Albuquerque Activity Report: Construction Starts Are Up Despite Economic Downturn

Several new large-scale project starts have helped to balance out the drag caused by the sagging economy.

While projects like Anasazi Downtown have been impacted by the fallout from the lending crisis, an upswing in construction activity at the end of 2008 and early 2009 have brought a stream of new work to the A/E/C community.

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McGraw-Hill Construction, the parent company of this magazine, reports that the Albuquerque metro area (including Rio Rancho) finished the year with a 2% increase in non-residential construction. A total of $738 million in commercial, manufacturing, educational, administrative, hotel and other building projects were started in 2008.

For the month of December, nonresidential construction starts were more than double for the same month in 2007.

Major project starts included the UNM West campus, the Westside Presbyterian Hospital, Elements Townhomes and the CNM Student Resource Center.

However, residential construction starts plummeted by more than half in 2008, falling from $969.3 million in 2007 to $447.9 million. Yet even with the sagging residential market factored in, the big jump in commercial and government project starts brought December up 59% over the same month in 2007.

This year’s activity report focuses on projects that illustrate major trends in the Albuquerque area. The $86 million New Mexico Tri-Services Laboratory Building is a major public investment, featuring the collaboration of several state agencies. The WESST Business Incubator is a creative space that will help start-up companies survive and hopefully flourish in the current economic climate.

Finally, Hotel Andaluz (formerly La Posada) is at the forefront of a ‘greenovation’ movement, where existing structures are renovated with an eye towards sustainability. In fact, reflecting a larger trend taking root in New Mexico, all three projects profiled here are going for LEED certification.

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