Area building permits tumble in May

May was a slow month for city officials in Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren responsible for administering building permits — except maybe for those issuing residential building permits in Fort Smith.

GREENWOOD
The city of Greenwood issued one permit valued at $5,000 in May, a big difference from the 10 permits valued at $804,520 the city issued in May 2009. The virtual lack of permit activity was a surprise compared to the city’s April numbers. Greenwood officials issued permits in April valued at $2.671 million, up almost 38% compared to the $1.936 million in April 2009.

VAN BUREN
It was not much different in Van Buren, where the city issued 60 permits in May valued at $325,300 (Van Buren does not place a value on its commercial and residential repair permits.). In May 2009, the city issued 65 permits valued at $1.447 million.

However, Van Buren is likely to have a respectable 2010 permit total thanks to a $13.587 million permit issued by the city in April to Nabholz Construction for King Elementary School. During April, Van Buren officials issued permits valued at $13.965 million, compared to $1.501 million in April 2009.

FORT SMITH
City officials in Fort Smith issued 228 permits with a total value of $8.854 million in May, down 53.4% from the 285 permits valued at $19.04 million in May 2009. For the first five months of 2010, building permit values in Fort Smith total $45.452 million, down 35.8% from the $70.817 million during the same period of 2009.

The more than $25 million difference between 2010 and 2009 permit values comes courtesy of three big projects permitted in in 2009: a $12 million expansion at Gerber Foods’ Fort Smith plant; the $4 million permit for the Best Western hotel at 6501 Rogers Avenue; and, more than $3.2 million in permits for the Mars Petcare plant at Chaffee Crossing.

New home construction in Fort Smith continues to more than hold up its end of the building bargain, so to speak. The city issued 31 new home permits totaling $4.789 million in May, up considerably from the $1.716 million value in May 2009.

May was not unusual for the home construction industry in Fort Smith. The city issued permits in the sector totaling $4.51 million in April, up from the $4.49 million value in April 2009. The city issued in March new home permits valued at $5.976 million, compared to permits valued at $2.02 million in March 2009.