2010 nyc construction starts up 15 percent from prior year
World Trade Center Projects and Arena Construction Provide Lift; Slide in Residential Starts Deepens
A New York Building Congress analysis of McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge construction data found that $19.5 billion worth of construction projects were started in 2010, a 15 percent increase from 2009, when $16.9 billion in projects were commenced.
While the 15 percent rebound is encouraging, the total value of last year's construction starts remained 5 percent below 2008, when construction starts in New York City reached $20.6 billion.
The data used in this report encompass all project starts, including brand new construction as well as alterations and renovations to existing structures, and reflect the estimated value of each initiated project through the entire period of construction.
The 15 percent increase in project starts was a direct result of gains in the non-residential buildings sector, which includes offices, hotels, schools, hospitals, transit stations, power plants and other institutional buildings. Construction starts in this sector increased 34 percent from $9.7 billion in 2009 to $13.0 billion in 2010.
However, residential construction starts reached just $2.2 billion in 2010, a decline of 14 percent from the previous year ($2.6 billion) and 63 percent from 2008, when construction began on residential projects totaling $6 billion in value.
The public works sector, which includes all government "non-building" construction starts, including roads, bridges, water systems and other infrastructure, declined 9 percent, from $4.6 billion in 2009 to $4.2 billion in 2010. Taking 2008 into consideration, when non-building starts reached $5.6 billion, there has been a two-year decline of 25 percent. Despite this decline, infrastructure spending is far and away the largest source of construction activity in New York City.
More New Building Starts in 2010
In 2009, New York City construction starts were split 50/50 between new construction and alterations/renovations to existing buildings. In 2010, however, the percentage of new construction starts in the buildings categories jumped to 63 percent.
Big Ticket Projects Lead the Way
The top 10 construction projects started, by value, represented 55 percent of all project starts for 2010. The World Trade Center alone accounted for $4.3 billion in construction starts, with the World Trade Center hub (January 2010) accounting for $3 billion in estimated construction spending over the life of the project, followed by 3 World Trade Center ($1.2 billion in hard construction costs) and the initial underground portion of 2 World Trade Center ($110 million).
The WTC hub and 3 WTC ranked first and second on the list of biggest 2010 starts by value, followed by the redevelopment of Madison Square Garden ($850 million) and construction of Barclays Arena ($800 million).
Other major construction starts included the $650 million Weill Cornell Medical Research Building and reconstruction of the Brooklyn Bridge approaches, spans and ramps (valued at $508 million).
"The ongoing redevelopment of the World Trade Center, which was bolstered by last year's development agreement between Silverstein Properties and the Port Authority, has been vital to the overall well-being of the construction industry," said Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson. "That agreement, which established a clear and rational approach to construction scheduling and financing on the east side of the WTC site, helped unlock thousands of jobs for our industry."
Added Mr. Anderson, "Those downtown projects, along with the two arena projects, set the stage for a modest rebound in construction starts for 2010, despite an ongoing slump in the residential sector."
Charts and Diagrams
Source: McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge
Source: McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge
Source: McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge
Raw Data
