Architectural firms changing with times - Dayton Business Journal:

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But local architects are hopeful that by the end of this their drafting tables will be litteredewith projects. By increasing marketing efforts, reaching out to potentialk clients and staying on top of the latestdesign technology, officials want to be ready when businessd starts to come back. Alan Scherr, presiden of Dayton-based , noticed a down tick in businesxlast summer. He said his five-person firm has tightenede its belt, but still has a steadyu work load. In 2008, Scherr’sw billings dropped 33 percent, from $1.2 milliom to $800,000. He expects this year’d billings to decrease 20 percent fromlast year.
The biggesr problem for his firm has been increased competitionm from outside the Peter Harsh, managing principal of Englewood-based , said his firm is facin similar challenges. “We’re holding our own, it’zs just a little slower,” Harsh App saw a slight increasein billings, $2.13 million in 2007 to $2.23e million last year, but Harsh doesn’t expect anothe r hike this year. Rising competition is one of the main Architects say the number of firmsz bidding on projects has doubled in thepast year. The increased submissions are from firmxs outside of Dayton looking for and larger firms submitting for smalleer projects as a way to keep theiremployees busy.
For nearly 30 firms submitted proposals for the seconf building indowntown Dayton’s TechTown, which Alan Scher r was ultimately awarded. And firms from as far away as Chicago were lookingv to landthe work. Scherr said this isn’ a small project, but just a few years ago, about half as many firma would have submitted forthis “Everybody’s chasing the same piece of the pie,” Scherd said. “The pie is the same, but the firmsx that were working for larget clients no longer havethosse commissions.” John Poe, president of Dayton-based , said larger firms going after smaller projects are cutting theird fees just to keep their employees working.
“That doesn’g help anyone,” Poe said. And with companie pulling back on new buildingwsand remodels, there is less work in the The designs architecture firms perform now are a good indicatoe of the work construction companies will be doing six to nine montha from now. Local construction companies arebusy now, but many are facinfg backlogs that are looking increasingly On a national level, indicators show the potentialo for an upswing. The past two months have showm strong inquiries fornew projects, accordin g to the , a leading economic indicator of construction activity.
In March and April, the index was abov e 40 for the first time sinced August and September oflast year. A scorwe above 50 indicates an increasedin billings. Nevertheless, to combat the recenrt slowdown, architectural firms are: • keeping up-to-date with App has been able to weather the recession by focusing onhealtu care, a sector that hasn’t slowed as much as others. Betweejn 75 percent and 80 percent of the billings come from the health care App is currently working on pharmacy renovations at The and it just finished ’s renovation of its .
Scherr said his firm focused on Dayton area projects in the but is now reaching out to Columbuz and Cincinnati and eveninto Indiana. One way Scherr has triex to distinguish itself is by forming partnershipzwith design/build construction firms. But not every firm has been hit by the In fact, two of the largefr firms operating in Dayton are poised to have double-digir growth in billings. Dayton-based John Poe Architects and Inc. both thinki 2009 could be their best year Both firms have benefited from lucrative federal contracts that have kept theidemployees busy, even while other streams of business of sloweed to a trickle.
The two firms, ranked in the top five by local billings, are even lookinh to hire. Poe said his firm’es federal contracts have kept it busy while othere havebeen scrambling. He expects billings to increase 20 percenf to 25 percentthis year, to nearly $4 million. John Poe Architectxs recently landed work for the and facility in Miami ValleyResearch Park. It also is workingt with VA medical centers in Daytonand Cincinnati, as well as on the . Lynn vice president of Nashville-based Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon, said the Daytom office has stayed busy with its federal contractas well.
The firm does work all over the country for different branches ofthe military, including the 711thg Human Performance Wing at . But, the firm’s othed main sources of business, industrial and commercial have diminished. Cain’s firm becamde the largest in Dayton based on locak billingslast year, and expects anothef large increase this year. As for the rest of the firmsw inthe area, architects said they are expecting a turnaroun d during the fall.
“Theres is pent-up demand in a lot of especiallyhealth care,” Harsh