City Scoop: Hartford
Value of new contracts projected to shrink by 4% this year
A healthy gain is expected for the non-building sector, while nonresidential weakens sharply.
City Grill
Angela D. Cahill
President
AIA Connecticut
Associate
QA+M Architecture
Despite concerns that the pandemic would disrupt public school and municipal and corporate sectors, Cahill says those are “market leaders” for QA+M, which just won contracts for the $65-million North Branford high school and the $32-million renovation to Bristol City Hall. “In 2020 we were also successful procuring health care, housing, commercial and mixed-use projects,” she says.
Some clients “are taking advantage of the bidding climate and favorable borrowing rates,” Cahill says, but “the immediate and long-term future for higher education projects” is uncertain. She says the American Institute of Architects’ Connecticut chapter has seen more“participation since members did not have to travel to [virtual] lectures, committee meetings or conferences.” But she still anticipates a return “of in-person business development opportunities and large celebratory events.”
As for the future of work in the Hartford area, Cahill says, “If public funding continues to come through like it has in Connecticut, the design and construction market will stay strong.”
