MidAtlantic City Scoop: Construction Starts in Washington D.C.
Total Construction Spending Forecast to Decline by More Than 25% This Year
Non-residential and residential sectors expected to get hit hard. Nonbuilding work due for growth.
City Grill
Dan Novack
Vice President
Balfour Beatty
With the local multifamily residential, health care and higher-education sectors performing well, Balfour Beatty is enjoying “one of its strongest backlogs in history in the MidAtlantic,” says Novack. He says the firm has more than 90% of its targeted business volume sold for 2020 and is approximately 70% sold for 2021. Novack adds, “Revenue growth is modest due to our purposeful desire to grow responsibly and take on work for repeat clients and select new clients.”
Novack says high-profile projects such as Amazon HQ2 and Marriott’s new headquarters are a bit misleading about D.C.’s office market, given that D.C.’s high vacancy rate means that “it is not likely this [strong] condition will last.” Government work is “steady,” but Novack isn’t certain how much that sector will grow, due to the size of the federal budget deficit.
Overall, Novack says the D.C. market will remain healthy in 2020 and into 2021. “The greater D.C. market is more diverse compared to 20 years ago when it was more of a government project and government contractor market,” he says.
