Fed budget cuts will yield more rehabs, less new construction

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Drew Ballensky is general manager of Duro-Last Roofing, Inc.’s central U.S. facility in Iowa and company spokesman for Duro-Last’s cool roofing, sustainability and architectural education programs. He is past-president of the Chemical Fabrics and Film Association and chairman of CFFA’s Vinyl Roofing Division. Drew earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from the University of Northern Iowa and master’s degree in business administration from Florida State University. Drew has over 29 years experience in business and industry in various engineering and managerial capacities. He has worked in the U.S. and Canadian operations for a major international manufacturer of pre-engineered steel buildings, was a financial analyst with a major athletic apparel manufacturer and was an owner of a general contracting company.

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August 17, 2011

Reduced federal government construction budgets are likely to mean agencies will favor rehab of structures over new construction. The federal government spent $39.4 billion on construction in 2010, but will slash that amount by $2 billion in 2012, according to the Obama administration’s proposed budget.
(http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2011/08/agencies-to-spend-more-to-maintain.html)

Federal spending on architecture and engineering services will see modest growth to $9.5 billion in 2016 from $8.1 billion this year, as agencies try to extend the life of existing buildings and comply with various mandates for energy efficiency, data consolidation, physical security, and teleworking, according to a report by Deltek Inc.


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Comments on: "Fed budget cuts will yield more rehabs, less new construction"

Comments

Rehab versus New

Submitted by Bruce Hassen (not verified) on Thu, 2011-08-25 14:50.

Have you heard of the book Too Big To Fall?

You have an ally in the author of that book.

reply

This isn't bad news

Submitted by Buildingwell.org (@Buildingwell) (not verified) on Mon, 2011-08-22 15:58.

While it may sound like bad news, the shift to more retrofit projects than new construction is actually a good thing. This will allow the sector to focus on upgrading our current building stock to be far more efficient. When the market shifts down the road, new construction can take off knowing that it is not at the detriment to existing buildings.