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V O L . X X V N O. V I I I A P R I L 1 5 , 2 0 1 9 28 R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / D E S I G N F O C U S "I've been doing this a long time, and I'm used to seeing year over year price increases, but this is double dig- its," Mattson says. "It's nuts." e biggest area that affects him is with aluminum and steel. "Do you have any idea how much aluminum and steel are used in con- struction? It impacts everything. It's everywhere," he says. When he recently had to buy a chiller — a large piece of a build- ing's heating and cooling system — for the 300,000-square-foot Ballard Center in Augusta, he was confronted with the same issue he had with the cabinets. He was told that if he didn't place the order by a certain date, the price would go up 5%. "at's a critical component. I had to have it for the building. And it's made entirely of aluminum," Mattson said. Mattson says, though, that in a way the situation helps developers of exist- ing buildings. "It costs a lot more to build from scratch," he says. He also says the issue is tougher on rural Maine than the Portland area. "If you're doing a project in Caribou that's going to cost 20% more, it's a lot harder to recoup that cost," he says. "It's disproportionate." Balancing act Coupled with the "big three" issues — tariffs, labor shortage and lack of available subcontractors because of the economy — are some sub-issues. Mattson cites the shortage of long- haul truckers. "Every single thing you get comes on a truck," he says. Lack of truckers makes transportation costs higher and delays deliveries. Szanton points out a higher labor wages in nearby states, like Massachusetts. "If someone can earn one-and-a-half times in Massachusetts what they can in Maine, they're likely going to take the job in Massachusetts," he says. e construction boom in the state was bound to result in eventual push- back, those in the industry say. It's a balancing act, says Tompkins of Cianbro, to make sure the finished product "doesn't suffer too greatly because of price escalation." "You recognize issues early, make changes," Tompkins says. "You get in front of it." As the skilled worker shortage can make projects take longer than they nor- mally would, Szanton says he is grateful to find contractors who can work well to accommodate issues. ree or four years ago, the Hartley Block project may have taken 11 months. But a contractor has to get subcontrac- tors — plumbers, electricians, masons. "e project might need 10 guys, but they might send five guys, because that's all they have because they've got other projects going on," Szanton says. "You can just open up a big can of workers." Hebert Construction, the contrac- tor on the Hartley Block, agreed to a 13-month project instead of 11 months to build in slack for issues that might be caused by higher costs. e building began welcoming ten- ants March 20, as planned. Szanton credits Hebert's effort, saying, "It took a lot of really skilled project management on their part to keep on schedule." Maureen Milliken, Mainebiz senior editor, can be reached at mmilliken @ mainebiz.biz Do your employees take pride in what you do? Find out. F O R I N F O R M AT I O N A N D TO A P P LY G O TO B E S T P L AC E S TO W O R K M E. C O M 2019 Premier Sponsor: A N E M P L O Y E E E N G A G E M E N T P R O G R A M D E A D L I N E: M AY 24 Brought to you by: » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E You recognize issues early, make changes. You get in front of it. — Scott Tompkins Cianbro Developer Kevin Mattson of Dirigo Capital Advisors was told kitchen cabinets costs in the Saco Mill Complex would increased in price by more than half in just a few months. R E N D E R I N G / G O O G L E M A P S

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