The COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and restrictions impacted dozens of major sectors in the U.S. economy this year — airlines, restaurants, entertainment venues, schools, and most retail businesses. The construction industry took its own hits with projects coming to a screeching halt for months before they could slowly begin implementing safe procedures to get back to the work site. The stalled projects meant lost revenues and wages in the short term but the added costs of implementing strict protocols (up to $30,000 a month for our organization) will continue to impact construction schedules and budgets for some time.
Preservation of affordable housing had multiple developments and renovations in progress when the pandemic hit and we’ve had to adjust how we do construction projects to make sure our contractors, staff, and residents remain safe. This meant coordinating processes with a range of contractors across multiple states and dealing with a patchwork of local compliance orders in a staggered sequence.