South Florida contractors were raking in oodles of cash in March, a new report shows, with construction activity booming across the board.
The report, authored by research firm Dodge Data & Analytics, states that $1.55 billion was spent on construction contracts in South Florida last month. Of that total, roughly $673 million went to nonresidential building — everything from government offices to churches — and $880 million went to residential projects.
Both sectors, especially nonresidential, saw significant gains year-over-year. Nonresidential contract spending nearly tripled from the $226 million that was spent in March 2015, while single and multifamily projects grew by half from the $588 million signed last year.
By the end of March last year, about $2.4 billion had been spent on construction contracts in both sectors. This year, a little over $3 billion has been spent — an increase of about 26 percent.
Construction spending dipped heavily during the end of 2015 amid a residential slowdown. Now, it seems South Florida’s contractors are back in spades with this spike in projects. — Sean Stewart-Muniz