As we wind down 2009 — Owen Sound building department officials are getting a clearer picture of what kind of a toll the economic downturn may have had on construction in the Scenic City.
Development Co-ordinator Sandi Parks says they issued 40 building permits in November with a construction value of 3.5 million dollars — a full 3 million higher than last November.
The three major projects that contributed to the boom last month included the 1.7 million dollar addition to Sydenham School, upgrades to Walmart worth 1.2 million and alterations to the J.D. McArthur building valued at 200 thousand dollars.
Parks says December is on track to be another big month with about 18 applications for new homes on her desk already — as developers race against the clock to get in on development charges rebates.
Despite the activity over the past few months — Parks doesn’t think 2009 will beat last year’s building figures, coming up short by about 4 million dollars.
Construction values to this point last year totalled just under 28 million dollars compared to 20 million so far this year.
Parks says a couple of major projects on the books for next year will also skew the 2010 numbers.
She refers to the Regional Rec Centre estimated to cost just under 40 million dollars and possibly the start of the new sewage treatment plant, which is also worth 40 million.