Pub. 1 2020-2021 Issue 1

12 REFLEXION | 2020 | AIA Utah A cross the world, COVID-19 has ripped through economies. Many small businesses are in peril; 20% to 80% of restaurants are not expected to survive. The airlines are predicting record layoffs in the Fall. Here in Utah, like usual, the impacts are not quite as dire. And, because of the nature of their work, architects are still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Our projects are long; big projects the last few years. The upside of this is that most of us are busy, still benefiting from the hitherto vigorous economy. Yet, institutions HAVE canceled projects that were in early stages — are they the canaries in the coal mines or just a blip? Where are the new projects? Will they just start up a little later when everything is, “back to normal”? Of course, nobody knows. We do know that the economy was virtually shut down for a couple of months, is still sputtering along, and that certain sectors are suffering. That is bound to take a toll, at least in the short term, and probably for a while. But, in Utah, for architects, could that be a blessing in disguise? So many of us were laboring under heavy workloads and labor shortages, maybe this will give us a little reprieve, to slow down a little and catch up on our backlogs. The optimistic view is that we can ride this out — there will be new work when we need it. Maybe. Since we have no hard end date for all this, as researchers continue to look for a vaccine and the country continues the current turbulent political ride, smart A/E/C marketers are thinking strategically. To do that, we need to review the status of things right now and decide where to put our efforts for the next 6-18 months. Clients: • Interest rates are low, money is cheap and developers are taking advantage. • The feds have not issued any stimulus money. Work, as always at the federal level, is slow to roll out, and we are all holding our collective breaths to see where federal money might go in the next year or two. • The State of Utah has canceled most of its capital development projects funded during the 2020 session. There are capital improvement projects, but those are small and mostly non-architectural. Sometimes institutions and departments have discretionary money. Will this money be reallocated in the next session? • Salt Lake County has put all of its capital projects on hold. The County has a lot of facilities to keep going, and some of them are not generating any income. • Many municipalities are struggling under the weight of the severely decreased tax base. • Some agencies continue to issue RFPs for money that was allocated in 2019 or early 2020. Is it time to jump on those? • Southern Utah is still enjoying a full-bodied private sector. • Nonprofits, including churches, are experiencing cash flow problems from decreased giving. • Some CIB funding may be redirected. A Cautiously Optimistic Look Forward BY FRAN PRUYN, CPSM, CORPORATE SECRETARY AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, CRSA ARCHITECTURE