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Moving Ahead

Dodge Data & Analytics, predicts that the construction sector is “moving into a more mature phase of expansion.” Their much-anticipated recently released 2017 Dodge Construction Outlook predicts the industry will see 5% growth next year. The forecast is for this period of growth to continue into 2018 before a cyclical slowdown emerges gradually in 2018 and 2019.

For the New York Construction Industry the annual forecast and analysis prepared by the New York Building Congress estimates that 2016 will mark the first time in City history that construction spending has passed the $40 billion mark and represents a 26 percent increase from 2015. Like the Dodge Outlook, The Building Congress anticipates the current building boom to continue through the next two years

These have been very good times. But now the growth will be slower as Major projects like Hudson Yards and others begin to taper down. And while we look ahead to an increase in development, especially in housing projects, now that the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and the Real Estate Board of New York have reached an agreement to resurrect the controversial 421-a tax, we still need to plan for our future.

Over the past several years, while New York has recovered, our industry has begun to embrace new ideas and new products. Technology has taken hold. Sustainability, Building Information Modeling (BIM), 3D printing, virtual reality (VR) among others have come into use in construction. And whether or not you are now using the new techniques, you will. Architects, developers, and general contractors are using technological advances and so will we. Don’t be left behind as your peers move ahead. Technology will help you estimate better, work more efficiently and bid more competitively.

If you’d like to have meetings geared to new technologies and how they can work for your company, let me know. We’ll plan for it.

I’m looking forward to seeing you at our annual Christmas event on December 8th at the North Hempstead Country Club. If you haven’t already registered, do it now on our website, www.wcc-ny.com.

— John DeLollis

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