Reflecting a national trend, Utah is seeing a rebound in the development and construction of commercial real estate, according to a national group.
Utah ranked sixth in the U.S. in 2011 for direct spending across all categories of commercial real estate, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association reported.
That's up from Utah's 2010 ranking of No. 26. Only West Virginia saw a bigger jump, from No. 48 to No. 3.
According to the study, $3.6 billion was spent in Utah last year on the development and construction of office, industrial and retail buildings, which supported 77,550 jobs.
"It's not just one thing, it's a bunch of things," said Craig Thomas, senior vice president for the national association, which represents commercial real estate developers, owners and investors. "We have been able to come out of this economic downturn faster."
He attributed the surge in part to the migration of businesses from California to Utah, citing multimillion dollar facilities built here by companies such as eBay, EMCCorp and Adobe. Standard Examiner
