It?s unbelievable how quickly our city has grown in just the past three years! From 2012 to 2015 we went from just underneath $5 billion for building permits to $8.2 billion, according to the City of Houston?s records. Within that time frame, our skyline also skyrocketed from 269 million sq. ft. to 300 million sq. ft. You can just drive by the inner loop and witness the changes which have taken place in such a short amount of time. Furthermore, we escalated from $24 per sq. ft to $28 per sq. ft. for the market average rental rates. Houston just keeps growing at a rapid rate! Naturally, this spurt slowed down with the decline of oil pricing in 2014, causing commercial construction to imitate the decrease, due to oil and gas companies building the majority of buildings in Houston, but medical, technology, and multifamily buildings still went upward and onward, and should continue to do so in the near future. All of this has kept commercial painting contractors quite busy.
The chemical plant construction, which was announced in 2012, is still going on, so we expect continued growth this year and next. On top of that, the U.S. Census says that Houston gained the most residents in the country between 2013 and 2014, with 156,000 people moving here that year. Wow! The icing on the cake? The Super Bowl will be hosted here in 2017, giving the whole world a chance to see our beautiful growth.
Energy companies in Houston built new buildings after the oil price jumped in 2012, causing a reaction from surrounding businesses to accommodate the increased population in those areas. For example, ExxonMobil constructed a facility with more than 20 buildings in the Woodlands so hi-rise apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, churches, and grocery stores popped up around it soon after. We actually had 12 new 40-story-plus office buildings go up around town since then.
Restaurants, entertainment, and retail industries are meanwhile also expanding. Our neighbor, the Galleria mall, is undergoing significant remodeling which should be finished later this year. All of the boom from the building and population has also created a need for service-oriented small businesses, meaning dentists, doctors, attorneys, and accountants are growing strong. All of this work inside the city is bringing people back to the cultural hub that is Houston, so they can enjoy the super city?s museums, parks, and shopping in the middle of everything.
As for us, we are happy to help the continued growth of our awesome city by painting Houston in various ways. Whether it be touching up old buildings or houses that are going on the market, in order for the residents to purchase something new, we love to personally see the expansion of what we know and love from a direct perspective. Being right in the middle of it all really makes you feel like part of the action. Give us a call today so we can help you impact the growth of our wonderful city.
