Healthcare construction spending increased just 6% during the last 12 months but is expected to resume expanding at a 10%-plus pace in 2009.
Healthcare starts, reported by Reed Construction Data, stalled at a high level in the last six months, but are forecast to resume rising slowly by the end of the year. The 2008 stall is the combination of hospital project delays from concern about falling employment and insurance premiums and a sharp cutback in nursing home and other residential projects after a multi-year surge when the market was consolidated and privatized.
The residential healthcare market is also being restrained by more expensive construction financing. Lenders are charging a premium rate for risky building projects. The current growth in hospital construction spending does not cover project cost increases, which are higher for hospitals than other nonresidential buildings. Looking ahead, the projected pickup in construction spending will at most keep up with the growth in the overall economy.
Top 20 healthcare design firms
(2007 billings in $ millions)
| Company | Billings | |
| Source: 2008 Giants 300 survey Note: This ranking is based on firms that made the Giants 300 list. |
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| 1. | HOK | 142.26 |
| 2. | HDR Architecture | 127.20 |
| 3. | Perkins+Will | 122.40 |
| 4. | AECOM Technology Corp. | 97.93 |
| 5. | HKS | 81.52 |
| 6. | Jacobs Engineering Group | 78.70 |
| 7. | Stantec | 68.50 |
| 8. | Cannon Design | 55.76 |
| 9. | NBBJ | 50.18 |
| 10. | Hammel, Green and Abrahamson | 48.83 |
| 11. | PageSoutherlandPage | 47.75 |
| 12. | Perkins Eastman | 43.86 |
| 13. | BSA LifeStructures | 43.31 |
| 14. | Smith Seckman Reid | 42.06 |
| 15. | Anshen+Allen | 41.90 |
| 16. | URS Corp. | 40.00 |
| 17. | RTKL Associates | 39.64 |
| 18. | Gresham, Smith and Partners | 39.63 |
| 19. | Ellerbe Becket | 37.45 |
| 20. | SmithGroup | 36.06 |
Top 20 healthcare contractors
(2007 construction value put in place in $ millions)
| Company | Value put in place | |
| Source: 2008 Giants 300 survey Note: This ranking is based on firms that made the Giants 300 list. |
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| 1. | Turner Corp., The | 2,162.05 |
| 2. | McCarthy Holdings | 1,207.92 |
| 3. | Skanska USA Building | 960.00 |
| 4. | Robins & Morton | 882.12 |
| 5. | Brasfield & Gorrie | 783.73 |
| 6. | JE Dunn Construction Group | 685.15 |
| 7. | William A. Berry & Son | 441.00 |
| 8. | M. A. Mortenson | 427.06 |
| 9. | Hunt Construction Group | 400.00 |
| 10. | Gilbane Building Co. | 396.66 |
| 11. | Swinerton | 364.00 |
| 12. | HBE Corp. | 328.00 |
| 13. | Pepper Construction Group | 300.75 |
| 14. | Hensel Phelps Construction | 277.12 |
| 15. | Clark Group | 265.79 |
| 16. | Balfour Beatty Construction | 257.28 |
| 17. | Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The | 243.26 |
| 18. | Flintco Cos., The | 241.04 |
| 19. | Kitchell Contractors | 240.63 |
| 20. | Boldt Co., The | 235.93 |
