Overall construction starts were still on the rise in August, up 6% month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.2 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network’s monthly construction starts report.
Residential construction starts rose 5% in August, up to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $383 billion, and year-to-date through August, residential starts are up 8% compared with the first eight months of 2023. Single-family starts make up much of this growth, up 7% month over month in August and 19% this year to date compared with the same period in 2023.
Multifamily starts are up 1% month-over-month in August, but down 10% in the year-to-date comparison.
“Now that the Federal Reserve has begun to lower rates, the construction sector should begin to feel relief,” said Richard Branch, chief economist of Dodge Construction Network, in the report. “The Dodge Momentum Index has been steady, indicating that owners and developers feel reasonably confident that market and financial conditions will improve… but it will take successive rate cuts before they feel comfortable moving these projects forward to start.”
Here are the three largest multifamily projects that started construction in August, according to pricing information provided by Dodge Data & Analytics, valued at a combined total of $815 million:
West Brighton I & II Apartments
Value: $332 million
Location: Staten Island, New York
Developer: BFC Partners
Units: 586 (574 renovations, 12 new)
Estimated completion: Fall 2026
Brooklyn, New York-based developer BFC Partners is spearheading the redevelopment of West Brighton I & II, a pair of public housing properties in Staten Island, New York, originally built in 1962 and 1965. The project will include complete renovations and upgrades for all units, a new heating system, renovated common spaces, redesigned grounds and enhanced security features and social services.
The project is administered through the New York City Housing Authority’s Permanent Affordability Commitment Together program, which partners public housing developments with private and nonprofit organizations to carry out renovations and repairs, enhance management and services and ensure the property remains permanently affordable.
The Downs
Value: $248 million
Location: Northville, Michigan
Developers: Hunter Pasteur, Forbes Co., Soave Real Estate, Toll Brothers
Units: 472
Estimated completion: 2026
The former site of Michigan’s last horse racing track is on its way to becoming an expansive master-planned community, expected to include 174 apartments, 53 condos, 245 single-family homes and townhomes, three parks, 338 public parking spaces and over 18,000 square feet of commercial space, according to planning documents.
The site’s formal groundbreaking event was on May 20. The construction process will involve demolition and remediation for the site, including the restoration of a branch of the River Rouge that was buried in the 1960s. Farmington Hills, Michigan-based home builder and developer Hunter Pasteur is responsible for the property’s multifamily development.
Kingsland Commons Phase 2
Value: $235 million
Location: East Williamsburg, New York
Developers: The Hudson Cos., St. Nicks Alliance
Units: 311
Estimated completion: February 2027
For the second phase of development at the former site of Greenpoint Hospital in Brooklyn’s East Williamsburg neighborhood, New York City-based The Hudson Cos. and Brooklyn, New York-based St. Nicks Alliance are building 311 permanently affordable apartments for very low-income and extremely low-income families, including residents who had previously experienced homelessness.
Units will range from studios to three-bedrooms, and amenities will include a courtyard and playground, a rooftop terrace, a laundry room, a fitness center, a lounge, bike storage and a childrens’ playroom, according to a press release shared with Multifamily Dive. The first phase, a redevelopment of the hospital’s nurses residence into a 200-bed mens’ shelter, is underway and will be completed in 2025.
