Manhattan remains New York City’s dominant borough for new building projects, as measured by the value of all construction starts, according to a New York Building Congress (NYBC) analysis of Dodge Data & Analytics, The NYBC’s New York City Construction Outlook Update reports.
In the first nine months of 2016, Manhattan accounted for 58 percent of the value of all construction starts in New York City, which is exactly in line with the 58 percent of initiated projects by value for the five-year period stretching from 2011 through 2015.
For the five-year period from 2011-2015, Brooklyn and Queens were each home to 16 percent of the value of construction starts. Lagging further behind were the Bronx at 6 percent and Staten Island at 4 percent. The percentages have remained substantially the same this year. In the first nine months of 2016, Brooklyn contributed 18 percent, Queens accounted for 13 percent, the Bronx added 6 percent, and Staten Island chipped in 5 percent.
For the full 12 months of 2015, Manhattan led with 56 percent of all construction starts by value, followed by Brooklyn with 21 percent, Queens with 15 percent, the Bronx with 5 percent, and Staten Island with 2 percent.
“Despite the growing popularity of New York City’s outer boroughs in recent years, Manhattan’s share of new construction has remained remarkably steady at nearly 60 percent,” said New York Building Congress president Richard T. Anderson. “It will be interesting to see if that trend continues, with the number of available development sites diminishing in Manhattan and given all the residential and commercial projects that are in the Brooklyn and Queens pipeline.”
The data used in this report encompass all project starts, including new ground-up construction as well as alterations and renovations to existing structures. The data reflect the total estimated value of each initiated project throughout the entire period of construction.
Sector Breakdown
Non-residential
Manhattan’s dominance was most prevalent in the non-residential sector, which includes office space, institutional development, government buildings, sports/entertainment venues, and hotels. Manhattan alone accounted for $8.8 billion in construction starts in the first nine months of this year, which was 70 percent of the citywide total. Brooklyn accounted for 12 percent, followed by Queens with 10 percent, Staten Island with 5 percent, and the Bronx with 3 percent.
For the five-year period from 2011-2015, Manhattan accounted for 68 percent of the value of non-residential construction starts, followed by Queens with 13 percent and Brooklyn with 11 percent. The Bronx contributed 6 percent, and Staten Island added 2 percent.
The increased percentage of Manhattan construction starts is due in large part to the initiation of two office tower projects – 3 Hudson Boulevard and One Vanderbilt. Those skyscraper projects have helped boost Manhattan’s share of commercial building projects to 79 percent in the first three quarters of 2016.
Residential sector
Manhattan accounted for 50 percent of the $9.4 billion of residential starts from January to September of 2016, followed by Brooklyn with 24 percent, Queens with 13 percent, the Bronx with 9 percent, and Staten Island with 2 percent. For the full year of 2015, Manhattan accounted for 43 percent of residential starts by value, while Brooklyn accounted for 29 percent, Queens accounted for 22 percent, the Bronx accounted for 5 percent, and Staten Island accounted for 1 percent.
For the five-year period from 2011-2015, Manhattan accounted for 54 percent of the value of residential construction starts, followed by Brooklyn at 23 percent and Queens at 16 percent. The Bronx contributed 5 percent, while Staten Island added 2 percent.
“While 2015 saw the gap between Manhattan and the outer boroughs narrow, it seems the residential market has reverted to form in 2016,” Anderson said. “Six of the top ten projects by value through the first nine months of this year were Manhattan residential projects.”
Public works sector
The government-backed public works sector, where spending traditionally is spread more evenly, was the only sector where Manhattan did not lead the way through the first nine months of 2016. Of the $2.4 billion in projects started, 29 percent were initiated in Queens, followed by Brooklyn at 23 percent, Manhattan at 22 percent, Staten Island at 15 percent, and the Bronx at 10 percent.
However, Manhattan did lead the five-borough pack for the period between 2011 and 2015, when it accounted for 36 percent of all starts, followed by Queens at 24 percent, Brooklyn and Staten Island each with 16 percent, and the Bronx at 8 percent.
Dodge data used for this analysis can be purchased at dodge.construction.com.
