Building permits were issued at a record pace here in 2015.
The town issued 188 permits for construction valued at $23.7 million in 2015, up 62 per cent from the $14.7 million worth of construction activity in 2014, when 168 permits were issued.
A year-end report by Minto’s chief building official Terry Kuipers shows the municipality ended 2015 with an all-time record in building permits.
The dollar value is 42 per cent above the normal 10-year average and $1.6 million above the total for highest previous year on record, Kuipers told Minto council at the Jan. 19 regular meeting.
“Industrial and commercial were lower this year, but it was offset by in increase in institutional and agricultural,” said Kuipers, noting that agricultural construction, with 48 permits for construction worth $6.65 million, was about 2.5 times the normal volume.
Institutional construction, with six permits for buildings worth $6.1 million, was up substantially from 2014, when 11 permits were issued for under $600,000 worth of construction.
Residential construction was also strong in 2015, with 16 permits for construction worth just under $4.4 million issued for single family dwellings in Minto and six permits issued for multi-family buildings worth $2.25 million.
In 2014, 22 permits were issued for $4.7 million worth of single family homes, but only two multi-residential permits for $720,000 worth of construction.
January numbers ‘typical’
Councillor David Turton asked if people “were still knocking down the door,” to get permits?
“It’s a typical January – at this point, it’s too hard to say,” said Kuipers.
