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
Giants 400 | Sep 9, 2022
Top 20 Casino Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
JCJ Architecture, DLR Group, HBG Design, and Cuningham top the ranking of the nation's largest casino architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 9, 2022
Top 120 Hospitality Sector Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Gensler, WATG, HKS, and JCJ Architecture top the ranking of the nation's largest hospitality facilities sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all hospitality facilities work, including casinos, hotels, and resorts.
| Sep 9, 2022
Add sand shortage to supply chain woes
As if it wasn’t enough to have lumber, windows, doors, and metal pipe in short supply, you can add sand, which is theoretically plentiful on Earth, to the list of construction materials that can be hard to come by.
Giants 400 | Sep 8, 2022
Top 115 Hotel Sector Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Gensler, WATG, HKS, and Stantec top the ranking of the nation's largest hotel and resort sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Senior Living Design | Sep 8, 2022
What’s new with AQ: The top trends in active adult living
Today's 55-or-better buyers are ready to design their lives and their homes as they see fit. With so much growth on tap, builders and developers must stay apprised of trends related to home, environment, and culture of 55+ communities.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Sep 8, 2022
Chicago Bears unveil preliminary master plan for suburban stadium district
As the 2022 NFL season kicks off, the league’s original franchise is fortifying plans to leave its landmark lakefront stadium for a multi-billion-dollar mixed-use stadium district in northwest suburban Arlington Heights.
| Sep 8, 2022
The Twin Cities’ LGBTQ health clinic moves into a new and improved facility
For more than 50 years, Family Tree Clinic has provided reproductive and sexual health services to underserved populations—from part of an old schoolhouse, until recently.
| Sep 8, 2022
U.S. construction costs expected to rise 14% year over year by close of 2022
Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE) is forecasting a 14.1% year-on-year increase in U.S. construction costs by the close of 2022.
Giants 400 | Sep 7, 2022
Top 95 Industrial Sector Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Ware Malcomb, Stantec, Haskell, and Macgregor Associates Architects top the ranking of the nation's largest industrial facility sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
| Sep 7, 2022
Use of GBCI building performance tools rapidly expanding
More than seven billion square feet of project space is now being tracked using Green Business Certification Inc.’s (GBCI’s) Arc performance platform.