As most insurers and lawyers in the Northwest know, construction in the Northwest region of the United States is at a record level. What many people do not understand, however, is just how dramatic this increase is. If you are not from the Northwest, you may not realize that at this time there is more high-rise and commercial construction in the Seattle market than arguably anywhere else in the United States.
According to the attached link, there are currently 58 active projects utilizing construction cranes in the Seattle area. Most of these are high-rise developments. As set forth in the attached article, this puts Seattle at the top of all cities in the United States with ongoing construction cranes in place. This also represents a 38% increase in construction crane activity in the last year in Seattle. New York City, who has traditionally had the largest number of construction towers in operation at any given time, has only 28 cranes currently in operation. In fact, Seattle has twice as many construction cranes as any other city in the United States except Los Angeles which only has 40 operating cranes.
Obviously, this level of construction brings with it tremendous problems – traffic issues, congestion, increases in cost of living, etc. It also forecasts a potential for a significant increase in construction defect claims in the next 3 – 7 years in the Seattle market. Good news potentially for lawyers, but not so good news for insurers.
Lether & Associates is involved in a number of construction projects around the United States and particularly in the Northwest region. If you have questions in regard to the status of any construction related issues on the west coast, please contact our office.
http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/seattle-skyline-is-tops-in-construction-cranes-more-than-any-other-us-city/
