In 2016, Curbed presented its first ever Renovation Week, where we focused on changes of all sorts, be it a revamped home or changes to New York City cultural spaces. Obviously, we weren’t the only ones who caught the feels for restoration projects because according to a new set of data, residential renovations throughout the city hit an all-time high and cost well over $6 billion in 2016.
Sweeten, a tech company that connects people with the right general contractors for their renovation projects, sourced citywide renovation spending numbers from residential alteration permits filed with the New York City Department of Buildings. The website then analyzed neighborhood trends using information sourced from projects that were posted on their site between 2015 and 2016.
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According to their analysis, NYC residential renovations were up 375 percent from a decade ago, and doesn’t look like it’ll be slowing down any time soon. Their numbers show that Queens saw the biggest upsurge in home renovations over the other boroughs, with a 162 percent increase and Jackson Heights, Forest Hills, and Woodside leading the pack of neighborhoods with the most revamping.
Though the Financial District is one of Manhattan’s trending neighborhoods, the Upper West Side and Upper East Side were Manhattan’s top renovators. The amount of residential renovations happening in the Bronx, particularly in Riverdale, has also drastically increased over the past decade. In Brooklyn, Park Slope was the borough’s top renovator, with Brooklyn Heights trailing right behind.