Dallas’ leading construction firms soldiered on in 2022 despite a year mixed with persistent inflation, multiple interest rate increases, supply chain disruptions, recession worries, and permit delays.
Even though real estate development in Dallas has decelerated over the last 12 months, the top 10 construction firms in Dallas were still approved for 512 building permits between February 15, 2022, and February 15, 2023, which totaled more than 11 million square feet of new development space, according to reporting from The Real Deal (TRD).
Grant Mendeljian, vice president of preconstruction at Moss Construction, remains optimistic that relaxing material costs could spur momentum later in the year despite the current downturn in construction.
“The second half of 2023 does look more promising,” said Mendeljian, per reporting from TRD. “We have clients that look to have the financial assets available to close and move forward with some deals.”
While Dallas’ real estate market is generally considered an attractive market for investors, developers with new construction projects were often burdened by the City’s complicated and slow permitting process, particularly in the areas of residential and commercial construction.
The typical turnaround time for single-family and commercial permits over the 2022 summer season was around 35 days for most residential projects and an exceedingly long four months for larger projects, according to City data previously reported by The Dallas Express.
With permit times far beyond the acceptable time suggested in the Development Services Department’s (DSD) 2022-2023 performance goals and metrics report, local officials directed their ire at Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who nearly lost his job over his inadequate response to the problem.
Since then, permit times for single-family and commercial projects have reached more acceptable levels, but permits remain a matter of frustration for the development community and local officials, as the City is yet to consistently meet its permit issuance goals. In early March, the Dallas Builders Association (DBA) held a panel with Development Services directors from Dallas and around North Texas to discuss some of the challenges that have led to the long wait times and stifled building opportunities.
Single-family building permits needed 27 median days with Dallas’ Development Services Department (DSD) before receiving approval and issuance, according to the City’s residential permit activity dashboard.
DSD’s most recent commercial permitting data — presented at a recent learning session attended by The Dallas Express — shows that the typical review times for commercial projects average around 43 business days for first-round reviews.
While commercial permitting times were down from the 48 days reported in the previous month, they remain significantly longer than the Department’s 15-day goal.
Despite the long turnaround times presented to construction firms, Dallas remains a hot market for development.
TRD’s list of the top 10 construction firms in Dallas ranked in order of total permit value:
- Balfour Beatty Construction: 66 permits valued at $164,081,581
- Brasfield & Gorrie: 68 permits valued at $152,435,427
- Beck Group: 54 permits valued at $141,093,475
- DPR Construction: 63 permits valued at $123,778,770
- Moss Construction: 47 permits valued at $111,960,643
- Cadence McShane Construction: 10 permits valued at $97,193,642
- Scott & Reid: 108 permits valued at $89,408,590
- Hill & Wilkinson Construction Group: 61 permits valued at $83,041,214
- Structure Tone: 32 permits valued at $74,483,414
- Korte Construction Company: 3 permits valued at $70,100,000