Back in March I spoke of how things really haven’t slowed down too much in San Antonio and that our biggest hurdle at that time was all the competition we were seeing from out of state firms that were all looking to Texas for work. Nine months later though we are definitely starting to see things slow down here also. All the proof one needed was to attend the bid opening for the $4.15 million library that I just completed. On a job that might typically have five bidders, we had 26. There is no question that firms here are hungry.

When I step back and look at the big picture, we are, of course, still far better off than other areas around the United States. For starters, I still have a job, while many of my classmates that are just as talented and some maybe even more are being laid off across the country. I’m not safe though; there are firms in town that have started lay offs and there’s always a chance my firm will have to make those same tough decisions.

For now though, the upside to working in San Antonio is the quantity of large projects that have been awarded lately. They include such projects as the $300 million Performing Arts Center renovation, $750 million UHS hospital, $80 million downtown UHS hospital, and the $130 million Federal Courthouse. The great thing about these projects is that they have been dispersed among five different large San Antonio firms. These projects, along with a few smaller ones, will hopefully keep the San Antonio architecture community afloat until the economy has a chance to recover.