Housing for Construction Workers & Skilled Trades

The Midwest is in the middle of a construction wave unlike anything the region has seen in decades. Semiconductor fabs, hospital towers, EV battery plants, interstate bridges, data centers, and university campuses are all under construction simultaneously — and the skilled trades workforce building them needs somewhere to live that isn’t a hotel room or a crowded man camp.

Home Street Furnished Apartments provides housing for construction workers, electricians, pipefitters, ironworkers, HVAC technicians, project superintendents, and site managers working on major projects across Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Milwaukee.

The Projects Driving Demand

The scale of active construction in our seven markets is significant — and the timelines are long:

• Columbus, OH — Intel Ohio One (New Albany): The $20–28 billion Intel semiconductor campus is the largest private investment in Ohio history. At peak build, approximately 7,000 construction workers will be on-site simultaneously, with the project extending into the early 2030s. The eastern Columbus corridor lacks the hotel supply to absorb this workforce. Furnished apartments in Columbus and surrounding communities fill a documented gap in worker housing.
• Columbus, OH — OSU Wexner Medical Center Tower: The largest single facilities project in Ohio State’s history — 820 beds, 1.9 million square feet — opened in early 2026, with interior trades and system commissioning work extending beyond structural completion. Two projects generating simultaneous trades demand in a single metro.
• Cincinnati, OH — Brent Spence Bridge: The $3.6 billion companion bridge project connecting Cincinnati and Covington, KY entered construction in 2025 and will extend 3–4 years. A major interstate bridge requires a sustained trades presence across all phases — civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, and finishing — with specialty crews rotating in and out throughout the project lifecycle.
• Cleveland, OH — Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute & MetroHealth Expansion: Two simultaneous $1.1 billion hospital projects in Cleveland’s healthcare corridor. Hospital construction is among the most trades-intensive work in commercial construction — structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and specialized medical equipment installation overlap across 2–3 year timelines.
• Indianapolis, IN — IU Health Downtown Campus: The $4 billion IU Health hospital campus — the largest hospital project in Indiana history — features three towers reaching 372 feet. Interior trades and MEP finishing work extend well past structural completion. The Eli Lilly LEAP Innovation District in nearby Lebanon (30 minutes from Indy) adds a parallel manufacturing construction workforce demand that will extend through the decade.
• Pittsburgh, PA — UPMC Hospital Tower & Infrastructure: The $1.5 billion UPMC tower for transplant, heart/vascular, and neurological services opened in 2026. PennDOT simultaneously added five major infrastructure projects in 2025, adding civil and bridge trades demand across the region. Pittsburgh’s convergence of large healthcare capital projects and infrastructure investment has created sustained trades demand in a compact metro.
• Louisville, KY — BlueOval SK Battery Park (Glendale): Ford and SK On’s $5.8 billion EV battery campus — 9 million square feet on a rural site one hour from Louisville — began production in August 2025. The Glendale/Elizabethtown corridor has limited hotel supply. Trades workers on ongoing phases need housing that can absorb 3–6 month engagements without the cost and friction of nightly hotel booking in an undersupplied market. Louisville is the practical hub for workers commuting to this project.
• Milwaukee, WI — I-94 East-West Expansion & Microsoft Data Center: The $1.74 billion expansion of 3.5 miles of I-94 through Milwaukee is one of the largest highway projects in Wisconsin history, active through 2026. Microsoft’s $3.3 billion data center campus in Mount Pleasant adds parallel construction demand. Two major projects running concurrently in a single metro means sustained trades housing need for the better part of three years.

Why Hotels Don’t Work for Trades Housing

Hotels in these markets run $131–212/night, or $3,900–6,300/month per person. At those rates, a crew of ten workers costs $39,000–63,000/month in lodging before a single meal or parking charge. That math doesn’t work for anyone — not for the contractor, not for the worker.

• HSSA furnished apartments are priced between $3,000 and $5,000 per month — all-inclusive, covering utilities, internet, and all furnishings. A single worker or supervisor in a one-bedroom unit pays a predictable monthly rate that undercuts extended nightly hotel billing in most markets. For crews sharing a two- or three-bedroom unit, the per-person economics are compelling: a three-bedroom apartment divided among three workers comes to roughly $1,000–$1,667 per person per month.
• Group bookings and crew rates: We work with general contractors, construction management firms, and labor brokers managing housing for multiple workers simultaneously. Block reservations with fixed monthly rates simplify job cost accounting and eliminate the variability of nightly hotel pricing.
• Longer terms, lower effective rates: A project superintendent on a 12-month assignment pays a more favorable rate than a worker cycling through on 4-week stints — and both beat hotels by a wide margin at every duration.
• Full kitchens: Construction workers on 10-hour shifts don’t want to eat every meal at a restaurant. Full kitchen access — cookware, appliances, dishes — reduces daily food spend and improves quality of life during long-duration projects.
• Laundry access: In-unit or on-site laundry isn’t optional for trades workers. Our apartments include laundry access — it’s a basic working expectation, not a premium amenity.

Who We House in These Markets

• Project superintendents and site managers on 6–18 month assignment cycles
• Specialty trades (electricians, pipefitters, ironworkers, HVAC technicians) on 2–6 month phase engagements
• Safety officers, quality control inspectors, and commissioning engineers spanning multiple project phases
• Civil and infrastructure crews on highway, bridge, and utility projects with multi-year timelines
• Labor brokers and staffing firms managing housing logistics for traveling trades workers across markets