Building Design + Construction

Fed by top-ranked architecture and engineering programs, the Central Coast is home to a thriving building industry, from architects and planners to engineers and general contractors for highly specialized projects.

This nucleus includes leading multidisciplinary firms with projects across the state and beyond. Several of the region’s construction and engineering firms are federal contractors brought in for large-scale projects across the country.

Others work on highly specialized projects at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant and Vandenberg Space Force Base. Winery design and construction — both hospitality and production facilities — is another regional specialty.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

Precision Construction Services is the fastest-growing construction company in California, in the top 10 nationwide, and #266 overall in the 2022 Inc. 5000. The company was also nominated as the Small Business Administration’s 2022 Prime Contractor of the Year, among other accolades
RRM Design Group was named one of the best AEC firms to work for in North America by the Zweig Group, following on its 5 2021 PCBC Gold Nugget Architecture Design Awards, including one Grand Award.
ACI Jet‘s new headquarters was named 2022 Airport Business’ FBO Project of the Year by Aviation Pros.
The region is home to two leading construction-related tech firms: Procore, a $7.8 billion company that provides cloud-based construction management software, and Land Gorilla, a provider of construction lending software.

31,000

jobs

9%

employment growth 2015-2020

530

regional companies

ASSETS + RESOURCES

Active Industry Groups

The Home Builders Association of the Central Coast provides advocacy, networking, education and resources to builders throughout San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. The SLO County Housing Coalition and Santa Barbara’s Coastal Housing Coalition bring nonprofit housing developers, home builders and advocates together to advocate for building more housing attainable at all income levels.

UC-Santa Barbara

Ranked among the top engineering schools in the world, UCSB offers degrees in materials and mechanical engineering. The materials graduate program has ranked #1 in the nation among public universities, with 11 affiliated research centers, including the Dow Materials Institute, the National Science Foundation-funded Materials Research Laboratory, and the Institute for Energy Efficiency.

Cal Poly

One of the highest-ranked architectural and environmental design colleges, Cal Poly offers majors in architectural engineering, architecture, city and regional planning, landscape architecture and construction management. Students regularly take top honors in national competitions and partner with industry on real-world projects.

Community Colleges

Cuesta College, Santa Barbara City College and Allan Hancock College supply a pipeline of trained talent through programs in architectural technology/drafting, construction technology, electronics and electrical technology as well as engineering, with associate’s degree and certificate options.