It was indeed a booming year for building permits in North Battleford in 2014.
Final numbers indicate the City recorded a total of 104 building permits issued for a value of $55,924,900.
That compares to 121 permits for $20,534,900 the year before, a roughly $35 million improvement for the year.
Those numbers came in the monthly permit statistics report compiled by Building Inspector Jerry Wintonyk.
Of that grand total, activity in the commercial and industrial sector is credited with the booming year in construction. Projects including the Walmart expansion, the Home Hardware expansion, the addition to Gold Eagle Casino and various other projects throughout the city led to a booming year in building permits.
Of permits issued for 2014 in the city, 19 were commercial alterations for a value of $22,090,600. Five new commercial permits were issued for $8,761,500, five industrial alterations for $6,748,000 and six new industrial permits for $5,781,000.
There were also two apartment permits for $6,060,700 and seven new dwelling permits for $1,835,000.
Overall, the final numbers of 104 permits issued for $55.9 million is among the highest the city has ever seen. If institutional permits aren’t counted, it is the highest.
By comparison, 154 permits were issued for a value of $47,950,300 in 2010. Those numbers had set a record for highest permit values since 1980, topping the previous high of $28 million from 2007.
That record was shattered in 2011 when 131 permits were issued for a whopping $74 million in building permits. That year saw over $50 million in institutional permits issued due mainly to construction of the Credit Union CUplex.
Building permit values cooled off to $43 million in 2012 and $20 million in 2013 before 2014’s impressive rebound.
It is not just North Battleford that has seen a building boom. The town of Battleford reported building permits of almost $26 million in 2014, which meant overall building permits for the entire Battlefords approached $82 million.
As has normally been the case in past years, December 2014 was a quiet month for building activity in the city, with only four permits issued for $110,500.
Still, the overall numbers prompted big smiles from councillors at their Planning Committee meeting Monday.
Director of planning and development Tim LaFreniere said of the numbers that “this represents a significant amount of private sector activity in the community.”
LaFreniere was also pleased to see an increase in housing developments overall. While new dwelling permits were down slightly to seven for $1,835,000, there were increases in new two family dwellings (three for $870,000), row housing (two for $2,658,000) and apartments (two for $6,060,700) to boost the final total.
