Dive Brief:
- Hit by a 10.2% plunge in commercial planning activity, the Dodge Momentum Index fell 3.7% in November to 119.9 from its October figure of 124.5. November marks the second-straight negative month for the Momentum Index.
- On a positive note, planning for institutional building projects rose 5.3%, more than reversing its 4.5% October drop. However, commercial building's 10.2% fall continued that sector’s 5% retreat of last month.
- The losses in October and November counterbalance the large increases the Momentum Index posted in July (4.6%) and September (4.9%), making the index "more consistent with the gentle upward trend in planning activity that began in 2012," Dodge Data & Analytics noted in a release.
Dive Insight:
The Momentum Index is a monthly measure of initial reports of nonresidential building projects in planning, which usually lead nonresidential construction spending by one year. According to Dodge, November's decline is no cause for concern, as it brings the Momentum Index pattern into a more sustainable trajectory.
Seven projects exceeding $100 million entered their first phases in November, with institutional projects taking the lead in dollar amount, Dodge reported.
Among the large commercial projects entering planning in November were a $160 million office building in Boston, MA, and a $130 million retail project in Somerville, MA. Entering the planning stage in the institutional sector were a $325 million alteration of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, NY, and a $238 million hospital in Chula Vista, CA.
The American Museum of Natural History’s 218,000-square-foot expansion, the new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation, with its cave-like and cavernous interior design, has been compared to a scene from the Flintstones’ town of Bedrock. The project will entail tearing down three existing buildings and making connections between the new additions and existing structures to create a continuous flow through the museum.
