People are busy in the local construction industry, and not necessarily shooting nail guns or operating heavy equipment.

This is the time of year when bids are being requested for large public and commercial projects, so local construction companies are trying to figure out how many projects to pursue and the level of competition they can expect.

This is a crucial time of year, as it lays the groundwork for the 10,000 or so local construction workers who will be working on projects during the peak months of spring and summer.

“During the next 60 to 90 days, we’ll see nearly all the big projects that are going out to bid,” said Steve Isenhart, co-owner of Tiger Construction. “It’s a hectic time as companies try to figure out what they can and can’t do.”

While residential construction is expected to slow down significantly this year, workers should be fairly busy on commercial and public projects.

“Housing construction has been a boom-and-bust kind of industry as long as I’ve been in this business, but commercial is much more steady,” Isenhart said. “It seems as though things have slowed down a little bit in our industry, but most everyone is finding work.”

Before going to bid, the big projects have been in the hands of architects and engineering firms, who appear to be busy. Dave Christensen of Christensen Design Management said work continues to be steady around his office.

“Commercial and custom home projects seemed to be coming along at about the same pace (as previous years), but condominium and apartment projects have really fallen off,” Christensen said.

Mike Smith of Zervas Group Architects said the economy is playing a factor in getting projects started now.

“We’re at a point where costs (of construction) may accelerate faster than the economy, so some are motivated to get it done now,” Smith said. “It’s not like two years ago, but we’re staying busy.”

One sign of the times will come during the bidding process for these upcoming projects. In recent years, there were projects that had trouble attracting bidders because general contractors were too busy with more profitable ventures. Some of the government projects bid on this year have already seen multiple bidders.

“I think some of the bids will be more competitive; it may mean some companies will look for more work beyond Whatcom County,” said Isenhart, whose company is currently working on a $20 million building project at Skagit Valley College. “The Seattle area is still quite busy with commercial projects, so some local companies may end up doing some work down there.”

The local construction industry is seeing the impact of what’s happening in the national economy, however. Some projects, particularly in residential, have halted as financial institutions have become more cautious about lending money.

“You see projects stall in residential that haven’t been tried in Bellingham, such as the condo towers,” said Myles Donnelly of Franklin Corp. “It seems you can still get financing for commercial projects if you’ve been successful before and know what you’re doing.”

Christensen said he’s seen a shift as well in commercial projects. He doesn’t see as many national retailers looking to expand into the Whatcom County market but is seeing more local business owners.

“There are a lot of business people who are tired of leasing and want to have their own building,” Christensen said. “For many national retailers, I understand Bellingham is on their radar, but we’re not quite large enough to come now.”