FORT MYERS - Little did Mark Stevens know when he first took an interest in healthcare construction that it would be largely responsible for the vitality of his company 20 years later in a very difficult real estate market.
But that’s exactly what has happened as the company continues its work this year with some 80% of its projects in the healthcare arena, said Stevens, founder of Stevens Construction. Healthcare comprised about 40% of the work just three years ago.
“We have 80% more work on backlog in 2010 than we finished in all of 2009,” he said. “The healthcare market has not shrunk like the commercial market, and healthcare has always been one of our specialties.”
If just the backlogged work is completed this year, Stevens said, 2010 revenues will be the highest since 2006.Stevens got his start in the business when he went to work for Compass Construction after graduating from the University of Florida in 1990. Within three years, he had obtained his state certification as a general contractor. Four years later, he was promoted to vice president of the company.
Stevens stayed with Compass for another seven years until he founded Stevens Construction Inc. in 2004. To date, he has managed or served as the project executive on more than 150 commercial building projects with a combined value of more than $300 million. He serves as president of the Lee County Building Industry Association and chairman of the Commercial Contractors Council.
Stevens said he is drawn to the challenge of healthcare projects: “You’re dealing with someone who needs more than just a contractor, so we can use our construction management expertise.”Starting with a focus on Southwest Florida, the company opened an Orlando office in late 2008 after landing an important project.
“It was initially opened to serve an existing client - Florida Hospital - but we have picked up projects in Sebring, Mount Dora, Zephyrhills and Wesley Chapel,” he said, adding that only 25% of the company’s backlogged work is in Southwest Florida.
“There’s not much here. In November, there was one commercial pulled in all of Lee County. In December, there was only $1.5 million in commercial permits pulled in Lee,” he said.
“I don’t know that other marketplaces are necessarily any busier than our marketplace here. Mostly what we’re getting out of the area are the specialty health care projects. There are fewer qualified people to do those.”
Although healthcare is a specialty for the firm, it has also done retail buildouts, flight hangars and resort work. The company is doing its first church addition - an 11,000sf undertaking - this year.
“We’re keeping our eyes open for anything that is a good fit for our company,” Stevens said.
Stevens Construction will continue to focus on Southwest and Central Florida, Stevens said. Any additional geographic expansion will be considered carefully and would have to come at the request of established clients who have projects in the area.
“We don’t have any plans for a major expansion. I’d like to see us get back in the next 12 to 24 months to the levels of 2006. We’d like our plan from that point to grow at 10 to 15 percent a year. As the market starts to improve, we’d like to keep diversification in the types of work we do. We think there’s strong growth opportunity in that corridor between Tampa and Orlando,” he said.
Construction prices to rise
Rising vacancy and falling lease rates continue to put pressure on commercial real estate pricing and, thus, new construction pricing. But there are signs that won’t continue much longer, said Mark Stevens, founder of Stevens Construction in Fort Myers.
“If a client can find an existing building, more than likely we can’t build it for what they will be paying,” said Stevens.
Nevertheless, the cost of construction materials and labor seems to have bottomed, Stevens said, adding he’s starting to see material price increases for the first time in two years.
“I think new construction prices will start going up,” he said.
