Regional building permit values up in September

BusinessFort SmithNews on the Wire

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) October 17, 2011 1:40 pm 67 views 

Building activity in the Fort Smith region continues to pace well above 2010 levels with September permit values in Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren totaling $10.543 million, up more than 36% compared to September 2010.

However, of the three cities, only Fort Smith has posted a year-to-date permit value gain.

FORT SMITH
For the first nine months of 2011, Fort Smith permit values total $148.128 million, up 69.8% compared to the $87.192 million in the 2010 period.

Most of the gain is the result of a $28.5 million permit for the construction of Mitsubishi’s wind-turbine assembly plant at Chaffee Crossing. Employment at the plant was expected to be around 400 by the first quarter of 2012, but legal and market factors have resulted in a delay.

But even without the Mitsubishi permit, permit values in Fort Smith would be more than 37% above 2010 levels thanks to an overall increase in commercial construction activity. Some of those permits include $4.2 million for work on Dick’s Sporting Goods store in the Fort Smith Pavilion mall, January permits of $700,000 for work at Sparks Regional Hospital and $500,000 to build space for a Sykes call center at the former Phoenix Village Mall.

Fort Smith officials issued total permits valued at $7.933 million, up 6.1% compared to September 2010. The monthly total was boosted by $2.853 million in permits for new home construction — compared to $2.971 million in September 2010.

In 2010, Fort Smith officials issued permits valued at $114.77 million, compared to $138.946 million in 2009.

GREENWOOD
Permit values in Greenwood during the first nine months total $5.966 million, well below the $10.721 million for the same period in 2010. A slowdown in new home construction in Greenwood has pushed permitting activity below the 2010 pace.

During September, the city issued permits totaling $674,580 in value, down from $1.210 in September 2010. The city issued $539,580 in new residential permits during September, down slightly from the $590,275 million in August 2010.

Greenwood officials in 2010 issued permits valued at $18.258 million, up 21.6% over the $15.008 million in all of 2009.

VAN BUREN
Despite a jump in September activity, permit values for the first eight months of 2011 in Van Buren total $10.615 million, significantly below the $22.346 million during the 2010 period.

During September, the city issued permits with a combined value of $1.935 million, well above the $473,800 issued in September 2010. September marks the third consecutive month of gains compared to the 2010 period. Of the permits issued in September, $1.872 million was for residential construction.

Van Buren officials issued building permits valued at $21.33 million in 2010, up 116% compared to all of 2009. The bulk of the 2010 permit value came from the $13.587 million permit for construction of the new King Elementary. Without the King permit, permit values would have declined 21.5% in 2010 compared to 2009.