Houston has 19 million sf of office space under construction, 54% more than a year ago, and its highest level since the booming 1980s, according to local news reports.
Nearly 40% of this new office space is corporately owned, according to the Houston Business Journal, which points specifically to a 3-million-sf campus being built by Exxon Mobil, a 1.1-million-sf campus in Westchase suburb by Phillips 66, and a 515,000-sf building that Southwestern energy is erecting.
New building begets higher land prices. CBRE research estimates that land values throughout the Houston metroplex are increasing strongly. For example, land prices in the Uptown/Galleria area range from $125 to $315 per square foot in the second quarter, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Construction workers are also benefiting from all of this activity. The Associated General Contractors of America says that Houston added more construction jobs that any major metro in the U.S. from August 2013 to August 2014. Houston’s employment in all business sectors has jumped by 10% since 2008, or twice the percentage in San Francisco, according to The Daily Beast.
The Business Journal reports that 10.8 million sf of office space are on schedule to be delivered by year’s end, a sizable jump over the 3.2 million sf delivered in 2013.
Related Stories
| May 29, 2012
Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s pediatric burn patients create their version of new Patient Tower using Legos
McCarthy workers joined the patients, donning construction gear and hard hats, to help with their building efforts.
| May 29, 2012
Reconstruction Awards Entry Information
Download a PDF of the Entry Information at the bottom of this page.
| May 29, 2012
AIA expands Documents-On-Demand service??
Six new documents added, DOD offers nearly 100 contract documents.
| May 29, 2012
Legrand achieves over 20% energy-intensity reduction in Presidential Challenge
West Hartford headquarters announced as Better Buildings, Better Plants “Showcase” site.
| May 29, 2012
Thornton Tomasetti/Fore Solutions provides consulting for Phase I of Acadia Gateway Center
Project receives LEED Gold certification.
| May 24, 2012
2012 Reconstruction Awards Entry Form
Download a PDF of the Entry Form at the bottom of this page.
| May 24, 2012
Gilbane’s Spring 2012 economic report identifies multiple positive economic and market factors
Anticipating increasing escalation in owner costs through 2014.
| May 24, 2012
Construction backlog declines 5.4% in the first quarter of 2012?
The nation’s nonresidential construction activity will remain soft during the summer months, with flat to declining nonresidential construction spending.
| May 24, 2012
Stellar completes St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and Day School renovation and expansion
The project united the school campus and church campus including a 1,200-sf chapel expansion, a new 10,000-sf commons building, 7,400-sf of new covered walkways, and a drop-off pavilion.