New York Leads U.S. Construction Comeback

Construction has suffered severely across the United States due to the economic downturn. New York has been affected particularly badly, with more than 700 different construction projects idled across the city’s five boroughs.

However, the situation has improved immeasurably in the first half of 2013, with $8.5 billion worth of new construction projects coming on stream. These include Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards B2 Residential Tower, which has a projected cost of $225 million, and the Atelier II in Manhattan which will cost around $295 million.

Interestingly, reconstruction in the wake of Hurricane Sandy has not come into the equation, due to the fact that building efforts related to natural disasters are handled by complicated government aid organisations and legislation.

Multifamily housing is the primary reason for the construction resurgence in the United States. A major factor in New York’s success, this is also becoming more and more evident in other areas, like Texas.

The Lone Star State is experiencing an economic boom – Dallas and Houston come second and third on the list of construction expenditure in American cities, with $5.2 and $4.8 billion worth of new construction starts respectively. Indeed, much of the new construction work in Texas is closely related to the strong economic growth there, with ongoing investment in business operations and infrastructure.

Nevertheless, multifamily housing is still leading to lucrative construction contracts in Texas, alongside the state’s infrastructural development. The trend has also lead to success in Washington D.C. and Atlanta, which round off the top five cities on the list. The capital of the United States spent $4.6 billion on construction projects, while Atlanta follows closely, having spent $3.6 billion.