Area building permit values up 38.9% through June

Building permits in Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren were a combined $11.859 million in June, down 18.48% from $14.548 million during the same period last year.

The number is also down significantly from last month, when $34.602 million in building permits were issued in Fort Smith and Van Buren.

However, permit values during the first half of 2013 in the three cities total $92.502 million, up almost 39% compared to the $66.573 million in the first half of 2012.

FORT SMITH
During the month of June, 166 permits valued at $7,424,702 were issued in the city. Many of the permits, 118 total, were for residential construction of some type.

Comparing June 2013 to June 2012, the city saw less permits issued, which resulted in a drop of 34.23% in value, from $11.288 million in June 2012.

The drop in values from May of this year is largely because no big projects were permitted during the month. That is in direct contrast to May, which saw the permitting of the new Zero Street Pump Station on Jenny Lind Road, and the renovation of the Phoenix Expo Center, which will be the home of the new HMA service center, which is expected to bring several hundred jobs to the Fort Smith area, possibly spurring more residential construction down the road.

GREENWOOD
Greenwood issued five building permits worth $1.459 million last month, an improvement over May, when the city issued no permits.

The numbers in June are also an improvement over the same period last year, when the city issued seven permits valued on $1.104 million.

VAN BUREN
The numbers were strong in Van Buren, as the city issued 43 building permits valued at $2.975 million. That was an increase of 45.56% from June of last year, when 48 permits were issued, totaling $2.087 million.

Driving the numbers up was construction of the city's newest fire station, according to Van Buren Building Inspector David Martin. The new fire station was permitted with a valuation of $2.208 million.

Without that project, the city's permits would have actually been down 63.22% to only $767,700.

2012 RECAP
Combined values in the three cities during 2012 were $157.32 million, compared to $201.079 million during 2011. The 2012 value is above the $149 million in 2010, but below the $164 million during 2009.

Fort Smith closed 2012 with the largest share of valuations, logging $136.428 million (a one-year decline from $179.288 million of about 23.9%), while Van Buren was the next largest with $12.282 million (a one-year decrease from $12.39 million of approximately 0.87%). Greenwood posted an additional $8.609 million, which was down slightly from last year’s $9.461 million (down about 9%).

The 2012 figures were compared against a $28.5 million permit for the construction of a Mitsubishi wind-turbine assembly plant at Chaffee Crossing. The plant has been mothballed by the company. Even without that permit, the Fort Smith metro area lagged when compared to 2011 showing a decrease of around 8.8%.