Thursday, October 01, 2026 | OWNER PREVIEW

Executive snapshot

• Cautious The Senate blocked advancement of the Ratepayer Protection Act September 30: 57 votes fell short of the 60 needed. The House-passed measure is not enacted law. Editorial: keep state tariffs and project contracts as the operative underwriting inputs rather than assuming a new federal cost-allocation rule. Reuters, September 30 Senate vote
• Neutral Georgia's PSC September fact sheet documents a 3,200-MW contract reviewed August 26 and protections against recovering certain early-termination costs from residential and small-business customers. Those contract protections are distinct from delivered generating capacity. Editorial: verify the actual service agreement and energization milestones. Georgia PSC, September 2026 fact sheet
• Neutral Atlanta industrial demand remains selective in CBRE's Q2 report: 2.6M sf net absorption, 15.1M sf leasing activity and 8.2% direct vacancy. Concessions help complete transactions while headline rents hold. Editorial: underwrite total occupancy cost, not face rent alone. CBRE Atlanta industrial, Q2 2026
• Positive Lakewood Heights' former school redevelopment has an approved agreement and ground lease, with design and financing next. The 54,721-sf mixed-use plan targets a Q4 2027 construction start. Editorial: this is a predevelopment opportunity, not a current interior-work release. Atlanta News First, September 30
• Cautious KOLD's October 1 update reports Marana Planning Commission approval of data-center ordinance changes after the September 30 hearing. It does not establish final council enactment or an effective date. Editorial: reconcile the adopted text before pricing acoustic or shutdown-security obligations. KOLD, October 1 commission update
• Cautious WGRZ reports Buffalo Common Council approval of a two-year pause on new data centers. The short report does not establish a separate effective date or detailed exceptions. Editorial: obtain the operative local record before assigning site-specific permit consequences. WGRZ via Yahoo, September 30
• Neutral The BLS gypsum-building-materials commodity index is 367.032 in August, unchanged from July and up a calculated 0.99% from June. This national material index is not a local installed drywall price. Editorial: resolve assembly, finish level, lighting, access and labor assumptions in the bid. BLS gypsum index via FRED, August 2026
• Cautious RLB's Q3 cost report places its national index at 292.28 for July, up 1.28% from April and 4.45% year over year. It measures a different basket and period than gypsum PPI. Editorial: do not stack both percentages onto the same package without checking overlap. RLB Q3 report, July 2026 index
• Neutral A September 30 Construction Dive opinion describes AI failing to identify the authoritative submittal revision because project files lacked consistent naming and status. It reports a live-project pilot, not measured industrywide ROI. Editorial: approve the document register before automating finish takeoff or procurement. Construction Dive opinion, September 30

Market movers

Sector outlooks

Strategic watchlist

• Georgia power agreements: reconcile minimum bills, termination protection, collateral and actual service milestones. Georgia PSC, September 2026 fact sheet
• Federal ratepayer policy: monitor new action after the September 30 procedural block; do not book a law that has not passed. Reuters, September 30 Senate vote
• Marana: obtain the commission record and subsequent council text before treating proposed noise or closure-security terms as effective. KOLD, October 1 commission update
• Westlake: October 23 standing hearing remains distinct from a final merits ruling and separate permitting. Dallas Morning News via Yahoo, September 28
• Interior release: freeze the finish schedule and approved mock-up conditions before a broad material or labor commitment. USG J2010, 2022 technical guidance

Top questions leaders should be asking

• Which power commitments are executed contracts, which are generation plans, and which support a credible energization date?
• Are our Atlanta lease-up assumptions based on comparable geographies, vacancy definitions and effective rents?
• Which finish assemblies and lighting conditions are approved, and what remains an allowance or unresolved scope?
• Can every AI-assisted quantity or procurement decision cite the current approved drawing and specification revision?
• What documented change would cause us to stop, reprice or resequence the next interior-work release?