It seems the entire world is eager to turn the page on 2020. As COVID-19 continues to spike and a vaccine not expected to be widely available to the general public until the second quarter of next year, how quickly that page turns remains anyone’s guess. One thing is for certain though—the lingering effects of the global pandemic will continue to plague South Florida’s construction market. In particular, we can expect a continued downturn in commercial office construction deep into 2021.

In response to the pandemic in early March of this year, Florida, like most states, issued a stay-at-home order. Construction sites, however, were deemed an essential service and were allowed to remain open. Seizing on the shutdown, as traffic slowed, Florida transportation construction projects sped up. According to Gov. Ron DeSantis, this aggressive approach saved an aggregate of 650 calendar day of construction.