“New York City's public and private institutions continue to be a constant and stable generator of construction spending and jobs,” says Building Congress president Richard T. Anderson. “These investments are more important than ever given the city's need to accommodate the residents, visitors, students, and workers who are flocking here in record numbers.”

The main drivers of new construction projects in the institutional sector continue to be schools and hospitals. In the eight years from July 2008 through June of this year, work on New York City public elementary and secondary schools accounted for $9.6 billion, or 37% of all institutional construction starts by total value. Of the projects started in the first half of 2016, public schools accounted for 38%.

Public and private hospitals and healthcare facilities accounted for $8 billion, or 31% of all institutional construction starts during the eight-year period, and 32% of the projects initiated in the first six months of this year.

Both public and private institutions of higher education initiated $4.1 billion worth of construction projects, or 16% of the total over the past eight years. In the first half of 2016, higher education accounted for 10% of construction starts by value.

NYC cultural facilities accounted for 6% of all institutional construction starts over the eight-year period, as did the city's private elementary and secondary schools. Religious institutions, courts, and libraries each accounted for between 1% and 2% of construction starts by value.

Approximately 53% of the projects, as measured by total value over the eight-year period, have been ground-up construction of new facilities. The remaining 47% were renovations and alterations to existing structures. New construction accounted for approximately 46% in the first half of 2016.

The healthcare sector contributed three of the top ten projects by value initiated in the first half of 2016, including the top-ranked project: the South Beach Psychiatric Center inpatient facility on Staten Island, which has a hard construction value of $180 million. The education sector was responsible for seven of the top ten projects during the first half of this year.

“To address current overcrowding and accommodate anticipated enrollment growth, the NYC School Construction Authority has undertaken a five-year, $14.9 billion capital program that, judging from the top projects list, is starting to pay dividends,” notes Anderson.

Of the top ten institutional projects in the first half of 2016, nine were located in the outer boroughs. Only one, a private school project on the Upper East Side, was located in Manhattan.

“It is interesting to note that so many of the larger institutional projects undertaken in early 2016 are happening in the outer boroughs,” adds Anderson. “This is a potential trend that is worth keeping an eye on, especially in light of all the new residential and commercial development we are seeing throughout Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.”

NEW YORK CITY—Though one often hears talk in the industry of rising construction costs, increased land prices and financing being tough to come by, construction efforts on institutions aren't suffering, according to a new report.

The city's public and private institutions initiated $4.6 billion in projects in 2015 and $26.1 billion over an eight-year period between July 2008 and June 2016, according to new New York Building Congress research. The sectors examined in the report include public and private elementary and secondary schools, hospitals and healthcare facilities, colleges and universities, courts, libraries, cultural facilities, and religious institutions.

The $4.6 billion in 2015 project starts represents the highest yearly total since at least 2009—the earliest period for which the Building Congress has data—and an increase of 22% from the 2014 total of $3.8 billion.

During the first half of 2016, New York City's institutions initiated $1.4 billion in construction projects, which is less than half of the $3 billion realized in the first six months of 2015, a period bolstered by the start of construction of Memorial Sloan Kettering and CUNY Hunter College's medical research and treatment complex in Manhattan.

“New York City's public and private institutions continue to be a constant and stable generator of construction spending and jobs,” says Building Congress president Richard T. Anderson. “These investments are more important than ever given the city's need to accommodate the residents, visitors, students, and workers who are flocking here in record numbers.”

The main drivers of new construction projects in the institutional sector continue to be schools and hospitals. In the eight years from July 2008 through June of this year, work on New York City public elementary and secondary schools accounted for $9.6 billion, or 37% of all institutional construction starts by total value. Of the projects started in the first half of 2016, public schools accounted for 38%.

Public and private hospitals and healthcare facilities accounted for $8 billion, or 31% of all institutional construction starts during the eight-year period, and 32% of the projects initiated in the first six months of this year.

Both public and private institutions of higher education initiated $4.1 billion worth of construction projects, or 16% of the total over the past eight years. In the first half of 2016, higher education accounted for 10% of construction starts by value.

NYC cultural facilities accounted for 6% of all institutional construction starts over the eight-year period, as did the city's private elementary and secondary schools. Religious institutions, courts, and libraries each accounted for between 1% and 2% of construction starts by value.

Approximately 53% of the projects, as measured by total value over the eight-year period, have been ground-up construction of new facilities. The remaining 47% were renovations and alterations to existing structures. New construction accounted for approximately 46% in the first half of 2016.

The healthcare sector contributed three of the top ten projects by value initiated in the first half of 2016, including the top-ranked project: the South Beach Psychiatric Center inpatient facility on Staten Island, which has a hard construction value of $180 million. The education sector was responsible for seven of the top ten projects during the first half of this year.

“To address current overcrowding and accommodate anticipated enrollment growth, the NYC School Construction Authority has undertaken a five-year, $14.9 billion capital program that, judging from the top projects list, is starting to pay dividends,” notes Anderson.

Of the top ten institutional projects in the first half of 2016, nine were located in the outer boroughs. Only one, a private school project on the Upper East Side, was located in Manhattan.

“It is interesting to note that so many of the larger institutional projects undertaken in early 2016 are happening in the outer boroughs,” adds Anderson. “This is a potential trend that is worth keeping an eye on, especially in light of all the new residential and commercial development we are seeing throughout Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.”