Story by: Ferrara Editor
December 15, 2025
Every construction year tells a story. In 2025, ours was about building smarter, collaborating better, and proving yet again that disciplined craftsmanship beats flash every time. The Carolinas grew fast this year, and we kept pace by tightening our processes, strengthening partnerships, and delivering work that reflects the pride we take in every square foot we build.
Now, with several signature projects staged for kickoff in 2026, we’re stepping into the new year with an active workload and a clear sense of purpose about the kind of builder we intend to be.
Design-build is at the heart of Ferrara Buist’s DNA. When the James Island Art & Community Center was awarded to our team, it validated years of refining our Design Assist Build approach and deepening partnerships with architects, engineers and specialty trades.
This project isn’t just a facility—it’s a long-term investment in cultural space, community enrichment and the local arts ecosystem. It allows us to combine architectural vision with practical constructability, ensuring every design intention aligns with real-world performance. For a Charleston contractor, opportunities like this represent both trust and responsibility, two things we take seriously.
Educational construction brings its own stakes. When Charleston County School District selected Ferrara Buist Contractors for the St. Johns High School Culinary Arts renovation and expansion, it marked a milestone: our first collaboration with CCSD and the beginning of what we aim to be a long, productive partnership.
This project underscores our commitment to creating environments where students can develop skills that will serve them throughout their lives. It also strengthens our presence in educational construction, a sector where schedule discipline, safety and coordination with campus operations are paramount.
Our work in 2025 spanned community facilities, commercial developments and educational environments. For clients, that breadth translates into confidence: a team with wide-ranging experience, steady operational capacity and a time-tested ability to deliver across different project types.
As the Carolinas continue to grow at a pace few regions can match, this range of work ensures we can adapt quickly and bring tested solutions to projects of all sizes and complexities. Whether the goal is a civic space, a school improvement, or a commercial build, Ferrara Buist enters 2026 with the capability and readiness to deliver.
If wins show what we achieved, lessons show how we’ll go further.
In construction management, miscommunication is expensive, and collaboration is priceless. This year reaffirmed the importance of over-communicating, aligning early and maintaining an unbroken chain of dialogue between owner, architect, builder and trade partners. That alignment is forged during preconstruction cost modeling, sequencing reviews and weekly on-site coordination. Projects succeed when teams move in the same direction with shared expectations. If it sounds like we’re repetitious on this point, it’s because we mean to be.
The construction environment in the Carolinas shifts quickly. Market conditions change, municipal requirements evolve and community expectations rise. The smartest builders don’t resist change—they design for it.
Our team leaned into adaptability this year, refining processes, accelerating decision timelines and implementing new technology where it improved clarity or efficiency. Adaptability isn’t reactive—it’s strategic foresight that has opened doors we wouldn’t have otherwise walked through.
There’s something different about stepping back from a completed build and knowing it will serve thousands of residents, students, families and neighbors. Community projects anchor the identity of a region and underscore why local contractors are important.
This year reminded us that the most meaningful work isn’t always the tallest building or the largest square footage—it’s the work that moves a community forward.
If 2025 built momentum, 2026 is poised to accelerate it.
We enter the new year preparing to break ground on three high-profile builds:
Each represents a different pillar of our portfolio: community, education and commercial development. Together, they demonstrate the breadth of what Ferrara Buist delivers across the region.
Population growth and economic expansion continue to make the Carolinas one of the most dynamic construction markets in the country. In 2026, Ferrara Buist will deepen its reach, expand relationships and continue to serve as a trusted contractor for design-build projects, commercial developments and civic improvements across the region.
With a full slate of preconstruction engagements, new project mobilizations and ongoing builds, we enter the year with a strong and balanced lineup of projects. This strategic positioning ensures operational stability and allows us to allocate talent, equipment and resources with precision.
We build buildings, but we also build community. In 2026, we’ll continue to support local initiatives, educational programs and regional organizations that share our belief that a stronger community benefits everyone—from business owners to families to the next generation.
Construction is a demanding industry. It tests your patience, your planning, your ability to solve problems at sunrise and your resilience when weather, supply chains, or a well-meaning inspector force you to adjust mid-stride. But it’s also one of the most rewarding professions in the world.
Ferrara Buist exists because of the clients who trust us, the partners who collaborate with us and the communities that invite us to build the future with them. To all of you, we say thank you.
Here’s to a productive, purposeful, and well-built 2026!
© 2025 Ferrara Buist Contractors. All rights reserved.
