Building boom echoing across Lake Country

Booming Lake Country could be headed for a three-peat in terms of record construction activity.

Almost $67 million worth of building permits were issued from January through September, according to new information from the municipality.

That compares to $58 million in the first three-quarters of 2016.

The town has had two successive years of record construction, with building permits topping $92 million in 2016.

“I think people are really starting to discover the Okanagan,” Lake Country Mayor James Baker said.

“We're getting people moving here from right across Canada, not just the Lower Mainland, where people are maybe cashing out of homes for multimillions of dollars and buying homes in the single millions here,” Baker said.

Single-family homes make up the bulk of new construction in Lake Country, accounting for $46 million of the new projects approved so far this year.

Multi-family dwellings worth $7 million.

Most of the new homes are being built in two large developments, the Lakes, and Lakestone, are each of which have projections for about 1,200 homes, Baker said.

New commercial buildings and industrial premises each account for less than $2 million of the building activity, less than the values for garages and accessory buildings ($2.2 million).

Despite the imbalance, business owners have told Lake Country council they’d like to see even more residences built in the town to ensure the viability of existing shops and services.

Prior to the onset of the recent construction boom, Lake Country averaged about $30 million worth of new building permits annually.