It doesn't take an expert to realize that both Oklahoma City and Tulsa are in the midst of the largest commercial and institutional building boom the state has seen in nearly 20 years.

Whether it is the new retail and office steel buildings being built along Memorial Road in Oklahoma City or the new shopping centers being constructed in Jenks and Broken Arrow, millions of square feet of new commercial space is being added in both markets as local and national contractors that operate in the Sooner State reap the benefits.

“We have more projects under contract and in construction now than we ever have had in the 100-year history of our company,” said Dave Kollmann, division president responsible for Flintco Inc. in Tulsa. “Our backlog is at an all-time high, which is just over the 2 billion-dollar mark.”

Kollmann’s comments were echoed by many other Oklahoma commercial steel building executives, as most of the state’s major firms reported near-record-breaking activity. In fact, Jerry Ennis, president of Boldt Construction’s southern operations, said the building boom in Oklahoma City has actually been going on for about a decade.

“There has been a building boom in Oklahoma City that goes back a number of years to the beginning of the MAPS program, and it really has not slowed down since,” added Ennis, whose firm was responsible for building a number of the MAPS and MAPS For Kids projects. “We are busier than ever.”

According to Bryan Timberlake, vice president of business development for Timberlake Construction in Oklahoma City, the heightened construction activity is a direct result of the strong economy being exhibited throughout the state. He also noted the growing national profile of Oklahoma to the rest of the country as being another factor as more outside investors and developers are targeting the state for opportunities.

In Oklahoma City, one of the most active areas for new construction continues to be downtown, where over 850 new residential condos and apartments have been completed or are in the process of being built. Timberlake, whose firm is building the Block 42 and Centennial on the Canal condos in Bricktown, said no slowdown is in sight for residential and commercial metal building projects being built in the central business district.

One challenge facing the industry continues to be the rising cost of. building materials. Metal building prices, along with the costs of copper and brick, have gone up.

While the industry may not currently see the double-digit percentage increases that were experienced in 2004 following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Kollmann explained the growth in global markets as one of the primary forces behind the continued rise in steel building costs.

“With the tremendous growth in China, India, the resurgence in Japan and Europe, and growing U.S. import demand, they all are fueling a strong global economy,” he said.