood, Colorado-based Bobrick's changing tables for use in restrooms, the products on display ran the gamut of construction.

New skylight variations
One design technique becoming more common is an emphasis on natural light. Several companies on the AIA Expo floor focused on products that can help architects infuse more daylight into the buildings they design.

Solatube International, based in Vista, California, makes an acrylic skylight that filters natural light through an enclosure that’s similar to a prism. The light then flows through an aluminum tube to what looks like a normal lighting fixture in the ceiling. Solatube owns more than 60 patents on its tubular daylight device, which it sells through its SolaMaster and SkyVault product lines.

“It allows architects to get natural daylight further into the interior of the building, as opposed to windows, which only bring light to a seven or eight-foot space adjacent to a window,” Solatube President Francisco Lopez said.

An additional benefit of the tubular daylight device is that it requires only a small opening in a roof, as compared to a traditional skylight. The smaller opening means less heat is brought into a building’s interior, improving energy efficiency.

Solatube’s products have been installed in high-rise residential towers, offices, factories, schools, automobile and train tunnels and many more property types, Lopez said. One of Solatube’s latest projects was at Terminal 4 at Los Angeles International Airport.

Natural light is “absolutely critical for humans’ well-being,” KFA’s Beebe said. Her design portfolio includes work on offices, residential, hospitality and educational facilities and she said she tries to create designs to provide as much daylight as possible to interior spaces.

“For every room, we are thinking about the value and the quality of light that is going to come into the space,” Beebe said.

Smart windows, robotic garages
Among window makers, Beebe said she typically uses products made by Marvin Windows & Doors, VPI Quality Windows and Andersen Windows and Doors.

Several other vendors on the AIA Expo floor feature innovative window products.

Lake Forest, Illinois-based Kingspan Light & Air, for example, makes fiberglass-reinforced polymer walls that are translucent to allow light to flow to interior spaces. Solar Gard, based in San Diego, makes window films that obviate the need for blinds or shades.

Andersen, based in Bayport, Minnesota, makes two types of so-called smart windows. One of Andersen’s products, called SmartSun Glass, filters out 95% of ultraviolet rays, provides insulation for improved energy efficiency and doesn’t require blinds or shades to block bright sunlight.

Parking has emerged as an area of innovation for architectural products, too. Volley Automation, based in Denver, sells a robotic parking system where drivers pull into a garage and a robot-controlled elevator lifts the vehicle to its designated parking slot.

The system reduces the amount of space needed for a parking garage, allowing garages to be constructed in spaces that are constrained for space. Torxun, based in Tracy, California, developed a new type of parking-garage gate to replace traditional metal roll-up doors.

Architects who want to explore the possibilities of artificial intelligence also have plenty of places to look on the Expo floor. Spacial AI developed an AI-enabled software platform that allows architects, engineers and general contractors to collaborate earlier on projects.

The AI component of Spacial helps users identify and correct potential problems, shortening the time it takes for the production of documents that must be filed with local building permitting agencies.

Maor Greenberg, co-founder and CEO of Palo Alto, California-based Spacial, stressed that his company does not want to replace architects. Instead, Spacial’s AI platform can help architects better interpret and implement complex plans devised by the engineering firms who are their partners on major projects.

“Our main goal is to shorten the amount of time to get a project permitted and under construction,” Greenberg said. “That’s the best way to make projects more affordable.”

06/03/2026

06/02/2026

Construction spending rises

U.S. spending on residential and nonresidential construction projects increased slightly in April from month-earlier and year-earlier levels, though development growth remained sluggish by historical standards for most types of construction in the early months of 2026.

The Commerce Department said April spending totaled just over $2.17 trillion, rising about 0.4% from March and beating the year-earlier level by 0.9%, according to seasonally adjusted annual figures. Residential construction increased 0.8% from the previous month and rose 1.7% from a year earlier, as nonresidential spending declined 0.2% for the month and fell 2.1% for the year.

Analysts at Associated General Contractors of America said highway construction has bolstered nonresidential spending for the past several months. The trade group noted manufacturing project spending dropped 18.5% from a year earlier, as office construction fell 5.5% and warehouse construction declined 1.6%.

Those declines were partly offset by a 28% annual rise for data center projects, a 6% increase for electric power projects and a 5.9% rise for retail construction, the contractor group said in a Monday statement.

05/26/2026

Discount Retailers ride sales growth

Ross Stores joined other major discount retailers posting strong sales gains in the first quarter, including Walmart and Target, as consumers trim budgets in response to spiking gas prices and other household expenses. The Dublin, California-based operator of nearly 2,300 stores, including Ross Dress for Less and dd’s Discounts, reported a 21% annual jump in total sales and 17% rise in same-store sales for the quarter ended May 2.

Total sales topped $6 billion as the company also increased its full-year same-store sales growth outlook to between 6% and 7%, after the company grew sales 5% in 2025. Ross Stores posted first-quarter net income of $650 million, up from $479 million a year earlier.

During an earnings call with analysts, Ross Stores CEO Jim Conroy cited factors including higher customer traffic, “compelling merchandise assortments,” improvements to the in-store experience and spending related to tax refunds. The company opened 13 new Ross stores and four dd's Discounts locations in the first quarter, with plans to continue 5% annual unit growth with about 110 stores to open in 2026. Conroy also reiterated plans to close or relocate about 10 to 15 older stores.

The CEO said first-quarter sales increased across multiple product categories, demographics and regions. The company’s off-price, clearance-focused stores historically have not seen immediate, direct correlation between gas prices and consumer spending, though Conroy said the impact could change depending on how high gas prices rise and how long they stay elevated.

