April 16, 2008

Building Permits

Calgary sees rapid rise in number of multi-family residential permits

The construction of multi-family residential units increased rapidly, while the construction of single-family units took a dive for the first quarter of 2008 in Calgary.

The city announced last week that 1949 building permits were approved for new multi-family residences compared to 834 new single family dwellings in the first quarter of 2008.

The total number of new residential units was 2783 for the same period.

Compared to the five-year averages, construction of multi-family residential units increased 59 per cent and the construction of single family units dropped by 55 per cent for the first quarter of 2008.

“We continue to see a shift toward multi-family residential construction representing a larger share of the new residences being built,” said David Watson, the city’s general manager of planning, development and assessment.

Compared to last year, estimated building permit values are up 27 per cent to $1.3 billion for the year-to-date ending March 31.

For March 2008, values are down 31 per cent to $337 million, with residential down 44 per cent to $119 million and non-residential down 20 per cent to $218 million.

Applications for the month include new institutional/municipal projects such as the University of Calgary’s Taylor Family Digital Library ($93 million), Calgary Health Region Garrison Green Long Term Care Centre ($25 million) and the next phase of The city’s 7th Avenue refurbishment ($13 million).

Other major new projects include HDP phase II ($17 million warehouse/office) and Evergreen Grove Phase 1 ($16 million apartment).

JOC News Service

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