The city of Melfort saw a drop in building permit numbers and values in 2018.
Council was presented with the 2018 building permit value report at its Feb. 11 meeting.
Melfort’s building permit values totalled $12,119,700 last year, compared to $15,260,517 in 2017.
The 10-year average is $12,349,687.
Director of Development Planning and Community Relations Brent Lutz told northeastNOW while the numbers were lower, it’s not a huge concern.
“I think it’s notable to mention that there’s only three of the past 10 years where we saw [building permit value] numbers larger our numbers in 2018,” Lutz said.
New living units fell from 46 to 18, with the annual average around 28.
Some of the notable builds last year according to Lutz included the Northeast SPCA animal shelter, the NEOSS phase two expansion, the Vickar provincial building, the new SAMA building, a PLUS Industries expansion, and the expansion at Maude Burke School.
Meanwhile, Lutz said realtors expect to see a mix of commercial and residential development in 2019, but there are a number of development permits already in the works.
Permit values totalled $395,000 in January, compared to $455,000 in January of 2018.
Lutz said the frigid weather in the month likely played a factor in the slightly lower numbers, and most builds start in the spring.
As for the remainder of 2019, Lutz expects the city’s building permit numbers to stay strong, as Melfort isn’t as affected by the fluctuation of oil, gas, and potash prices.
Photo: (Cam Lee/northeastNOW Staff)
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