New England City Scoop: Construction Starts in Portland
Total construction spending on track to slide by more than 20% this year
Commercial and manufacturing work due for a big decline, but institutional activity may increase slightly.
City Grill
Christopher L. Snow
Associate Principal/Office Manager, Portland., Maine.
GZA
After spiking last year, Snow says local bid prices are stabilizing. The pace of proposal activity has also leveled off slightly, with GZA’s volume growing about 30% annually in 2016 and 2017. “We’re continuing to see modest growth, but when we close the books on 2019, we expect it to be substantially lower than that, probably in the single digits,” he says.
Snow says Maine is developing “quite an interesting and vibrant cluster of biotech and life sciences companies focusing on veterinary and livestock markets.” Technology and life sciences companies are “poised to soar” thanks to a $100-million private pledge to fund Northeastern University’s new Roux Institute in Portland. It will offer graduate degrees and certificate programs focused on practical application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in digital technologies and life sciences. Snow is “convinced” that the effort “can be a major game changer for the future growth of Maine’s economy and offer opportunities for us to attract and keep top-quality entrepreneurial talent in Maine.”
