Amid growing demand, San Francisco-based builder Swinerton added Carly Morris as senior project manager and healthcare market lead out of Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a Nov. 29 press release the company shared with Construction Dive.
Morris, who joined Swinerton in June according to her LinkedIn, will oversee every aspect of a healthcare project from client relations and preconstruction through project close-out and facility occupancy, according to the release.
Morris has also been involved in nearly $200 million worth of projects for Atrium Health, as well as the construction of the six-story, 492,000-square-foot Veterans Affairs Healthcare Center in Charlotte.
Prior to arriving at Swinerton, Morris worked for five years at Charlotte-based Rodgers Builders, and for five years prior to that in the Charlotte office of Kansas City, Missouri-based JE Dunn. Originally from Charlotte, she graduated from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in architectural and building sciences/technology, per her LinkedIn.
Her hiring comes on the heels of a flurry of data that points to growing healthcare and medical projects in the Carolinas. The company cited FMI Analytics, which expects healthcare construction spending to top $1 billion in Charlotte from 2024 to 2026. FMI expects the sector to spike 5% over the next few years, and account for 7% of all construction spending in the city.
The builder also pointed to government reforms in the Carolinas that have either amended or eliminated Certificates of Need, which builders have cited as barriers to building or altering healthcare facilities in the region.
In South Carolina, CON documentation is now only required for nursing homes and the Medical University of South Carolina, while North Carolina eliminated the requirement for certain medical equipment, psychiatric facilities and chemical dependency treatment facilities.
Swinerton said it has completed more than $5 billion in healthcare construction nationally. It touted its expertise in navigating the use of new products, as well as incorporating evolving legislation, into these complex builds.
For example, Swinerton pointed to prefabricated and modular systems that are prepared offsite to increase quality control with less risk. It also highlighted the benefits of mass timber in a healthcare setting — Swinerton has a dedicated mass timber division — to meet vibration and acoustic criteria.
Morris’s appointment isn’t the only leadership move Swinerton has made recently — the contractor tapped industry veteran Kevin Smith to head its Carolinas division on Nov. 14. Outside of the region, the contractor picked Jennifer Lauritzen to helm its Silicon Valley office in Santa Clara, California, as vice president and division manager.
The company also announced a new CEO this fall. David Callis is taking over for current CEO Eric Foster early next year, who ends his 42-year tenure with Swinerton on Jan. 11.
