Public and private institutions in New York City have expended a total of $20 billion in construction projects over a five-year period from October 2012 through September 2017, said a New York Building Congress analysis of construction data from Dodge Data & Analytics.
According to NYBC’s latest outlook released Nov. 21, the city’s institutional sector was responsible for $4.2 in construction starts through September 2017, already overtaking the $3.7 billion construction starts for the entire 2016.
The total for Q1 to Q3 of 2017 also surpassed the full-year totals from 2010 through 2014, and is now on track to exceed the $4.6 billion in construction starts in 2015.
“These investments reflect an across-the-board increase in demand for services in New York City,” said NYBC CEO and president Carlo Scissura. “Population growth, record levels of tourism, and the extraordinary popularity of New York City as a home for education and culture are requiring institutions to rapidly modernize and enhance their facilities.”
Increase in the value of institutional projects starts in 2017 is due to a number of big ticket projects in Manhattan, particularly the expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The $1.2 billion Javits project is the centerpiece of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s $100 billion infrastructure improvement and economic development program. It also posted the largest single institutional construction start, by value, over the past 10 years.
Other major institutional projects in Manhattan include New York University’s multi-use building at 181 Mercer Street, the renovation of the Mid-Manhattan Library, a new two-building Columbia Business School, and a second school building for The Brearley School.
