Oakhurst goes beyond multifamily endeavors to bring their customers the most thought-out, experienced, and reliable signage solution for any space. Our VP of Sales, Nicholas Reaume, has been in touch with our general contracting partners to keep close tabs on rising trends. We would like to illustrate some recent insights that calls for our audience’s attention.
High schools and Middle Schools see new construction trends
After a year of remote learning, it may come as no surprise that students are yearning to return to their school campuses. The need for in-person learning and community building has been noticed not just by students, but by school district officials as well. Across the nation, more school districts are building middle and high schools to foster new institutions of learning for students.
One recent landmark in middle school and high school developments is Prince George County in Maryland taking on a P3 to build 6 new schools by 2023. In typical public school district construction timelines, the design, construction, and financing of six new schools would have taken 15 years. Not only will the creation of these new schools alleviate the strain on older and overcrowded campuses, but it will encourage the facilitation of learning to be taken more seriously by students who are wanting to be in an environment with their peers.
A large number of school districts are in significant need of remodeling and updating across the nation. General contractors have experienced an increasing call for these projects and capital investments have been implemented to begin a large overhaul of these projects.
Higher Education also see new construction
A segment that is more influenced by the return of campus activities is higher education. The pandemic created a halt for building projects that campuses had ongoing, as it did for construction efforts in every industry. Almost two years out, new construction and remodeling projects have received a lot of attention from higher education planning. These new efforts also include all building types across campuses, from STEM to business programs, lecture halls, libraries, and general use buildings.
Enrollment at universities had been gradually increasing every year, and applications for graduate programs are taking a surprising turn of interest coming out of the pandemic. The need to create buildings for students to work in also impacts the opportunities for donors to contribute to ongoing campus construction efforts. These new renovations are significant as they cause the planning committees and design partners to think in response to the pandemic and the long-term use of the building.
Transportation renovations on the rise
The size of the transportation market – including airports, train systems, and other forms of transit – has increased due to people re-entering society. Despite the spread of the delta variant, the need for travel continues to climb. Airports specifically have been anticipating the construction of new terminals and refurbishments to their ever-changing facilities.
Airports are a constant reflection of the cities they serve, and as new emerging technologies and changes in audience needs shift, the airports follow suit. Some of the largest airports in the nation have adjusted their terminals, lounges, and gates to better direct and serve the patrons that are quickly returning to travel. These capital investments directly benefit the cities they serve, as airports are a primer for visitors into their destination.
Oakhurst has seen an influx of projects in these sectors. With changes in infrastructure funding and planning ahead, we act on our design-build capabilities and are ready for projects that need guarantees of on-budget and on-time.