Dear Connecticut Business Community,
As I write this, we are ending week nine of the radical changes in our daily lives necessitated by the Covid-19 Pandemic. I would be remiss if I did not start by thanking all of the health care providers and professionals involved in our healthcare institutions. Never before in history have all of us needed these amazing people more than we do today.
Now, as our state “re-opens”, albeit tempered significantly by limitations, let’s participate and help re-start our economy, while we remember to continue the measures designed to maintain the progress we have made since we first heard the expressions “flatten the curve”, “shelter in place”, and “social distancing”. Covid-19 has not gone away.
The pandemic has forced us to find alternative ways to communicate with each other, to obtain what we need to survive, and to find new ways to engage in life. For many, it has prompted us to revisit what is important. For the construction industry, the built environment will morph in some foreseeable ways and in some ways we haven’t yet imagined. The medical community will reflect on this experience and create demand for infrastructure enhancements to withstand this sort of disruption in the future. Our educational institutions will develop creative solutions to balance in person learning with the benefits of on-line learning. This too will require changes to our educational buildings. How we congregate for worship, entertainment and socialization will probably create some of the most challenging demands. Manufacturers will continue to incorporate flexibility into their spaces and processes, optimizing current production methods for social distancing and adapting to produce new products as demand shifts. Restaurateurs are seeking strategies for healing their businesses and serving their customers again while keeping diners and staff safe. Traditional retail, already on a trajectory toward major change, will continue to rapidly evolve.
The design and construction industry is ready to respond to the demands for change with innovative design and efficient reshaping of our built environment. The immediate challenge is to develop and implement interim measures to safely restore as much as possible of the things we need and enjoy.
Eventually, there will be abundant testing, vaccines, and treatments. In decades to come this will be a chapter in history. But it will leave some lasting changes in our lives and our built environment, not unlike the permanent changes to the travel industry precipitated by 9/11, and the lasting effects on our collective memory of major wars and other catastrophic events.
I have often shared my opinion that change causes uncertainty among us and uncertainty can lead to anxiety and fear. Here in Connecticut, we need to have faith in each other and in the spirit of Yankee ingenuity. We need critical thinking and independent, clear headed analysis of trustworthy information. We need to be confident that we will emerge from this stronger, more resilient and more unified than ever.
I’m confident that the construction industry is prepared and well-positioned to do just that: to innovate and partner with those who need us, and to build stronger, healthier, and safer communities than ever before.
Vincent J. Fortunato, P.E.
President & CEO
Fortunato Construction Group
