SAN FRANCISCO–The residential market–specifically high-rise condominium and apartment developments–will continue to lead growth in the overall industry throughout 2015. Commercial and mixed-use developments are also contributing to crane activity, according to Rider Levett Bucknall's second edition of its new North American RLB Crane Index.
Catherine Stoupas, senior project manager at Rider Levett Bucknall in San Francisco, tells GlobeSt.com: “Construction in San Francisco has been driven by residential projects accounting for 65% of the activity. There have been many projects that have drawn to a completion with just as many springing up behind. In the next year, we expect this trend to continue with the addition of hotel developments taking root."
Boston, Calgary, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, New York, San Francisco and Toronto have 50% to 83% of cranes on major residential developments, followed by commercial and mixed-use projects. The Index further reports that Toronto leads the count with 83% of cranes dedicated to high-rise condominium projects; New York's 70 cranes are dedicated to high-rise luxury residential and mixed-use developments in Manhattan with nearly 5,377 new condominiums becoming available in 2015, according to Corcoran; Washington D.C., shows 31 cranes in its skyline, an increase of five during the past few months, with 58% on residential and mixed-use developments; and mixed-use and commercial developments are also contributing to crane counts in Phoenix, Portland and Seattle.
The report measures construction activity in major cities across North America, currently totaling 13 cities, and predicts the health of the US construction industry. This count is performed twice yearly and provides the baseline data for the Index. Rider Levett Bucknall's local offices gather data and information for the index via surveys and other collection methods, including physically counting all fixed cranes appearing on each city's skyline. The Crane Index gives a simplified measure of the current state of the construction industry's workload in each location. Index cities include Boston, Calgary, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Washington D.C. Rider Levett Bucknall provides management, construction cost consulting and related property and construction advisory services at all stages of the design and construction process.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
