NAHB Says Apartments and Condos Can Bring Jobs, Economic Benefits to Cities
July 17, 2009

Take a look at just about any big city and you'll likely find a skyline peppered with a few condominium towers and apartment buildings-projects that typically feature lots of glass. Now, a new report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) details the positive impact of building new multifamily communities-which could help spur more jobs for those in the glass industry. The NAHB used a proprietary modeling method to generate the report and found that the development of apartment and condo communities generates significant economic benefits for municipalities long after the building process has been completed.

The report explains how a typical development of either 100 rental apartments or 100 condominiums affects income and employment figures for 16 sample industries and local government, as well as detailed information about the new construction's effect on taxes and government revenue.

According to NAHB, during its first year of construction, a typical 100-unit apartment community will generate $7.9 million in local business owners' income, wages and salaries; $827,000 in taxes; and other revenue and 122 jobs.

And both apartments and condos continue to deliver benefits to the local area for years to come. Each year, the construction of 100 multifamily units could generate $2.3 million to $2.9 million in business income; $395,000 to $705,000 in taxes and other revenue; and 32 and 49 people jobs.

While residential developments could mean growth opportunities for cities, as well as business for glass companies, some industry experts are not expecting to see those increases in the very near future.

"As NAHB has concluded, it stands to reason that residential development can have positive economic benefits in communities. And since the development of investment and public structures such as stores, offices, schools, police stations and alike are often closely aligned with residential development, any increase in that segment will have a positive impact to the commercial glazing industry," says Oliver Stepe, senior vice president with YKK AP. "In the near term however, the fundamentals supporting any significant increase in residential development are not apparent."

Stepe adds, "In the expanding era of social responsibility toward sustainability and energy efficiency, the best thing companies can do today is offer goods and services that will support a strategic energy policy for our country. Bringing innovative goods and services to the market will allow architects and developers to meet increasingly stringent energy codes without obstruction. This is a good start and may speed up building development when more positive economic fundamentals return. It is also important that the glazing industry police itself and not allow itself to get lost in the sea of green marketing. True innovation will need to separate itself from the hype.

CLICK HERE to read the full report.

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