Value of residential construction starts in NYC up in 2013

Total worth of all starts rose as well, fueled by surge in public works

From left: 625 West 57th Street, 70 Pine Street and the Greenwich Lane condo tower
From left: 625 West 57th Street, 70 Pine Street and the Greenwich Lane condo tower

The value of all construction starts in New York City jumped 11 percent last year from 2012 to $18.8 billion. The surge was fueled by a red-hot residential market and the development of three major bridges, according to a report. 

The New York Building Congress analyzed McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge construction data from 2009 through 2013, and found that housing starts shot up 17 percent in value last year, from $5.3 billion in 2012 to $6.3 billion in 2013.

The three priciest residential projects of the year were Rose Associates’ conversion of the office tower at 70 Pine Street to a hotel and luxury rental apartments at $450 million; the development of the Greenwich Lane condominiums at $390 million; and the Durst Organization’s pyramid rental building at 625 West 57th Street.

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The report also found construction starts for public works —  roads, bridges and and the like — rocketed 82 percent to $4.3 billion, up from $2.3 billion in 2012. New York City’s bridge projects, including the Goethals replacement and work on the Bayonne in Staten Island and the Verrazano-Narrows, raised the value of construction starts by a combined $1.3 billion.

Meanwhile, nonresidential projects, like hotels, hospitals and office buildings, declined 10 percent from $9.3 billion in 2012 to $8.3 billion. [BuzzBuzzHome] — Angela Hunt