Area construction falls 17 percent

The Kansas City area is off to a weak construction start in 2014 with $537.2 million in total building activity reported in the first quarter, down 17 percent from a year ago.

McGraw Hill Construction, a respected trade publication, reported that while nonresidential construction was up 5 percent to $274.5 million through the first three months of the year, residential activity was down 32 percent to $262.7 million through March.

Nonresidential work includes office, retail, hotel, warehouse, health care, government and other buildings. Residential activity is defined as single-family and multifamily housing.

For the month of March, both nonresidential and residential work was down compared with March 2013. There was $68.7 million in nonresidential work, down 18 percent, and $125.7 million in residential construction, off 19 percent. Total building was down 19 percent to $194.4 million compared with the same month a year ago.

This story was originally published April 25, 2014 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Area construction falls 17 percent."