California construction crews continue to find themselves busier than ever. The Top Starts list of the 25 largest projects to break ground in the state during the past year shows that five 2015 starts topped $1 billion. That’s on top of six ongoing projects valued at between $1 billion and $5 billion that broke ground in 2014—all of which are still under construction.
Contractors must sequence projects carefully to avoid bottlenecks, especially in hotbed construction epicenters such as San Francisco’s South of Market district and downtown Los Angeles. “Resources and capacity within the market are things we are very conscious of and have looked at closely on our projects, with the depth and availability from the subcontractor community as well as the physical workforce,” says Mike Concannon, general manager with Lendlease. The contracting firm landed two projects on the Top Starts list, both located in Los Angeles—the 1.8-million-sq-ft Circa residential and retail complex and the $1-billion Oceanwide Plaza, consisting of three towers between 40 stories and 49 stories.