AIA Database Totals Nearly $1.2 Billion Worth of Stalled Projects

Construction industry has registered 36 projects and 50 investors looking for projects to finance

Barely more than two and a half months after its launch, the American Institute of Architects’ stalled projects database now contains 36 projects worth a total of almost $1.2 billion, and 50 (both anonymous and public) investors looking for projects to finance, the AIA announced today.

Launched on November 7, the AIA’s stalled projects database, housed at www.aia.org/stalledprojects, is designed to let developers and architects network with investors interested in lending to projects that have been stalled primarily due to lack of financing. The database seeks to address the persistent lack of financing facing the construction sector, which has an unemployment rate of 16 percent, almost twice the national average.

According to a study by George Mason University economist Stephen J. Fuller, each $1 million in new construction spending supports 28.5 full-time, year-round-equivalent jobs. If each of the projects listed in the database obtained financing, according to this equation, 28,500 jobs could be created nationwide.

“This effort by the AIA to match projects with investors has no precedent we know of, and so we have to be pleased with the development of the database so far,” said AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA. “We won’t be satisfied, however, until we see deals being consummated at a rapid pace as a result of our efforts.”

“In large part the fortunes of the entire U.S. economy rest on whether the design and construction industry can create jobs,” said Potter.

The credit crunch crisis in design and construction shows no signs of abating. A report issued by the AIA’s economics and market research group finds that the share of projects stalled due to financing problems through August 2011 has almost doubled since 2008 and that one-in-five stalled projects directly result from financing problems. Indeed, almost two-thirds of architects responding to a May AIA survey reported at least one project stalled due to lack of financing. 

For over 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. Members adhere to a code of ethics and professional conduct to ensure the highest standards in professional practice. Embracing their responsibility to serve society, AIA members engage civic and government leaders and the public in helping find needed solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world. Visit www.aia.org.

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