Construction Boom in 2015?

The pace of new construction in San Diego has lagged other California markets, but it's due for a big change. (Landscape artists who don't like putting cranes in their paintings better hurry up.)

Turner Construction Co’s Lori Ann Stevens says, “We’re the eighth-largest city in the nation, but right now we only have three tower cranes downtown—two of which are Turner’s.” Even though the local economy’s fairly strong, developers in San Diego have been hesitant in the years after the recession, though it isn’t completely clear why. (Getting the locks off your Recession Fallout Shelters can be tough.)

The tipping point is coming, she predicts. Permitting has been approved for a number of developments, so the city will finally see a lot of building in Q2 or Q3 of 2015 and even more in ’16. The convention center getting underway may be the catalyst for other projects: "Once a few highly visible projects are in motion, others will follow."

Turner recently participated in the Green Build at the airport, which included a 460k SF expansion of Terminal 2, with 10 new gates, expanded concessions, and 1.5M SF of new taxiway and jet parking. (They need every inch of it. You ever try parallel parking a jet?) It also happens to be the first LEED Platinum airport facility in the world, she says. Little-known fact about Lori Ann, who heads up biz development: She’s an enthusiastic competitor in organized races, such as Ironman Arizona, Rock n’ Roll Marathon San Diego, Nike Women’s Marathon San Francisco, and the Susan G Komen 60-mile Breast Cancer Walk.