HCA Hosts the 2021 Annual Construction Forecast Luncheon

HCA Hosts the 2021 Annual Construction Forecast Luncheon
by Avery Nielsen

HCA hosted their largest luncheon of the year on March 25, 2021 at the Junior League in Houston, Texas. The event had 12 representatives from local and regional entities discussing the construction forecast of the upcoming year. Each representative gave a brief presentation on the works they plan to put forth this fiscal year.

The forecast luncheon brings in the largest attendance every year. Prior to the pandemic, the event would sell out with 320 attendees. This year, HCA had 240 attendees, doubling the average attendance of previous luncheons.

The forecast luncheon is the most popular, as members want the first sneak peak of what projects will be available. “This gives the contractors, who will be bidding on the works, an opportunity to see in advance the type of projects that are out there,” said Jeffrey Nielsen, Executive Vice President of HCA. The presentations allow the companies to target specific projects and budget accordingly, added Nielsen.

Though the project information is public, it is buried throughout websites and not easily assessable. For HCA, the forecast luncheon is a valued service the organization provides for their members. “[The luncheon] takes all the information from all these different areas, and puts it in one place,” said Nielsen. After the luncheon, Nielsen added he uploads all the presentation notes into a thorough document to be uploaded to the HCA website for members convenience.

With the pandemic, the luncheon was a hybrid of remote and in-person presentations. Due to technical difficulties with the venue’s internet signal, the remote presentations were not able to present. The information was still received by Nielsen and made public for members to view.

The overall takeaway from the presentations, Nielsen said is there is much more work coming out of Houston than previous years. “Army Corp of Engineers has a couple of billion dollars of work from post Harvey recovery, mainly focusing on Addicks and Barker Reservoirs and Buffalo Bayou.” The City of Houston signed a consent decree with the EPA to address the sewage leaks the city has faced, replacing 150 miles of sewer lines and five percent of their lift stations every year for 15 years, added Nielsen. Regarding roadways, TxDot and METRO have large plans underway. TxDot will be handling the reconstruction of Interstate 45 around the Downtown area, while METRO has rolled out METRONext with 2.5 billion for rail lines and bus rapid transit (BRT) lines which are dedicated lanes for buses, said Nielsen.

HCA would like to thank each representative who presented at the forecast luncheon. Thank you to BCE Rents, Garney Construction, and RelaDyne for being the luncheon sponsors.

For the April luncheon, HCA will be welcoming Chris Boleman, president and CEO of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which Nielsen said he expects a large turnout for as well.