Higley enters the era of disco balls and bell bottoms! The beginning of the decade is marked with Albert Higley Jr. being elected Chairman of the company, after serving as Executive Vice President for five years. He would lead Higley to new heights along with company President Dutch Harley.

This era was dominated by healthcare projects, building upon the market growth of the previous decade. Projects like Southwest General Health Center’s new hospital (1975) were monumental for our growth. Higley completed over 100 healthcare projects within the decade, including dozens of projects for St. Luke's Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals.

Half a century of building calls for a celebration. Sharon Higley Watts remembers fondly her father, Albert Higley Jr., when the 50^th anniversary happened in 1975:

“I remember sitting at the dinner table when my father was trying to decide how to best recognize the company’s 50^th anniversary. How pleased he would be that it is still going strong 50 years from now and how impressed he would be with the current leadership and employees.”

Throughout the decade, there was also a large spike in retail projects, which had not been a major market since the 1940’s for Higley Construction. Thanks to the mainstream shopping malls being introduced to booming suburban neighborhoods, we completed multiple large department store projects in the later half of the decade. Higbee Company, Sears, May Company, and JCPenney were among the retail spaces Higley built in Northeast Ohio.

Having completed almost 10,000 projects by the end of the 1970s and the company celebrating such a large milestone, we were ready for all the changes the next decade would bring.