NYC institutions spent $14.8B on construction in last five years

Educational facilities accounted for 61 percent of activity

From left: Richard Anderson of the NYC Building Congress and 730 Concourse Village West
From left: Richard Anderson of the NYC Building Congress and 730 Concourse Village West

Private and public institutions in New York City initiated $14.8 billion in construction projects over the last five years, from June 2008 to May 2013, according to a release from the New York Building Congress.

Over that time, educational facilities accounted for 61 percent of new construction, or $8.9 billion. Of those, public elementary and secondary schools accounted for $5.9 billion, or 40 percent of construction starts, while public and private colleges produced $2.2 billion in new projects. Private elementary and secondary schools launched an additional $845 million.

“Lost in the recent discussion of Mayor Bloomberg’s legacy are his great achievements in repairing, modernizing and expanding New York City’s public schools,” said New York Building Congress President Richard Anderson. “Undeniably, the Mayor has left the physical condition of our schools in far better condition than he found them 12 years ago.”

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Public and private hospitals and healthcare facilities accounted for $3.7 billion — or 27 percent — of all institutional construction starts during this five-year period, with cultural facilities launching another $1.1 billion, or 8 percent, of such projects. Court facilities, religious institutions and libraries each contributed less than 4 percent of all new construction over this period.

A total of $525 million in institutional projects began during the first five months of 2013, up slightly from $517 million in the same period during 2012. — Julie Strickland