Building Permits Sales Slip
Posted Sep 11, 2012 02:04:16 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Building permit activity in and around Waterloo Region seeing a bit of a slip in the first half of 2012.
In the residential sector 1,243 permits were issued from January to July, a decline of more than 31% from the same period in 2011. The region’s Planning Commissioner, Rob Horne tells 570 News it’s not a surprise, because the construction sector is influenced by things happening in the global economy.
New non-residential floor space, however, increased by 41% in the first 6 months this year to more than 878,000 square feet compared to the first half of 2011.
Horne says the decline in residential permits can’t be blamed on a lack of residential land, saying it’s simply not true.
Some big ticket permits include, a new Grand River Transit building in Kitchener valued at more than $25-million, as well as an addition to the KW Hydro building on Victoria valued at $21-million. Horne also says senior housing is growing in Waterloo Region with a new 6-storey $17-million retirement facility being built on Light Drive in Cambridge.
