COVID-19 Impact on Commercial Construction
From the Desk of Ehrlich Crain, Director of Business Development and Diversity
From a business development perspective, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact commercial construction with a few key markets to watch. Owners and clients alike are in flux about what to do with their current business models—should they remain or change? With projects previously on hold and now ready to move forward, questions are now being asked on whether original project scopes require modifying before proceeding. Then, there is the concern with supply and demand for essential resources.
The view from Roncelli’s office in downtown Detroit at the Guardian Building, shows a slight uptick in office foot traffic and surrounding street traffic. Similarly, a lot of clients and owners have brought employees back to the office in some form and are on a staged path to full office occupancy.
Outside of office walls, Detroit’s retail and restaurants still have many in carry-out-only mode. Staff availability continues to be an issue, but most retailers and restaurant owners are optimistic. With such, staff is anticipated to become more readily available resulting in full services to resume.
To follow, Roncelli foresees an increase in retail and restaurant builds. Mixed-use and multi-family residential has seen steady growth prior to the COVID shutdown; Roncelli is also optimistic these projects will start to resume growth again.
Business isn’t booming like it was before the pandemic, but the construction landscape is starting to look brighter. Roncelli remains positive that business will continue, though it may look different. Projects are expected to increase slightly for office, retail and restaurant markets while those in the multi-family market are expected to experience somewhat faster growth.
About the Author
With more than 40 years of construction and real estate experience, Ehrlich Crain is responsible for Roncelli’s business development and marketing efforts for Metropolitan Detroit. He manages the firm’s Detroit office and oversees Roncelli’s Diversity Program, which includes working with the Michigan Minority Business Development Council, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and other local diversity and government agencies.