CONSTRUCTION CATCHES UP: A 36% jump in the value of residential construction starts in April brought tri-county construction starts for the year very nearly to the exact value of the first four months of 2020, according to figures provided by Dodge Data & Analytics. Construction starts for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties at the end of April stood at $3.544 billion, very nearly matching the $3.546 billion total for the same four months last year. Nonresidential construction in the region is down 3% for the four months while residential is up 2%. Residential work accounts for nearly 63% of the value of this year’s starts.
BILLIONS IN BUILDING: Residential construction in metropolitan Miami – Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties – totaled $4.8 billion last year, with 21,834 new residential units coming online, down 7.3% from 2019. Of the total value of all housing developments, single-family residences comprised 55%, according to an analysis by industry website Construction Coverage that listed the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown area of Texas as having the highest value of new residential construction, at $7 billion – $2 billion more than the runner-up Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN, area. The Miami metro area ranked 28th overall, with about 35 new residential units per 10,000 residents. Nationwide, more than $304 billion in new residential developments were built last year – 1.4 million new units – up 8.5% from 2019.
ROADWORK AHEAD: The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Tuesday began a pedestrian and bicycle safety infrastructure project along a short stretch of Collins Avenue in Surfside, prompting a roadway closure and detours. The $230,505 project, which FDOT expects will take six months, includes improving signals, lighting and drainage structures; installing systems that comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act; constructing a “high emphasis” pedestrian crosswalk, and installing signs and pavement markings.
WAREHOUSE PLANS: An undisclosed South Florida-based distillery is to be one of several tenants in Allapattah after BGI Capital closed on a $2.4 million loan for Bardisa Family Holdings’ new warehouse development. The 12-month term loan provides funds to acquire one of two warehouses west of Wynwood at 868 NW 21st Terrace. The development is to consist of 30,000 square feet of warehousing and 70,000 square feet of land that will be home to five tenants and an event venue. One of the warehouses is 21,840 square feet and the second 7,676 square feet. The project is to open at the beginning of the second quarter of 2022.
