Sleeping Dog Properties is a custom home builder in the New England area. In the following article, Sleeping Dog Properties discusses the new construction boom in Boston, and what is causing the increased demand.
Boston has long been known for baseball, marathons, and baked beans, but in recent years it has also become known for the development projects popping up all over the city. From homes and dorms to restaurants and hotels there seems to be new construction taking place every day. Over the past decade, Boston has been undergoing a historical building boom.
Sleeping Dog Properties discusses what is fueling the continued demand for new construction in Boston. Population growth and increasing household income are two main drivers of Boston’s recent development boom. Mixed-use developments and medical lab construction have also seen a lot of success in recent years and have played a large part in the city’s construction boom.
Population Growth
Sleeping Dog Properties explains that the population of Boston proper and its metro area has been steadily growing and it is poised to continue doing so. In 2010, there were about 617,600 people living in the city of Boston. As of 2022, there are approximately 687,300 residents. During the same timeframe, metro Boston has grown in population from 4,185,000 to 4,327,000.
The U.N. projects the city’s population to continue to increase over the coming decade. The influx of new residents in Boston has created the need for more housing, a need that developers have been happy to fulfill. In fact, more has been spent on residential construction than construction in any other sector in Boston over the past five years.
Sleeping Dog Properties says that increased housing and a growing population have increased the demand for all other types of development as well. Construction of commercial spaces and education and healthcare buildings have also grown with the rising population.
Income Growth
Not only are there more people living in Boston to patronize new developments but Sleeping Dog Properties explains that many of those people also have more money to spend on things like shopping, the arts, and higher education.
From 2019 to 2020 alone, the median income in Boston grew 7.29%, from $71,115 to $76,298. Boston is home to many colleges and universities and a large percentage of its population is college-educated, resulting in higher and continually growing incomes.
The Rise of Mixed-Used Development
As online shopping continues to push many brick-and-mortar retail stores out of business, many traditional retail spaces are being transformed. In particular, Boston has seen a rise in mixed-use development and redevelopment projects.
Recently completed and in-the-works projects combine residential space with other amenities such as retailers, restaurants, and lodging.
Sleeping Dog Properties says that mixed-use development prioritizes convenience as residents are able to access food, shopping, and workplaces easily, often without the need for transportation. With Boston’s growing demographic of young residents, walkability is becoming an ever-more important factor for many in the city. These developments have seen great success in Boston in recent years and continue to attract investors, which is keeping the construction momentum going strong.
Biotech Construction
Sleeping Dog Properties says that the high caliber of Boston’s institutes of higher learning and medical centers has led to its dominance in the fields of life sciences and biotechnology. There is in fact a strong link between this and Boston’s ongoing building boom.
Lab space in the Greater Boston area has more than doubled over the past decade. The Covid pandemic served to drive demand for lab space even higher. While the demand has slowed a bit since the height of the pandemic, Sleeping Dog Properties says that there are still some significant projects planned or currently in progress and lab construction will likely continue strong as the world attempts to head off future global pandemics.
Final Thoughts
Although the rising cost of construction materials, a shortage of skilled labor, and increased interest rates have hurt the construction industry nationwide, Sleeping Dog Properties says that the demand for new construction in Boston is still going strong. Increasing population, job growth, and rising household incomes are a few of the key factors that continue to spur new construction in the city and its metro area.
Luxury residence buildings and mixed-use developments will likely continue to make up a large portion of the city’s construction projects in the coming years. As available land becomes more scarce, developers will look to areas that have historically been underdeveloped and will need to be creative in their use of available space.
