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Rising costs: Maintaining a construction budget at the 2007 TurnKey Conference
Anyone preparing to build a laboratory animal facility or planning to renovate a lab site is confronted by one inescapable fact at the outset: construction costs are up.
Whether its location, material or labor costs, maintaining a construction budget has become an increasingly difficult challenge. Cost volatility in the U.S. construction market is greater than ever before. In 2005 alone building costs rose 6 percent, and this year the cost of lab renovation is expected to jump 6-10 percent, according to an annual study by HLW International LLP and AccuCost Construction Consultants.
Experts attribute the increase to reasons ranging from the much-talked about "Katrina effect" to higher prices for building materials and labor. In the end it all creates a "suppliers' market" in the construction industry.
That's where Bud Guest and Jim Contratto come in. Guest, senior vice president and Contratto, director of business development at McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., will explore rising lab construction costs and how to best complete the project by maintaining a budget at TurnKey 2007 - a two-day conference in Boston focusing on all aspects of building or renovating a laboratory animal facility. This annual conference delivers useful information on the latest technology and trends in facility construction, renovation, and equipment.
The session will explore the rapid escalation of material prices due to the global economy, materials shortages and environmental restrictions. The speakers will also investigate the causes of labor cost increases.
The busy current construction markets in the institutional and commercial sectors have led to multiple building opportunities, higher margins and increased risk aversion for most financially strong contractors. Learn what strategies you can use to develop an accurate budget for your project and receive sufficient contractor interest to produce the best construction prices.
According to HLW International, recent economic factors affecting lab construction include:
Hurricane Katrina - The effects of Hurricane Katrina, responsible for devastating parts of the Gulf Coast, Louisiana and Mississippi, continue to have a tangible affect the market. The "Katrina Effect" is expected to continue for at least another 18-24 months.
The New York City market segment is currently experiencing a boom. The uptick, according to the report, is due to increased activity in housing, retail, schools, and big projects like the Ground Zero rebuild, and the Penn Station and Jacob Javits Center expansions.
Inflation and cost escalation have taken root in the construction economy.
Increased commodity prices; steel, cement, oil, and oil-based products are still driving costs up. Foreign demand is still growing.
Labor costs are expected to continue to go up due to increases in the cost of living.
The 2007 TurnKey Conference will be held April 10-11, 2007 in Boston, MA.
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