The commercial building group grew 19% in February, with a varied performance by project type. Hotel construction bounced back 83% after a depressed January, led by $138 million for the hotel portion of the $400-million Four Seasons mixed-use tower in Boston and $108 million for the hotel portion of the $245-million Stadium Towers mixed-use project in Seattle.

Office construction in February climbed 19%, featuring groundbreaking for these projects—a $400-million office building at the Hudson Yards development site in New York City, a $150-million office building in Seattle and $112 million for the office portion of the Stadium Towers mixed-use project in Seattle. Both stores and warehouses registered a slower pace for construction starts in February, with stores down 9% and warehouses down 15%.

The institutional side of the nonresidential building market rebounded 20% in February after a lackluster January. Educational facilities, the largest nonresidential building category by dollar volume, grew 14% as it regained the upward momentum established in 2014.

Large educational facility projects that reached groundbreaking in February included a $133-million high school in Spring, Texas; a $67-million public safety training facility (for fire and rescue personnel) in Gaithersburg, Md.; a $61-million high school in Maywood, Calif. and a $60-million business school at the University of California Berkeley.

Health care facilities in February jumped 92% after a weak January, reflecting the start of these hospital projects—the $540-million Methodist Hospital North Campus Tower in Houston; the $228-million Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital in Lake Forest, Ill.; and the $165-million Cambridge North Tower in Kansas City.

The smaller institutional categories in February were mixed, with gains reported for transportation terminals, up 27%; and public buildings, up 22%; while declines were reported for churches, down 26%; and amusement-related projects, down 45%.

Residential Building

Residential building in February grew 5% to $245.7 billion (annual rate), making a partial rebound after an 8% decline in January. Multifamily housing registered a strong February, jumping 46%. There were nine multifamily projects valued in excess of $100 million that reached groundbreaking in February, led by the following—the $500-million Flushing Commons apartment complex expansion in Queens, N.Y.; a $300-million apartment high-rise in New York City and the $262-million condominium portion of theFour Seasons mixed-use tower in Boston. 

Through the first two months of 2015, the top five metropolitan areas ranked by the dollar volume of multifamily starts were as follows—New York City, Boston, Miami, Washington, D.C., and Houston.

Single-family housing in February slipped back 7%, as severe winter weather in the Northeast led to 24% plunge for that region. Single-family declines were also reported for the South Atlantic, down 12%; the South Central, down 10%; and the Midwest, down 1%; while the West posted a modest 3% gain.

The 34% increase for total construction starts on an unadjusted basis during 2015, relative to 2014, was the result of greater activity for all three major construction sectors. Nonbuilding construction year-to-date soared 89%, with electric utilities and gas plants up 944% while public works retreated 7%.  Nonresidential building year-to-date increased 22%, with manufacturing buildings and institutional buildings each up 26% while commercial buildings climbed 15%.

Residential building year-to-date improved 7%, with single-family housing up 7% and multifamily housing up 9%. By geography, total construction starts for the January-February period of 2015 revealed this behavior compared to last year—the South Central, up 126%; the Northeast, up 12%; the South Atlantic, up 9%; the West, up 3%; and the Midwest, down 5%.

Added perspective is obtained by looking at 12-month moving totals, in this case the 12 months ending February 2015 versus the 12 months ending February 2014, which lessens the volatility inherent in comparisons of just two months. On this basis, total construction starts advanced 11%, as the result of the following performance by major sector—nonresidential building, up 24%; residential building, up 9%; and nonbuilding construction, up 1%.

By geography, the 12 months ending February 2015 showed this pattern for total construction starts—the South Central, up 27%; the South Atlantic, up 13%; the West, up 8%; the Northeast, up 3%; and the Midwest, up 1%.