Regional building permits up almost 20% YTD

The value of building permits in Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren were a combined $18.35 million in April, up 116.09% compared to $8.492 in April 2012.

For the first four months of 2013, permits for the three cities totaled $46.041 million, up 19.75% compared to $38.448 million in the same period of 2012. The 2012 collections were down almost 22% compared to 2011 activity.

FORT SMITH
The city of Fort Smith issued 170 permits during the month of April, with a total value of $15.62 million.

A total of 109 residential permits valued at $10.192 million were issued in last month, including two permits issued for duplexes and two for apartment complexes.

One of the apartment complexes is being built at 9505 Chad Colley Boulevard by Meadows Construction and has a value of $5.939 million.

According to Fort Smith Plans Examiner Steve Almond, the new apartments are "mid-range apartments." The permits issued last month were for phase one of a five phase project, he said.

"The first phase also includes a house, pool and a post office-mail drop off area," he said, adding that no indication has been given by the company on what monthly rents at the development will run.

Compared to April 2012, Fort Smith's permit issuances are up drastically from $5.563 million.

GREENWOOD
Eight permits were issued in the month of April by the city of Greenwood with a total valuation of $1.707 million, an increase of 134.58%.

Of the eight permits issued, five were for new home sales that totaled $1.586 million.

VAN BUREN
While the city of Van Buren was the shining star in the April 2012 building permits report, it comes in dead last for April 2013.

Van Buren issued a total of 55 permits that only totaled $1.023 million, a significant decline compared to Greenwood's figures on only eight permits for the month.

In total, Van Buren saw a decline of 53.51% from the same period last year, when a total of 38 permits were valued at $2.201 million.

Two major projects that took place in Van Buren last April included an addition to the Boys and Girls Club of Van Buren worth $595,000 and an addition to Arkansas Warehouse worth $750,000. No large projects were reported on this April's report.

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%.