Renovation Work is Creating Jobs in Local Markets

As the overall economy picks up, job opportunities, too, have increased leading to lesser number of people looking for work. In August, the unemployment rates in the U.S. fell to 8.1 percent.

And in South Florida, the renovation at the Fountains Centre office and retail park is offering abundant job opportunities to the local force there. This multi-million renovation project in the seven-building, mixed use complex in Boca Raton is aimed to attract new tenants and also increase the value of the property.

Boca Medical Plaza LLC, which owns the project, said in a statement that the company is employing local subcontractors for renovations and interior works.

“Our objective here is to create a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing work setting for our tenants while producing favorable returns for the investors. At the same time, it is important to us to help support the South Florida labor force,” Zivi Schwarzman, managing partner, Boca Medical Plaza, LLC, said in a statement.

Similarly, in Oregon, restoration projects were able to generate $977.5 million and 6,483 jobs between 2001 and 2010, according to an Ecotrust report quoted by the NOAA Habitat Conservation.

Jobs for construction workers, landscapers, heavy equipment operators, and technical experts such as engineers and wildlife biologists were created during this time, thereby creating a demand for local businesses.

The report said that restoration work boosts the local economy by creating plenty of job opportunities locally.

“Restoration jobs can’t be outsourced—they’re local, and they bring a lot of benefits to the local economy…An average of 90 percent of money invested in restoration stays in the state, and 80 percent stays in the county where a project is located,” the report said.

On the number of jobs created in each sector, the report points out that while watershed and fish habitat restoration created 17-33 jobs per $1 million invested, the oil and gas sector created around five jobs per $1 million invested and road infrastructure generated seven jobs per $1 million invested.

“As the restoration economy blossoms, the value of our investments are starting to be recognized in local communities across the state for their economic impact and benefits,” Tom Byler Executive Director, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, said in a statement.