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Construction pace builds; Survey shows demographic shifts, other market trends drive healthcare projects.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Susanna Moon

Ongoing aftershocks involving California's seismic-safety law as well as market trends nationwide are continuing to fuel a hospital building boom, funneling billions of dollars into the industry.

One 40-year industry veteran calls it the strongest market he's ever seen. "There are about five to six drivers that have been a wind to our back,'' says Robert Levine, vice president and general manager of healthcare at Dallas-based Turner Corp., with nothing on the horizon to stop the trend.

The inpatient acute-care hospital sector, especially replacement facilities, expansions and renovations, continues to lead the charge with $9.9 billion, or more than half of the roughly $18 billion in total completed healthcare projects last year, according to Modern Healthcare's 25th annual Construction & Design Survey.

Another $15.2 billion in acute-care hospital projects are under way-out of the total $25.1 billion of all healthcare projects that broke ground last year. And $28.5 billion worth of acute-care facilities are in design-of the $44.3 billion in total healthcare projects in the design stage, according to this year's 118 architecture firms and nine design/build respondents. A total of 187 firms participated in the survey this year, up from 182 last year. Respondents also included 26 construction management firms, 18...