Health Care Construction Happening Out West

WAYLAND, MA — More than half of architecture and engineering firms see the West Coast as the action market for health care construction in 2010, according to a new ZweigWhite survey.

Results of the survey are being published in the new ZweigWhite quarterly report titled Market Advisor.

The report is part of the March edition of The Zweig Letter, ZweigWhite’s flagship weekly management journal. Additional Market Advisor reports to be published at the end of each quarter will focus on different market sectors.

More than half of the respondents to the health care survey state that the West Coast is where the work is, with 28 percent saying the Southwest is the hottest geographic area, and 24 percent pointing to the Northwest. The Northeast and the Midwest, both at 16 percent, also fared well. Only 4 percent respondents pointed to the international arena as where they see potential in 2010.

“Southern California is an active aging market,” says Edward Caruana, president of c|a Architects from Long Beach, CA. “We feel health facilities, whatever complexion they take on in the future, will be needed in this busy area.”

Significant findings include:

• 37% of respondents are optimistic about health care being a hot market this year, but 40% are in the “wait and see mode,” and 23% are not touching it
• 44% of respondents say new hospital projects will lead health care in 2010, a significant percentage (32%) say they will work mostly on renovations and upgrades, due to lack of funding for all-new facilities
• 67% of respondents pointed to lack of financing as the biggest hindrance to this market in 2010

About ZweigWhite
ZweigWhite is one of the nation's leading sources of business management services for architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms. The ZweigWhite team consists of experts in strategic business planning, business valuation, ownership transition, human resources management, finance and administration, mergers and acquisitions, market research, marketing, project management and project delivery methods who collectively produce a comprehensive suite of products and services, including newsletters, industry reports, executive training, business conferences, and advisory services covering virtually every aspect of firm management. The firm is headquartered in Wayland, MA, with additional offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C. For more information, go to zweigwhite.com.