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The pipeline of health care projects is beginning to slow as hospitals experience dramatically reduced revenues, industry officials said Tuesday.

Hospitals have seen significant drops in revenue-producing elective procedures, leading many health care groups to put building projects on hold, an architect and construction manager who work in health care said.

鈥淪everal of our clients have had to just put capital projects on hold because they’re faced with extreme downturns in revenue,鈥� said Larry Parrett, a principal at NBBJ‘s Portland office.

Health care groups also face higher costs related to retrofitting existing facilities and providing personal protective equipment, he added. 鈥淲e have seen quite a few our projects put on hold, particularly if they’re in the design phase,鈥� Parrett said.

The comments came during a Builder Breakfast event held virtually Tuesday by the Daily Journal of Commerce. The discussion panel also included Trent Rehfeldt, health care market executive for Mortenson’s Portland office, and Doug Nelson, PeaceHealth’s system vice president for planning and development.

Some health care projects are still moving forward. Parrett said NBBJ continues to respond to requests for proposals for new patient towers, ambulatory care centers and medical office buildings. Urban 鈥渕icro-clinics鈥� are increasingly popular, as are in-office health care clinics at major corporate campuses such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Mortenson Construction is pricing subcontractors for a wellness center at Reed’s Crossing, the South Hillsboro mega-development. Mortenson plans to break ground in December, with delivery scheduled 15 months later, in early 2022, Rehfeldt said.

鈥淭his project, because of our delivery system, never paused, never stopped, so we’re excited to deliver the Reed’s Crossing project for Hillsboro,鈥� Rehfeldt said.

The wellness center will have two full stories and 108,000 square feet. The project combines a full medical clinic with a fitness facility, including an aquatic center, locker rooms, a childcare center and other amenities.

Mortenson is serving as developer and design-builder with Ankrom Moisan Architecture.

Broadly, the pandemic has led to a number of design changes. PeaceHealth, like other health care groups, is reworking patient rooms, Nelson said.

鈥淲e want to transition to single-patient rooms,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eaceHealth has a lot of shared patient rooms. We understand that’s not where health care is headed at all.鈥�

Anne Talcott, health care industry group leader at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, served as moderator for Tuesday’s event.