Photo courtesy of T&M Building Co.
Greg Ugalde
President, T&M Building Co.
Industry experience: 41 years
During a four-decade career in homebuilding, Greg Ugalde has played a direct role in private housing production at his Torrington-based company, T&M Building Co. Now Ugalde is putting his private sector expertise to work as a senior advisor at the Connecticut Department of Housing on new initiatives, including one that could redevelop state-owned properties as multifamily residential projects. Ugalde is a former chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and currently serves as president of the Home Builder and Remodelers Association of the Connecticut River region.
Q: Looking back at the past year, what has been the largest effect of tariffs on home construction costs?
A: As with any cause and effect, it’s got people worried. It was a serious enough impact on the supply chains, and the added cost is always a big concern. [U.S.] Sen. [Chris] Coons sponsored a bill that would set up a review mechanism for products being used in new construction. If you qualify, you would not be subject to tariffs. It’s so important that we be able to provide housing where we can. This would be an effort to do it legislatively. It’s certainly a chilling impact. It’s difficult enough to try to price homes, or try and price rental units, when you can control and review the costs.
Q: What important legislation is affecting housing production in Connecticut?
A: We had a big piece of housing legislation [An Act Concerning Housing Growth] that finally got passed in 2025 that has a lot of good things. We need accessory dwelling units. You have a lot of jobs that are trying to come to Connecticut, as long as we can put a roof over their heads. Section 8-30g [the affordable housing zoning law] is always debated, and it’s far less popular in Fairfield County than it is in other areas. Our industry certainly supports it, because it’s the one tool that we feel gets towns to a discussion. We’re trying to develop a concept known as a friendly 8-30g to give the elected officials and Zoning Commission
Q: What’s the focus of your new role as advisor to the Department of Housing?
A: One of the things that happened with this new legislation, the housing commissioner talked with the governor’s office and they put together this position. There’s certain things we can benefit from. One of them is looking at the homeless piece, so you’re not just providing a shelter at night, but nothing to help during the day. A big piece of that would be trying to put a roof over their heads on a more permanent basis, and that’s what we’re looking at doing. And I’m looking at building systems and modular and other types we might be able to use, because these are smaller units that could be necessary for that piece. But the biggest part of what this looks like is we were given powers so we’re now able to look at properties that are either owned or operated by the state of Connecticut, excess properties that are available and taking a look at what type of housing would be able to be efficient in those places. It’s a new system you’re fitting in with the other agencies, so we have some work to set the process up. But it’s exciting, in what it could end up producing, both for housing affordability and locations. We’ll be able to find new places and ways to provide housing. While it looks like building permits are up [statewide], we’d like to have it a little higher in the long haul. We need to keep that pipeline going.
Q: Are immigration crackdowns affecting labor availability?
A: There’s no question that there’s fear with a lot of subcontractors, whether it’s their ownership or the people that are working for the companies that they have to be careful, and if they hear rumors, it does affect attendance at job sites, and it’s also making it more difficult to hire. That’s why we’re doing a tremendous job right now with our workforce development efforts, building in curriculums.
Q: Is modular and off-site home assembly making significant inroads in Connecticut construction?
A: I think it is. It hasn’t made an enormous impact yet, but the percentage has gone up and you’re seeing a lot more interest in it. As senior advisor to the Department of Housing, that’s something we’re reviewing closely. There’s a lot of efficiencies there, especially in places where it’s harder to get your workforce in place. You’re able to have a controlled delivery. We have to reach a point where the inspections by building officials can be done in a more global approach, so we could put into effect a more universal stamp of approval, so you don’t have a modular company building in three different towns and having three different specs for those. I’m very optimistic about the different companies that are looking at this.
Q: How many active projects is your company working on and what does the spring sales market look like?
A: We opened up one in Bloomfield this month and took our first seven deposits. It’s tending to be more of a senior group, and there may be a lot of cash buyers, because it looks like a fair number of buyers are going to downsize.They’re $750,000 to just over $1 million. There’s certainly pent-up demand. There are supply chain issues, labor issues, and even weather seemed to warm up a bit later than we thought. With conflict around the world, if you’re a buyer, you’re looking and saying, “Maybe I want to take a breath.” We had one of those yesterday.
Ugalde’s Five Favorite Strong-Armed NFL Quarterbacks
- Josh Allen
- Patrick Mahomes
- Justin Herbert
- Lamar Jackson
- Matthew Stafford
