Bill Colgan is managing director at CHA Partners, a full-service health care real estate development firm specializing in public-private partnerships that successfully execute complex health care, mixed-use, residential and adaptive reuse projects.
He talked about the future of health care properties, post-COVID.
“The future of health care properties in our post-COVID environment relies on evolving regulations, and developers must be nimble to meet the new standards that arose in the pandemic long-term. Developers and property owners are guaranteed, as a result of COVID, to receive a new set of regulations regarding future standards for infection prevention, including factors such as HVAC air exchanges and filters to combat future ‘SARS’ (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreaks. As the importance of these additional measures continues to be proven, developers are thinking more critically when designing new buildings, strategically planning how to incorporate the latest safety measures in the hopes of meeting evolving demands. Due to panic and losses amid the pandemic, health care property owners and builders want to avoid the same mistakes and safeguard their designs with lessons learned for the foreseeable future. Raising building standards when it comes to health care will be a permanent change in the space, and industry players must adapt to remain successful.”