The pipeline for new office and industrial building construction in metro Detroit is getting busier.

There are 8.4 million square feet of proposed office buildings and 8.5 million square feet of proposed industrial space construction in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Washtenaw counties, according to Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service CoStar Group Inc.

While the timelines for many projects will depend on success in landing tenants, developers and brokers say demand for the new buildings is being driven by tenant needs for specific kinds of space, or the desire to be in a particular part of town.

"The existing facilities, for a myriad of reasons, don't often fit with what the current demand is and it's sometimes better to build new," said Kevin Hegg, vice president of the Canton Township office of Ashley Capital LLC. "There's been a consolidation within the supplier groups of the larger, top-tier companies, and as they are growing and becoming more sophisticated, the demands as far as amenities and features — have become more specific."