Around $6.4 billion worth of construction projects were started in the first half of 2011, a nearly 40 percent decline from the first half of 2010, when construction starts reached $10.6 billion, New York Building Congress’ analysis of McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge data covering January through June shows.
The McGraw Hill data encompasses all new construction as well as alterations and renovations to existing structures.
Construction starts in the non-building sector — bridges, highways and mass transit — fell by 38 percent, from $1.7 billion in the first six months of 2010 to $1 billion during the same period this year. Construction starts in the residential sector dropped to $840 million in the first half of 2011, compared to $1.3 billion in the first half of 2010. — Katherine Clarke [more]

As expected, SL Green Realty has officially announced a trio of commercial office property deals today, two of which involve Toronto-based Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. In a statement, SL Green confirmed that it will sell two 45 percent ownership stakes to the Toronto-based fund — one in the McGaw Hill building at 1221 Sixth Avenue for $576 million and the other in 600 Lexington Avenue, which it picked up only last month for $193 million. The deals freed up equity for the purchase of 125 Park Avenue, the 26-story office building overlooking Grand Central Terminal, the company said. [more]

SL Green Realty is selling its 45 percent stake in the 51-story McGraw-Hill building for more than $500 million in an effort to raise cash for recent and future acquisitions, the Wall Street Journal reported. The city’s largest landlord prefers a controlling stake in its properties, said president Andrew Mathias, which is why it wanted to sell the 1221 Sixth Avenue tower near Rockefeller Center. The buyer, Toronto’s Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, paid $576 million for the share, including $500 million in cash. [more]

The fourth quarter of 2009 was the worst of the year for residential construction in New York City, according to the New York Building Congress’ analysis of McGraw Hill Construction Dodge data, with only $410 million in projects, or 1,910 units, down from $935 million, or 3,391 units, in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the public sector appears to be giving the city’s overall construction industry the shot in the arm it needs to rebound from the dismal few months that followed the economic collapse of late 2008.

While construction slowed by 29 percent overall in the city last year, with just $16.6 billion worth of projects started compared to the $23.3 billion that began in 2008, the decline was largely accounted for by a plunge in first-quarter starts last year. Only $2.4 billion in construction projects began during the first three months of 2009, whereas the first quarter of 2008 saw $9 billion worth of activity. Meanwhile, activity in the fourth quarter of 2009 was 51 percent up from the year-ago period, to $5.6 billion, and higher than either of the quarters immediately preceding it.

The rebound was driven by public sector work; infrastructure building accounted for $2.9 billion of the fourth quarter’s project starts, the Building Congress said. TRD [more]

Government efforts at reducing the recession’s effects will be a boon to construction companies, who are expected to see an uptick in activity next year. According to the McGraw-Hill construction forecast released Friday, construction starts, a measure of future construction spending, will rise 11 percent to $466.2 billion in 2010. Single-family housing will account for $162.2 billion, an increase that should help to compensate for sustained losses in the commercial sector. The numbers are dependent on continuing low mortgage interest rates and an extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, the report said.