D.C.’s construction industry is busy, but clouds are gathering on the horizon.
Virtually all of the largest projects underway in the District involve complex mixed-use development in the works since well before the pandemic began. The infamously long development cycle has a silver lining in this case — modern, walkable neighborhoods are drawing more traffic as people keep working from home, while new and amenity-rich buildings are attracting users.
Many of the projects now underway in D.C. are in various stages of pre-development or have not disclosed total costs, and as such, it’s hard to rank them. But we’ve collected the largest ones where dirt is turning. Check them out in the gallery above.
Construction starts in the District declined 16% to $1.33 billion in the first five months of 2022 compared to $1.58 billion in the same period of 2021, according to information from Dodge Data & Analytics. That included a 26% drop in residential construction and a 22% drop in nonresidential construction. Sarah Martin, senior economist for Dodge Construction Network, cited “weaker economic conditions and rising interest rates” that could continue to drag on new building well into 2023.
