As Portman Holdings goes before the Midtown Development Review Committee for the High Performance Computing Center, the firm's Bill Morrison tells us he anticipates construction cost will likely go higher when Portman receives a cost update next week.

That's thanks in part to the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Falcons. Bill will be highlighting the challenges of getting a 1M SF, $350M project unlike anything seen in Atlanta before off the ground during our 2016 Development & Construction Forum, 7:30am, March 17, at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center.

Bill says both stadium projects have impacted the pricing of big developments in Atlanta this past year, and he predicts they will continue to do so into 2017. For HPCC, the anticipated cost jump has more to do with materials than labor: Portman is using domestic-manufactured materials rather than those sourced overseas to ensure higher quality, he says. And because many domestic manufacturers are not building beyond demand, it makes pricing steeper than, say, material from China.

Regardless, Bill says construction pricing isn't the determining factor in whether a project goes forward. That's all about demand. For instance, Portman is developing a spec office project in Charlotte (here) entirely due to demand. “We're not developing to flip it,” he says, adding that construction costs are absorbed over time by an owner the longer the hold. “We'd rather still get in the market and have a presence there and even curtail a competitor from getting in.”

Bill is part of an all-star lineup of development and construction execs, including HJ Russell & Co's Jerome Russell, Seven Oaks Co's Randy Holmes, Skanska USA's Scott Cannon and Regent Partners' Adam Allman (here with his wife), next Thursday starting at 7:30am at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center. Register here.