CHICAGO — The number of new construction projects increased in several markets across the country in the second quarter, according to Chicago-based BidClerk, which tracks construction activity in the United States and Canada.
The BidClerk Construction Index (BCI), which is compiled quarterly, reported more than 75,000 new projects valued at over $188 billion nationally in the second quarter, an increase of 15,000 projects and $40 billion compared with the same period a year ago. (The BCI data represents projects that actively bid in 2015 and is not a full representation of BidClerk’s full project database.)
Particularly hot markets and regions for construction — showing growth rates above 15 percent compared with the second quarter of 2014 — were Washington, D.C., Ohio, Texas, the greater Atlanta region and major metros in the Southwest.
Washington, D.C., and the surrounding region recorded a 17 percent uptick in construction projects out for bid in the second quarter. Over 500 of the 1,600 projects charted were valued at more than $1 million, including the $70 million Banner Hill Apartments in Baltimore and the $35 million Archer Park Apartment Building designed by SK+I Architectural Design Group.
In the second quarter, Ohio recorded an 18 percent increase in the number of actively bidding projects, with nearly 2,000 projects at a combined contract value of $4 billion. Projects out for bid during this period included the $20 million Sylvania Health Campus and the $13.3 million modernization and expansion of the Creative Arts Center at Wright State University.
More than 3,400 construction projects worth nearly $15.5 billion were actively bidding in the state of Texas in the second quarter, a 19 percent increase compared with the same period a year ago.
Over 700 private and over 2,700 public projects were recorded throughout Texas, including the $142 million construction of an airport terminal and hangar at George Bush International Airport and the $70 million construction of Harmony Hill, a 262,838-square-foot multifamily community in Rowlett.
Major metropolitan area in the Southwest posted a 19 percent increase in new construction projects in the second quarter, with more than 1,000 projects valued at over $3.7 billion. More than 370 private and 670 public projects were recorded throughout the region, including the $100 million Mira Villa Condos located in Las Vegas and the $35 million renovation of the Santa Fe Opera.
In the greater Atlanta area, there were 150 actively bidding private projects and over 630 public projects during the second quarter, up 15 percent from the same period a year ago. Projects included the $79 million renovation and construction of six buildings at the Hamilton Bus Maintenance Facility in Fulton County and the $35 million College Park MARTA mixed-use development.
Construction numbers in New York City and Florida grew by 5 percent in the second quarter, and 3 percent in Pennsylvania. High-profile projects in these areas included the $70 million Green at Florham Park in New Jersey and the $44 million remodel of the Divine Lorraine in Philadelphia.
— Katie Sloan