Small developments dominate as new building filings return to pre-pandemic levels

8.12M sf of proposed construction far cry from historical average: REBNY

11 Ocean Parkway & 250 East 83rd Street (Google Maps)
11 Ocean Parkway & 250 East 83rd Street (Google Maps)

New York City’s new building filings are ticking back up.

In the third quarter of 2021, the number of new building filings were near pre-pandemic levels, according to a report by the Real Estate Board of New York. Still, the total proposed construction square feet for the quarter remains below average.

The total number of new building filings in this quarter was 486, a 37 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 10 percent increase year-over-year. That number is near the historical average of 502 quarterly filings since the first quarter of 2008.

Proposed construction square feet, however, totaled 8.12 million – a far cry from the historical average of 11.22 million square feet since 2008. That’s due in part to a lack of large-scale developments. Out of this quarter’s filings, only two are over 300,000 square feet.

Those two filings were for 11 Ocean Parkway, a 14-story residential building with ground floor retail, and 250 East 83rd Street, a 23-story building with ground floor commercial space and 106 multiple dwelling units. A nine-story parking garage with a cellar and two-story community facility at 80-25 126th Street came close to the top spot, clocking in at 247,000 square feet.

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Manhattan marked the greatest increase with 62 new building job application filings, a 158 percent surge. Queens followed with 160 filings, up 34 percent. However, when it comes to proposed construction square footage, Brooklyn led with a 60 percent increase, followed by Queens with 21 percent and Manhattan with 10 percent.

Multiple dwelling residential units in particular saw an upward trend. In the third quarter, the number of filings totaled 6,187, a 20 percent increase year-over-year.

“Time and again, it’s been the city’s building and construction industry that has stimulated the economic activity needed to recover from times of crisis,” Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, said in a statement. “While a full economic recovery will require time and substantial investment, it’s clear that, as a city, we’re headed in the right direction.”