14
January 2014
High-Profile Focus: Forecast 2014
Nadeau’s 2014 MedBuild Team
Multifamily Housing Outlook
by Sean Lamontagne Moving into 2014, Nadeau’s MedBuild Unit is optimistic about healthcare projects getting off the launching pad. The pace of this sector’s construction starts is on the rise, and with hospitals, clinics, and other medical networks expanding to meet the growing needs of the public, Nadeau Sean Lamontagne expects no lag in demand for its MedBuild construction services. The newfound clarity for direction that the Obama administration has finally provided, makes Nadeau trust that its healthcare clients are going to be getting back into expansion mode. “With this comes a new focus though,” explained Nadeau’s MedBuild team leader Mark Menard. “Value engineering methods have never been in higher demand, the focus, has shifted to efficiency and containing costs.” It’s an interesting situation for healthcare institutions. With the new system now being implemented, 30 million additional Americans will have insurance to pay for check-ups and precautionary care. This huge expansion of the customer base is going to call for expanded infrastructure to support this demand. Organizations will need more outpatient facilities, more beds,
Boston - Over the last four years, the fastest growing segment of the housing market has been the multifamily sector. Since reaching a nadir of 82,000 in 2009, multifamily housing starts have risen over 350%. Price growth has been just as impressive. Over the longer run, multifamily construction is driven primarily by the outlook for local household growth and homeownership rates. However, in the short run, vacancy rates and the pipeline of projects in development will determine how fast this demand is turned into additional supply. On the condominium side, supply remains tight. According to the Greater Boston Association of Realtors, the inventory of existing condos currently sits at 514 units, which is down 31% from year ago levels.
Consequently, in spite of some mild offsetting influences stemming from the rental market, condo prices will continue to rise over the forecast horizon. Tight supply of both detached and multifamily residences has for a long time been a constraint in the residential Boston market. This has resulted in rents growing by an average annual rate of 3.7%, while home prices have increased by double the pace of income growth. In an effort to provide some relief, Mayor Thomas Merino recently announced a $16 billion housing plan that would bring an estimated 30,000 units of housing to the city of Boston by the year 2020. This is an excerpt from a report provided by TD Economics. It is for informational and educational purposes only.
that need some sort of facility alteration moving into 2014 can also take advantage of this opportunity to become more efficient as a working health center. “When we go in for our needs assessment meeting, we talk with doctors, nurses, and the admin staff to find out what the day-to-day operations are in their current building,” Menard continues. “A lot of times there are opportunities for owners to save money simply by creating a facility that allows for the staff to perform better. Something as simple as a doctor having to walk a shorter distance to fill out his charts translates to more time serving patients.” Another healthcare trend that Nadeau expects to see is an increase in its
solar division. The opportunity to improve energy efficiency can prove to net these facilities large-scale savings over time. Not to mention create great public relations and generate a way to showcase their efforts toward sustainability in the community. This 2014 forecast boils down the age-old supply-and-demand reasoning. 30 million new customers for any industry probably means a greater need for construction in that sector. Nadeau’s MedBuild Team is looking forward to helping the New England healthcare community through this process into 2014 and beyond. Sean Lamontagne is director of business development for Nadeau Corporation
more operating rooms, greater accessibility for ambulances, and on top of all that, they will require more medical office space to support the added administrative staff. These changing facilities will need insight to increase efficiency and minimize costs, but the tricky part is retaining that high level of quality needed to attract those top rated physicians and in turn, charge those premium rates that result in larger profit margins. “We expect to see many existing facilities being renovated whenever possible,” says Menard. “If they’re going to need an expansion, our team is going to sit down with the powers that be, and figure out a way to maximize the efficiency of the facility while still minimizing expenses.” This by no means indicates that the days of luxury healthcare facilities are over. “This is nothing new for us; we’ve been upgrading old buildings into state-of-the-art medical facilities for 30 years. It’s a matter of knowing what the needs and wants are, and then implementing a strategy that allows it to stay within budget and adhere to a strict schedule.” When new construction is needed, Nadeau suggests a design-build approach. With integrated project delivery and overlap, the owner generally sees savings related to efficiency, fewer obstacles, and faster completion. By including contractors like Nadeau in the design stages on the front end, healthcare organizations allow for identification of less expensive materials and methodologies. Healthcare systems
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Norwood, MA - Agostini Construction Company of East Providence, R.I. along with Compass Project Management, Inc. of Medfield, Mass., the owner’s project manager, teamed up with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and Architectural Involution (Ai3) of Wayland to successfully manage, design, and build the new Norwood High School. The new high school was the first model built under the MSBA’s Model School Program...see story on page 32.
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Inside this Issue
September 2011
Windover Construction Completes Three School and College Projects BOND CM for UMass Fitchburg State Project Erland Tops Off New School Center with Robert Olsen + Assoc. LLD Designs, KBE Builds URI’s Hillside Residence Hall Profile: CTA Cements Place as Leading School Builder Cutler Associates’ Design Build Anna Maria College Holds Open House Oldcastle Precast Awarded Liberty Terrace Dormitory Featuring: BC Project Achieves LEED Platinum Tewksbury High School Tops Off UMass Lowell Begins Steel Erection
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