Is there an attic or a finished floor above? Either way is do-able. I would have a box installed that is fan rated so it can hold the weight of any fixture or pendant. If it is an attic above you could secure the box to a brace between the ceiling joists, if there is a finished floor above you could use a retrofit ceiling fan box.

it is finished floor above. The project manager said it would be expensive because cutting ceiling to find the joists.

Thank you!

Did he say "find the joists", or do they need to open it up to run wire through the joists? If this is newly built and his crew installed the lights, he should know where the joists are and which way they run.

The other unknown is whether the lights have a constant power source with a switch loop to turn them on and off, or is the power to the lights running through the switch to the lights. It it is running through the switch you would only have power at that point when the recessed lights are on, so you cannot separately control the new light.

Bruce

"Expensive" is a very relative term. Compared to adding this box while you were building, it might be expensive. Adding it before the drywall went up would have been a very small cost. But adding it after the fact really shouldn't be a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Adding the box may entail punching holes in the drywall which then have to be patched and painted.

As bcarl said above, if it also entails running new wire to another new switch, that will also add to the expense but if it's just adding the light to turn on/off with the existing lights, it shouldn't be a big deal.