Across three states and 13 counties, nonresidential construction projects started in November jumped 59 percent compared to the year prior in the greater Chicagoland area.
The data comes from New York-based Dodge Data & Analytics, which gathered information from 13 counties spanning Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Nonresidential construction projects that broke ground in November were valued at $454.3 million in the area, up from the $286.1 million during November 2015.
But breaking ground on the likes of schools, hotels and hospitals, to name a few, still lags behind the prior year.
In 2016, there have been about $4.96 billion worth of construction project starts, as of the end of November, which still trails the $6.47 billion during the same 11-month period in 2015.
Nationally, 2016 has proven to be a stronger year for most developers and construction companies. So far, there have been about $208.49 billion worth of nonresidential construction projects that started. That’s up from $204.68 billion in 2015.
“The construction expansion, while often hesitant, should be able to continue in coming months as the result of several factors,” said Robert Murray, chief economist at Dodge Data, in a prior statement on the national November figures. “Market fundamentals for commercial real estate, namely occupancies and rents, continue to strengthen. More construction bond measures are getting passed at the state and local levels of government, particularly for school construction.”
The area, defined as Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, saw a slight gain in residential buildings that broke ground in November, up 5 percent from the year prior. The total for November was about $449.9 million, edging out the $429.7 million from the same month a year prior.
Residential housing, which the company said includes multifamily housing and single family homes, was down nationally 2 percent to $257.4 billion, Dodge reported.
Multifamily housing still has proven to be a powerhouse for the majority of developers and construction companies, gaining 17 percent as of the end of November. Chicago ranked at No. 7 for valued multifamily starts year to date, trailing New York, Miami, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle.
