[Growwine] Peterborough enjoying building boom

[CanadaVintage]

Peterborough enjoying building boom
Posted By BRENDAN WEDLEY/Examiner Municipal Writer
Posted 1 hour ago
Peterborough experienced a building bonanza in the first two months of the
year, bucking a national trend of decreasing construction value of permits
issued by municipalities.

The value of building permits issued by the city increased to $9,729,300
last month from $7,724,355 in January and $2,455,095 in December.

Those figures follow a near-record year for construction in the city. The
value of construction hit $120 million in 2007, nearly reaching the record
$125-million mark from 1988.

Construction volume has stalled or started to decline in other parts of the
province and across the country.

“Perhaps Peterborough has an economy of its own that’s influenced by other
factors," city chief building official Bob Waldron said.

“I’m at a loss to explain why our construction seems to be booming and not
following the provincial and national trend. I guess everybody just wants to
be in Peterborough.”

Peterborough and The Kawarthas Home Builders Association president Paul
Dietrich could not be reached for comment.

Countrywide, the value of building permits in January dropped to less than
$6 billion for the first time since April 2007, Statistics Canada states in
a release. Municipalities issued $5.9 billion worth of building permits,
down 2.9 per cent from the December 2007 value of $6 billion.

The value of building permits issued countrywide decreased for three
consecutive months from November through January.

Despite the recent declines, Statistics Canada states, building sites should
remain busy in the first part of this year since construction intentions
were strong in 2007.

Building permits are a leading indicator for construction activity,
Statistics Canada states.

The Statistics Canada building permits survey covers 2,400 municipalities
representing 95 per cent of the population.
The City of Peterborough issued 145 building permits, including 21 permits
for single-family dwellings, as of the end of last month.

At the end of February last year, the city had issued 99 building permits
for the calendar year, including four permits for single-family dwellings.

Waldron is hesitant to predict construction in the city this year will match
the near-record level last year.

“Last year was a surprisingly good year, and this year seems to be following
that same upward trend," he said. “It’s difficult to forecast what the
statistics are going to be for the year based on the trends that we’ve
observed for just the first two months.”

The value of building permit fees issued by the city increased despite a fee
hike.

City council increased building permit fees as of Jan. 1 to cover the cost
of running the city's building division, which ensures construction meets
Building Code requirements.

Building permit fees will increase by about 20 per cent annually for the
next three years. Before Jan. 1, the last fee increase was in 1991.

In Ontario, municipalities approved $2.4 billion worth of permits in
January. A 68.8-per-cent increase in the value of non-residential permits
more than offset a 29.1-per-cent decrease in residential permits.

Four provinces experienced a downturn in the value of construction permits
issued between December and January. Ontario had modest growth of 5.5 per
cent.

While Waldron isn't prepared to say Peterborough's strong showing in the
first two months of the year will continue, he is optimistic about the
construction industry in the city.

“We are in for another healthy year of construction," he said.