City Grill

W. Craig Hamilton Jr. 
Project Executive
Skanska USA Building Inc.

Recently dubbed  “Cellicon Valley,” Philadelphia is heavily invested in lab space, most notably for cell and gene therapy, Hamilton says. “One of the big trends in the region is designing and building facilities and lab spaces to support that growing demand,” he says. “Another major trend we are seeing is getting construction managers like us involved early in the process to facilitate designing around supply chain issues and limited availability of materials.” 

Skanska’s Philadelphia office is focused on partnerships with clients on projects in the health care, pharmaceuticals, life sciences and higher education sectors. “We’ve seen a record number of proposals over the last year,” Hamilton says. 

The Philadelphia-area economy “is steady, and we are seeing increased activity in health care and pharma,” he says. “Higher education construction has been slower to come back as universities and colleges continue working through the virtual/in-person balance.”

Philadelphia “is poised for continued growth and there are currently no signs that indicate a slowdown in the area,” Hamilton adds.