Greenwood, Van Buren building activity up; Fort Smith sees decline

Fort SmithNews on the Wire

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) August 3, 2009 9:57 am 50 views 

Building permit reports from Fort Smith and Van Buren show that repair activity from April and June 2008 storms is near an end. The Greenwood building permit report shows continued resilience in that part of the metro area.

FORT SMITH
Fort Smith officials issued 282 permits in July with a construction value of $8.816 million, a 62% decline from the value of 1,340 permits issued in July 2008. The July 2008 report had 1,091 residential repair permits valued at more than $5.66 million, compared to just 160 residential repair permits valued at $1.36 million in the July 2009 report.

The July 2009 permit report shows 25 new home construction permits valued at $2.425 million, compared to 15 new home permits valued at $4.302 million in July 2008. The decline in the 2009 value suggests area builders continue to focus on the low-priced home market with its shorter sales cycle.

GREENWOOD
Greenwood officials issued 13 permits for construction valued at $4.489 million in July 2009, or almost 60% of the value of construction permitted in the first six months of 2009. The bulk of the value came from two commercial permits with a combined value of $3.395 million. The permits were for storm shelters near the high school and near East Hills Middle School.

July was a busy month for new home construction activity. City officials issued eight new home permits in July valued at $1.050 million The first half of 2009 saw 24 new home permits with a construction value of $3.52 million, a value increase of 1.4% over the 25 new home permits and construction value of $3.47 million for the same period of 2008.

The city issued 48 permits for construction valued at $7.54 million during the first six months of 2009, a impressive value increase of 65.3% compared to the 62 permits valued at $4.56 million in the same period of 2008. For all of 2008, the city issued 117 permits for construction valued at $11.9 million.

VAN BUREN
Officials in Van Buren issued 46 permits in July 2009 for construction valued at $4.228 million, up 3.3% from the value of permits in July 2008.

However, in July 2008 the city issued 625 permits for roof repair and 107 permits for siding repair. In July 2009, the city issued 11 roof repair permits and just 1 siding repair permit. (Unfortunately, Van Buren does not require an assessment of the value of residential repair work. Therefore, no monetary comparisons are possible.)

In July 2009, the city issued 20 residential permits for construction valued at $893,000. and issued 9 permits for duplex and apartment construction with a value of $2.98 million.