New York City Construction Boom: Large Projects, High Costs & Super-Tall Buildings
The New York City skyline continues to rapidly transform, with numerous large building projects underway or soon to start in the Big Apple. One notable new project is a $3.6-billion, 2.9-million-square-ft. building (50 Hudson Yards) soon to start at 34th Street & 10th Ave. While it won’t be the tallest skyscraper in the area (just under 1000 ft. tall), it will reportedly be one of the largest buildings in NYC, based on total square footage, once completed in 2022.
The construction process has also started on a super-tall building being built next to Grand Central Station (One Vanderbilt - at the corner of Vanderbilt & 42nd Street). The building will reach a height of more than 1400 feet and 59 floors when done. Scheduled for 2020 completion, the project will include 1.5-million square feet of office space on upper floors and 200,000 square feet of retail in the lower floors of the building. When done, it is expected to be New York City’s second-tallest tower (and the tallest in Midtown Manhattan).
Meanwhile in Brooklyn, construction has reportedly started on a new super-tall residential building at 9 DeKalb Avenue (downtown Brooklyn). The 70+ story structure will top 1000 feet in height and will incorporate an existing building (The Dime Savings Bank) into the base of the new tower. The building will include 500 rental apartments. Construction is expected to be completed between 2019 and 2021.
According to an article on NewYorkConstructionReport.com, NYC also has the world's highest construction costs, reaching nearly $354 per sq. ft. in 2016. This information is based based on the 2017 Turner & Townsend’s International Construction Market Survey (ICMS) as reported on NewYorkConstructionReport.com.
According to another 2017 construction industry report (published by Arcadis) the top 10 most expensive cities in the world in terms of construction costs are (in descending order, with NYC coming in as most expensive at the top of the list):
- New York City (no change from 2016)
- Hong Kong (up 1 place from 2016)
- Geneva (up 1 place)
- London (down 2 places)
- Macau (no change)
- Copenhagen (no change)
- Stockholm (no change)
- Frankfurt (no change)
- Paris (no change)
- Vienna (up one place)
