Fort Smith metro permit values up almost 21% in the first quarter

Building permit values in the Fort Smith metro area were on the rise in March, totaling $60.633 million, up 39.6% from the $43.352 million reported in February and up 82.5% from the $33.171 million reported in March 2022.

Year-to-date the region has issued building permits valued at $165.185 million, up 20.7% compared with the $136.894 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Fort Smith issued 327 permits in March with a value of $57.795 million, up 61.4% from the $35.817 million value of 333 permits issued in February and up 132% from the $24.87 million value of 195 permits issued in March 2022. Year-to-date Fort Smith has reported $152.237 million in building projects, up 68.7% from the $90.252 million reported in the first three months of 2022.

There were 14 permits issued for new residential construction in the month with a value of $4.77 million, down 40.6% from the $8.036 million value of 22 new home construction permits issued in February. The total is up 61% from the $2.962 million value of the 19 new residential construction permits issued in March 2022.

There was one permit for the new commercial construction issued in March, a permit for the construction of new warehouses at 9717 Highway 45 by 3Nine Capital LLC for a $3.5 million warehouse and 420 mini storage units. Though listed as other and not new construction, Josh Niles with Niles Investments LLC received a permit in March for construction of Smartbox Self Storage at 2920 Zero St. Niles said the two-story storage facility would have 5×5 feet storage units as well as 10×30 feet units. The $2.3 million project is expected to be completed by July. Rental costs have not yet been determined, Niles said.

There were no new commercial construction permits issued in February, but March’s total for new commercial construction was down 78% from the $16.53 million value of five new commercial construction projects in March 2022.

March also saw the permitted beginning of construction for a $28.789 million multi-family residential project at 8800 Chad Colley Blvd. Eighty8 Chaffee Crossing is being developed by Meadows Properties Management and Construction to offer retail, commercial and residential rentals in the Chaffee Crossing area.

VAN BUREN AND GREENWOOD
Van Buren, the region’s second largest city, had 64 projects permitted in March with a value of $1.27 million, down 81.9% from the $7.006 million value of 65 projects permitted in February and down 81.3% from the $6.774 million value of 87 projects permitted in March of last year.

The city issued nine permits for residential construction with a combined value of $1.2 million, a 68% drop from the $3.76 million value of 21 residential construction projects permitted in February and a 204% increase from the $395,000 value of five residential projects permitted in March 2022.

There was one commercial construction project with a value of $70,000 permitted in March. This is a 59% decrease from the $1.71 million value of three commercial projects permitted in February and an 88.9% decrease from the $6.325 million value of five commercial construction projects in March 2022.

In the first quarter of the year, Van Buren has recorded $9.986 million in permitted activity, down 77% from the first three months of $43.644 million in 2022, a year in which Van Buren experienced significant building growth.

Greenwood issued 26 permits with a combined value of $1.468 million in March, up 177% from the $529,326 value of 11 permits issued in February and down 3.86% from the $1.527 million value of 15 permits issued in March 2023. So far this year, Greenwood has had $2.962 million in building projects permitted, down 1.2% from the $2.998 million through March 2022.

The region ended 2022 with $480.376 million in permitted building activity, a 39.9% increase over the $343.289 million in 2021. The Fort Smith metro has seen continuous growth over the  past several years, but no recent year has performed as well in building activity as 2022 with all three of the larger cities in the region seeing an increase in building numbers from 2021.

REGIONAL BUILDING ACTIVITY RECAP
Combined total for the three cities
2022: $480.376 million
2021: $343.289 million
2020: $265.975 million
2019: $241.741 million
2018: $231.78 million
2017: $210.844 million
2016: $211.345 million
2015: $218.899 million
2014: $198.983 million
2013: $202.389 million
2012: $154.64 million