The groundbreaking of three megaprojects in the Empire State in 2022 has given a big boost to the value of new construction contracts in the New York and New Jersey region—especially when compared with totals during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown years. The 20 projects on the 2023 ENR New York Top Starts list total $25.19 billion, a whopping 236% increase from the top 20 projects listed last year.

This year’s three largest projects alone equal a combined $18.68 billion, including the top-ranked JFK Airport $9.5-billion Terminal One. “Our state-of-the-art renovations of New York State’s airports are critical and long overdue—especially at JFK, the nation’s front door to the world,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a groundbreaking ceremony last September.

The JFK project is followed on the list by the $6-billion Champlain Hudson Power Express Transmission Line and the $3.18 billion Metro-North Railroad Penn Station Access project. The lowest valued projects on this year’s list—which includes those that broke ground in New York or New Jersey in calendar year 2022—is $200 million. The list was compiled using data from Dodge Analytics and project team submissions.

The 40 largest projects on the 2022 index equaled $10.09 billion, 65% above the $6.17 billion for the top 40 entries on the 2021 ranking. Before the pandemic, the 40 largest projects that broke ground in 2019 totaled $16.22 billion. The previous year, the list included 40 projects worth $14.5 billion.

The largest project to break ground in New Jersey in 2022 was the $680-million first phase of the One Journal Square project, a two-skyscraper mixed-use complex in Jersey City. Another to make the list was the $200-million Renewable Natural Gas Facility and Pipeline project in Linden.

The fifth-largest project on the list is the $540-million 520 Fifth Avenue, a mixed-use supertall building that is rising on the corner of 43rd Street.