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Due to the blows to the economy last year from coronavirus impacts, undertaking mega-sized construction projects presented owners with riskier decision-making.

The number of big-dollar projects (i.e., of a billion or more each) fell dramatically, to only 11 from 70 in 2019. The number of big footprint projects (i.e., of a million square feet or more), however, stayed about even in 2020 with the year before, at 26.

In this article, we’ll look at the nature of 2020’s mega projects according to the two definitions and discuss some interesting contrasts. For example, billion-dollar projects, especially when they’re in the energy or transit fields, don’t necessarily have enclosed flooring of a million square feet.

Nor is it the case that million-square-footage projects run up a billion dollars in capital expenditures. Many ultra-large low-rise structures are fulfilment or data centers that are assembled in the same manner as light industrial or commercial buildings, at a low cost per square footage.

There’s a good reason it’s important to know about the projects enumerated in accompanying Table 1. They are so massive in scope that while ground may have been broken on them last year, work will be proceeding onsite well into this year, and possibly into 2022 as well. ‘Megas’ provide a base for jobs, material supply and ancillary services.

2020’s mega-sized undertakings according to the billion-dollar definition were dominated by transit, steel mill and motor vehicle projects. In transit, there were high-speed rail systems in Los Angeles and Washington state; in steelmaking, new mills in Texas and Kentucky; and in automotive, a GM electric battery plant in Ohio and a Tesla ‘giga-factory for cyber-trucks’ in Texas.

The steel capacity expansions are welcome as they’ll relieve some of the supply shortages and pricing pressures that have concerned builders recently.  

2020’s mega-sized ‘go-aheads’ according to the million-square-footage definition were heavily weighted towards distribution centers, data centers, car plants and stadium projects (the latter being in Missouri and California).

While so many other companies, caught up in the pandemic, have taken a wait and see approach to capital spending commitments, the high-tech giants, with their coffers full of cash, have been considerably bolder.

Amazon in 2020 ‘green-lighted’ vast square-footage projects in Mississippi, Texas and New York.

Google in Nebraska and Facebook in Tennessee launched new data center work.

Wegmans hopped aboard the distribution center shopping cart in Virginia.

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Alex Carrick is Chief Economist for É«ÖÐÉ«. He has delivered presentations throughout North America on the U.S., Canadian and world construction outlooks. Mr. Carrick has been with the company since 1985. Links to his numerous articles are featured on Twitter , which has 50,000 followers.