Dive Brief:
- Activity in U.S. cities indicates that the economic recovery is taking the wraps off commercial projects that were put into storage when the recession hit.
- Atlanta, Chicago and other cities that are sometimes referred to as the second tier U.S. metros, are seeing activity as job growth happens.
- Another indicator is the Architectural Billing Index, which is usually a six- to nine-month leading indicator of construction activity— and is at 55.8 for July, the best since January 2007.
Dive Insight:
An example of how things are coming back is Atlanta, where Tishman Speyer Properties gave creditors the keys for a 20-story office building that failed not that long ago. Now, vacancy rates are down enough that it is planning another 30-story building.