Although it was far from being a banner year for construction in the Energy City, 2014 was still a pretty good one from a permit value perspective.
The value of building permits issued by the City of Estevan in 2014 amounted to $34.9 million. This left it well short of the record-setting pace of 2013 when the permit value was just under $58.8 million, but well ahead of 2012 when the permit values stood at $26.6 million.
In recent public statements, Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig noted there continues to be several housing and infrastructure projects to complete, which suggests 2015 will also be a strong construction year, even with a downward slide in crude oil prices.
The mayor told a recent Chamber of Commerce gathering that the construction pace this year could easily match the 2014 level.
With a number of inner city in-fill projects being undertaken along with a couple of major residential developments continuing into new phases of building on the city’s north and south sides, the outlook remains positive for those engaged in the construction trades.
While the Trimount-driven Dominion Heights project and The Ridge, move into second and third phases of delivery, on the north and south side of the city, a troubled Essex development designated for property north of St. Joseph’s Hospital still shows no sign of life following three years of discussion and negotiation between the City of Estevan and the developer.
In 2014, the building permit report indicated that 157 permits were granted compared with 122 in 2013, but the value of the projects in 2013, exceeded those in 2014 by nearly $24 million.
There were 72 single family units built in 2014 compared with just 26 in 2013, but the value in 2013 was $10.13 million, which was about $200,000 more than the 2014 evaluations, indicating there were bigger homes being built in 2013.
Information regarding the construction of multi-family units showed there were 36 built in 2014 compared with 152 in 2013 as the industry worked frantically to catch up with the local housing demands. The value of the permits for multi-family homes was $17.87 in 2013 compared with just $6.23 million in 2014.
Similar stories unfolded on the commercial and industrial construction fronts with commercial building construction in 2014 topping out at $14.77 million, while 2013’s was $17.81 million. There were 10 commercial permits issued in 2014, 18 in 2013.
The industrial construction file showed $2.02 million spent on eight building permits in the year just past compared with $10.23 million on 10 permits in 2013.
The only areas where 2014’s construction numbers were greater than 2013, was in residential garage building and miscellaneous projects. There were 21 permits granted for garages in 2014 for a value of just under $639,000 compared with 17 permits and slightly less than $374,000 a year earlier.
Miscellaneous project permits this past year numbered 33 with a total value of $1.3 million compared with 29 in 2013 with a value of $930,000.
As would be expected, June was the busiest construction month of the year in Estevan last year with the permit value for that month alone amounting to just over $13.5 million.
