Construction ahead of last year

The value of construction in Prince George has charged ahead of last year’s record-setting pace, according to the latest building permit report from city hall.

As of the end of September, 470 permits for $168.2 million worth of work have been issued, up significantly from $157.3 million over 379 permits by the same point last year.

Whether 2019 will finish ahead of the $186.4 million reached by the end of 2018 remains to be seen but Mayor Lyn Hall said the total could rise by a further $5 million to $10 million before the year is out.

“It just stands in line with what we’ve been seeing over the last number of years,” he said during last Monday night’s regular council meeting.

Notable for Hall was the amount of work in the residential categories and the amount of private-sector development in general.

The total for new single family homes stands at $60.7 million on 111 permits, with $7.5 million over 14 permits issued in September. That’s about on par with the $62.5 million on 113 permits by the same point last year.

Multiple-family, meanwhile, is now up to $23.2 million over 45 permits, including four for $10 million issued in September. The total for that category stood at $18.7 million on 23 permits by the end of September 2018.

New commercial stands at $20.8 million on eight permits and commercial alteration is at $27 million on 46 permits, up from $11.8 million on 38 permits and $14.6 million on a dozen respectively.

“The private sector development really shows some secure faith in what we’re doing in the city,” Hall said.

The numbers also show there is still employment within the city, Hall added, and while the unemployment rate has fluctuated, “we’re still well within what’s happened nationally and provincially.”

Numbers on two other fronts, presented in an update from city hall, are also upbeat.

Thirty-eight new business licenses were issued in September, five more than in the month before.

And 40,697 passengers passed through the Prince George Airport in September, up 2.34 per cent from the same month last year.

However, at $374,410 in September, the average sale price for a single-family home was down 13 per cent from the month before.