®
oundtable:
An atypical year Construction sector leaders discuss working in the past atypical year and provide their outlook and key priorities post-pandemic.
Doreen Caudell
President D-Mar General Contracting
What has been D-Mar General Contracting’s focus in this atypical landscape? We have been diversifying our customer base due to COVID-19. Prior to the pandemic, we were heavily involved in the airline industry, one of the virus’ first victims business-wise. We now have a new and different set of customers, having acquired some military and government contracts that we are excited about. These are with the U.S. Air Force and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). It has also brought our team together in a much different way. We were working on all the different airlines projects we had all over the country, whereas now that we are here, we are looking to build a different type of team to diversify into the government sector, which has proven to be a highly rewarding experience. What type of projects are you developing with FDOT? FDOT is not only bridges, roads and infrastructure; although we do have the ability to do that. The types of services that D-Mar is providing is along the lines of a design-build. FDOT has conference rooms, buildings, infrastructure projects, transit centers, to name a few. What are your main priorities for 2021? Continuing to grow. We want to be there for these design-build projects, working with many partnerships throughout the country. There are a couple of new projects coming online, some of them touching on transit, that we are excited about because that will help the city on several fronts, including but not limited to safety, mental health, air control and carbon footprint. 76
| Invest: Tampa Bay 2021 | CONSTRUCTION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Troy Hernly
Vice President & Principal Stevens Construction
How did Stevens Construction fare in 2020? The good news for Stevens is that we are still going to be profitable and meet our revenue and profit goals for 2020. However, the healthcare and hospitality sectors that Tampa specializes in were impacted due to COVID-19. This was a change compared to years past as traditionally these markets sustained us during every other economic downturn. We saw numerous jobs have funding pulled or not move forward to the next phase as priorities were shifted. This has given us the opportunity to work on diversifying our local portfolio. What healthcare sector opportunities do you see emerging? The healthcare sector is going to create some new and exciting opportunities. One of the things that it has amplified is the need for hospitals to care for acute patients. Isolation wings are going to be needed for hospital care, whether it is this pandemic or the next. That need is going to drive off-campus developments, whether it is medical office buildings or standalone emergency departments and ambulatory surgery centers. Telemed is another trend. The healthcare delivery system in five years is probably going to look very different from what we have today. Which areas of Tampa Bay are positioned for growth? The short answer is all of them. More and more people have “discovered” Tampa and they want to live here. If I had to pick one area, I would say Pasco. Pasco’s pro-business environment and availability of land make it very attractive to companies and individuals who are looking to leave bigger cities and come to Florida.
