“We do see the logjam breaking eventually, especially as existing space gets absorbed, but we’re months from that happening,” he adds.

Terry Steelman, principal at Ballinger in Philadelphia, says he sees some activity in the corporate sector as well, “although quiet and below the radar.”

“Opportunity-oriented builders are teeing up for the future,” he says. “If there’s an opportunity they tend to take advantage of it. If they have a need and have the capacity to satisfy that need, it’s a good time to do that.”

Steelman says the company is currently working with Boeing on possible future projects at its Ridley Park location.

Despite the recession, some of the area’s casinos are moving forward with expansions. The Parx casino in Bensalem told the Philadelphia Inquirer in March that it plans to continue adding to its facilities in the coming years. Nearly $100-million in renovations could take place over the next three to five years, according to the Inquirer.

However, the future of other casino projects remains uncertain. The proposed Foxwoods Casino in Philadelphia has been delayed since it was awarded a gaming license in 2006. Wynn Resorts had stepped in to take over the project but withdrew from it in April.

In the end, it all comes back to institutional work, Steelman says. In looking at future opportunities, he says that an improved institutional market is the key to driving new work in other sectors.

�[Institutional work] is the basic underpinnings of this market,� he says. �At the end of the day, things like commercial and residential are natural extensions of the economic drivers in the region. If [institutional clients] are humming, it generates other types of work. If institutional work gets healthy, those things will come with it.�?