DiCicco Gulman Review Sees A/E Firms Gaining

WOBURN — A soon-to-be-released study by market specialist DiCicco, Gulman & Co. indicates that local architectural and engineering firms are finally enjoying a steady increase in work as the economy continues its recovery. “Slow and steady is what we’re seeing in the numbers and in talking with firms,” partner Chad DaGraca tells the Real Reporter this week in advance of the well-regarded survey put out periodically by the Woburn-based business consulting and CPA firm. Explains DaGraca, a member of the A/E unit, “Pricing pressure and the competition is still very significant and having an impact, but the good news is that there is more work and firms are doing better.”

DGC surveyed more than 40 A/E practices across Greater Boston, a vast majority of which indicate they are hiring while also upgrading their infrastructure and technology in response to the steadier environment. Being released in July, the assessment utilizes 2012 data for metrics such as improving billing multiples and utilization rates, plus a series of anecdotal responses that point to continued growth in 2013 for an industry brutalized from the 2008 recession, a slump that caused hundreds of layoffs and led to meager margins for any scant work available. A/E’s journey back has been prolonged, making the sunnier tinge to the pending survey even more welcomed by industry constituents.

Marie Fitzgerald, Director of Corporate + Technology Practice for Cambridge-based Symmes Maini & McKee Associates, says her firm is among those experiencing a resurgence. “We’re starting to get calls from brokers and LPMs, and corporate clients that we’ve been working with for years are starting to spend again,” she relays. “The corporate market is definitely picking up and we’ve picked up some new clients.”

Fitzgerald says companies appear more willing to invest in their work environments. “People held off for so long and now they’re looking at their office space and saying ‘I haven’t done anything in years, so if I’m going to do something, I’m going to implement the newer workplace strategies (such as less square footage per person and collaborative workspace).’” SMMA has recently entered into an agreement with CVS Caremark to do the corporate office space in national locations including Arizona and Florida in addition to its home base in Rhode Island. As a result of the added workload, there has been a subsequent increase in hiring. “We didn’t have a great reduction in staff (during the downturn), so we’ve not added huge numbers of people yet, but we do have about 12 open positions right now,” says Fitzgerald. Prellwitz Chilinski Associates is also recruiting talent. “In 2008, we were bigger than we ever were with 36 people, then we got whacked in 2009-2010 and went to 24. Today we’re at 42 – and we’re looking for people,” says President David Chilinski. But with so many firms hiring, he cautions that the talent pool is limited. “Two years ago when we were hiring it was great. There were lots of people looking for work,” recounts Chilinski. “But I can tell you right now it’s starting to be trouble again finding candidates.”

Chilinski reports that much of his firm’s new work is in the still-hot multifamily arena. “We have five different (multifamily) projects in front of the BRA right now, and we’re also looking at sites for people. And it’s not in the Seaport or Downtown, it’s Cambridge, Roslindale, Allston, Watertown – you name it.”

But the picture is not completely rosy. “The margins are still down,” laments SMMA’s Fitzgerald. “And I think it will be another 12 to 18 months before we start to get back to where we should be.”