“I would also add the silver lining for off-price is that any uncertainty in the macro environment could lead to customers seeking more value when shopping and create closeout opportunities for us from the supply side,” Conroy said.

05/22/2026

Walmart sales rise

Walmart posted a 7.3% annual boost in total revenue and a 4.1% increase in same-store sales in its latest quarter, with spending up in categories like patio furnishings, sporting goods and toys. Total quarterly revenue reached $177.8 billion, but the world’s largest retailer cautioned that sales could slow this year if consumers continue to suffer rising gasoline prices and other household expenses.

Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said high-income customers are generally “spending with confidence into many categories.” But lower-income customers with tighter budgets are showing signs of financial distress, based on factors including lower average gas purchases at the retailer’s stores that sell fuel.

“We have a large fuel business, and we see that in the most recent period, the number of gallons that customers fill up with when they come to our fuel stations fell below 10 for the first time since 2022,” Rainey told analysts during a quarterly earnings call Thursday. “That’s an indication of stress.”

With expectations for rising inflation factored in, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based operator of more than 10,000 stores worldwide is maintaining a conservative outlook for full-year sales growth at between 3.5% and 4.5%. Walmart CEO John Furner said the company continues to cut prices, with new reductions now in effect for about 7,200 items, as it invests in distribution center improvements incorporating artificial intelligence to speed product deliveries.

“Approximately half of our e-commerce fulfillment center volume in Walmart U.S. is automated,” Furner told analysts. “More than 60% of our stores are receiving some level of freight from automated distribution centers. More than half of our regional distribution centers are in various stages of being retrofitted.”

05/21/2026

More Elgin Employment Numbers

The table below shows annual data that was released last week. The COVID pandemic period that began in the U.S. officially in March 2020 had a substantial impact on the labor force as some 22 million jobs vanished and was combined with the steady, continued exodus of 79 million baby boomers out of the labor force. COVID accelerated the decrease in the participation rate drop in the workforce to 60.1% in April of 2020 which was the lowest level since the 1970’s. The table below shows how Elgin’s labor force has bounced back and has been able to maintain its strong position in Kane County. Kane County’s labor force had a peak number of 286,581 people in the workforce in July 2019 and has fallen to 271,862 at the end of February 2026, while Elgin remained stable.

05/18/2026

Contractor project backlogs rise

The average construction backlog, reflecting the volume of projects under contract but not completed or billed by U.S. contractors, reached 8.8 months in April, according to the latest tracking by the Associated Builders and Contractors trade group. That was up 0.2 months from March and 2.2 months higher than in April 2025, signaling improving business prospects.

The project backlog surged to a 10-month high in April, though “the industry’s recent momentum is highly concentrated among a subset of contractors,” Anirban Basu, the trade group’s chief economist, said in a statement. He noted booming data center construction “has almost exclusively benefited” the largest contractors with more than $100 million in annual revenue.

Contractors generally remain confident in their outlooks for revenue and profits over the next six months. Also this month, data firm Dodge Construction Network reported a 6.2% April jump in U.S. nonresidential projects heading into planning after receiving necessary approvals, with commercial projects rising 8.1% from the prior month, led by offices, data centers and warehouses.

This followed three months of slowing momentum, according to Dodge analyst Sarah Martin. Dodge reported a total of 44 projects heading into planning that were valued at $100 million or higher, led by a $500 million Google data center in Buffalo, West Virginia, and a $470 million Stargate data center in Burlington, Texas.

05/14/2026

Producer prices soar

U.S. companies’ costs to provide goods and services during April spiked 6% from a year earlier, marking the biggest annual increase since December 2022, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Also known as wholesale prices, producer prices often affect consumer inflation, which reached a three-year high of 3.8% in April, the government reported earlier this week.

Like consumers, U.S. firms were hit hard in April by a 7.8% jump in producer energy prices from the prior month, spurred largely by a 15.6% spike in gasoline costs. That affected numerous segments of the economy that rely on transportation services, with truck freight costs rising 8.1% for the month and 15.2% from April 2025.

The Associated General Contractors of America noted diesel prices climbed 13.6% from the prior month and increased 73.8% from a year earlier. Project developers were also pressured by a 1.7% monthly rise and a 6.6% annual jump in nonresidential construction materials. Asphalt prices rose 18% on an annual basis, with milled aluminum materials up 37.3%.

“Construction input costs continue to rise much faster than contractors’ bid prices, particularly for energy-intensive and metals-related materials,” Macrina Wilkins, the contractor group’s director of market insights, said in a statement Wednesday. “That gap is making it increasingly difficult for contractors to accurately price projects and raising the risk of delays, redesigns, and deferred construction activity if cost volatility persists.”

The National Association of Home Builders said material prices for residential projects, excluding energy, rose 3.7% from a year earlier, the biggest annual jump in three years. With all material and service expenses factored in, April’s new residential construction costs rose 1.3% from the prior month and 5.9% from a year earlier, the builder group said.

05/12/2026

Elgin's Employment Numbers

The Illinois Department of Employment Security released monthly employment numbers for Illinois municipalities, counties, and metropolitan districts for February 2026. February Metro and Local area data were released on Thursday, April 23, due to the additional time required to revise historical monthly, annual sub-State nonfarm jobs and unemployment statistics (benchmarking). The unemployment rate for Elgin went up from 1.0% year-over-year. Despite the increase, Elgin employment numbers are rather stable, and the local economy continues to show resilience.