The story that started leaking out Thursday afternoon – that UPMC was abandoning its plan to locate a $220 million hospital at Newbury in South Fayette – should not be misconstrued as a negative sign about the healthcare construction market. UPMC is re-thinking its five-year capital plan but still expects to invest $900 million over the next five years.  Thus far, the decision to scrap the South Fayette facility has not altered plans to build the Vision Institute on the Mercy campus, expand Children’s Hospital or build some sort of new facilities in the South Hills. And construction to meet pent-up demand is booming in other healthcare facilities

UPMC is still continuing its investment at the former Jameson Hospital in New Castle and building the $111 million tower at UPMC Hamot in Erie. The Allegheny Health Network is taking design/build proposals for a new 30,000 square foot cancer center in Butler from Jendoco, Graziano, Mosites, Mascaro, Allegheny Construction and A. Martini & Co. AHN is also bidding a 30,000 square foot, $16 million cancer center at the St. Vincent campus in Erie. PJ Dick, Turner and Austin are known to be bidding that project.

Massaro CM Services put three State College Area School District elementary school projects out to bid, due October 10. The budget for the projects is $55 million and the district is taking bids on each or all three combined. The bids should be a good early barometer for how competitive it will be in the K-12 market as contractors build backlog for 2018.