Letter from the Editor: A strange and turbulent spring
Unemployment claims have skyrocketed. Various industries are hanging on by a thread, while manufacturers and a select few retailers try to stay in control as “essential” businesses. There’s been a scramble for federal relief funds.
It’s been a crazy spring all around the world.
The real estate industry is still waiting to see the impact of the economic shutdown.
Our focus in this issue is on real estate, construction and engineering — a segment of the economy that has been going full-tilt for several years. As part of our ongoing coverage of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, our staff delved into the industry response and what’s expected in coming months.
For our cover story, Laurie Schreiber spoke with a range of real estate brokers up and down the state, basically taking the temperature. Where are things right now? Most expected a downturn at some point, but no one foresaw this. There is some natural caution. “We would be foolish not to plan for the worst,” broker Chris Paszyc told Laurie. See Page 16.
Architecture firms are already rethinking the workspace and what offices will look like once we return to them. Renee Cordes talked to one firm that’s in the process of moving its offices, SMRT. She also asked architects how their work has already changed. “A very large portion of our work is in the health care sector, so it’s the it’s no surprise that people in hospital acute care have other things to worry about than talking to their architect, so there has been a slowdown in some of that work,” Ellen Belknap, president of SMRT, told Renee. “The flip side is that some of our health care clients have called and said, ‘Can you help us reconfigure our clinics so we can handle COVID-19 patients.’ One door closes, and another door opens.” See Page 20.
Maureen Milliken talked to developers to get updates on projects that had been in the works and how they’ll be affected. Most say they’re going through with plans, though there are a host of uncertainties as far as the future economy is concerned. “No one is sure how this is all going to shake down,” Tom Landry, a broker and developer, told Maureen. See Page 24 for more. This issue has two lists: Notable Maine-based construction projects (Page 28) and the largest Maine-based construction companies (Page 34).
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