3 min read August 2023 — In an interview with Invest:, Ryan Jennette, director of operations at Consigli Construction Co., Inc., talked about the company’s position in the market, challenges of building and delivering affordable housing in Boston and how Consigli’s energy branch, Arch Energy, helps the company advance its sustainability efforts.
How important are Consigli’s Massachusetts operations to the company’s overall business portfolio?
Of the total business that we will do this year, about half will come from Massachusetts. We serve clients in a variety of important market sectors in Massachusetts, and we have a strong presence with developers, K-12, healthcare and higher education projects. Cambridge is the epicenter of the life sciences market worldwide, so as you can imagine, this market has also been very active.
How important is the life sciences sector compared to other sectors for Consigli’s project portfolio?
We take pride in our project diversification. In addition to the life sciences, we are present in major sectors like healthcare, K-12 education, higher ed, museums and cultural, hospitality and housing. We’re focused on key markets that we try to balance equally to ensure that we are not leveraged too heavily in just one sector. For example, one of the projects in the City of Boston that we are currently involved in is the Enterprise Research Campus (ERC). This project is a collaboration between Harvard University and Tishman Speyer, where we are building a hotel, 343 residential units and a mass timber conference center.
What is your perspective on the use of mass timber construction methods in New England?
Mass timber has recently become a more mainstream construction method, particularly on the East Coast, but at Consigli, we have been specializing in its use and application as a sustainable building material for over a decade. We are fortunate enough to have numerous mass timber projects completed and in construction, all the way from the first pure mass timber structure in the state of Maine on Bowdoin College’s campus down to David Rubenstein Treehouse conference center in Boston. Mass timber has become more popular in recent years, and there’s still more room for growth.
How is Consigli approaching affordable housing?
Consigli focuses mainly on larger multifamily developments in which we can make an impact but also in other categories, such as income-restricted, workforce housing and market-rate rentals. The housing demand in Boston is probably as bad as anywhere else in the United States, and as one of the region’s leading construction managers, we want to serve as a partner and a resource for local communities as they seek to build more housing. To meet that need we have pivoted over the last 10 years toward housing as this sector has some of the best viable projects in our pipeline, such as the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments redevelopment in Jamaica Plain.
Are there any public incentives for developers to build more affordable housing?
Increasing affordable housing production requires public and private buy-in, and local officials have focused on promoting the importance of that partnership and encouraging stakeholder engagement. There are some factors to take into consideration that can be counterproductive to the goal of creating affordable housing units now, such as potential added costs and the high cost of construction. There’s no question that building sustainably is the right thing to do, and doing so affordably is what we have focused a lot of time on through researching systems and methods so that we can cost-effectively deliver housing. We try to mitigate this challenge by building innovatively through prefabricated construction methods and supply chain management that lower costs.
How has Consigli’s joining the EV Charger Pledge promoted the use of EVs?
Getting on board with this pledge felt natural as we are equipped to handle it. Something that sets us apart in the industry is that Consigli has an in-house energy group, Arch Energy, in addition to our dedicated sustainability team, that focuses on energy management, decarbonization of buildings, and providing and implementing integrated solutions for sustainable buildings that help support a low-carbon society. We work a lot with building owners on the East Coast to bring their buildings up to standard to meet future energy and electrification demands.
What is Consigli’s strategy to navigate workforce issues and challenges?
Building pipelines and talent is and will continue to be a focus for Consigli. We are an organization that wants to continue growing, developing and providing opportunities to our people at all levels. If our industry is unable to grow, then we are unable to provide people with new opportunities. We work closely with local vocational high schools as well as workforce development programs in Boston, New England and throughout our regions to ensure that we provide opportunities to graduates. We enable them to join the trades, have an apprenticeship and eventually stay and develop their careers with us. We need to remain competitive in the market and be a place where people want to work.
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