Fort Smith metro building numbers down almost 60% through April

Building activity in the Fort Smith metro area continued to grow in April, but values are down significantly from 2023. Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren reported combined building permit values of $37.982 million in April, down 17% compared to $45.79 million in April 2023.

The April numbers are up 68% from the $22.603 million in March.

Year-to-date the region has issued permits for building activity valued at $85.511 million, down 59.5% from the $210.975 million reported in the first four months of 2023.

Fort Smith issued 290 permits in April with a value of $34.212 million, up 55.6% from the $21.998 million with 290 permits issued in March, but down 22.3% from the $44.041 million with 286 permits issued in April 2023. Year-to-date, Fort Smith has reported $75.661 million building projects, down 61.45% from the $196.278 reported through April of last year.

There were 27 permits issued for new residential construction in April with a combined value of $4.838 million, up 94.8% from the $2.483 million value of 13 new residential construction projects permitted in March and up 28% from the $3.776 million of 17 new residential construction projects permitted in April 2023.

A new warehouse for Burford Distributing at 1005 S. H St. for $750,000, and a new lumber shed at 900 Atlanta St. for $50,000 by Structures Capital Structures were the two new commercial construction projects permitted in the month. The $800,000 total is 46.7% less than the $1.5 million new construction project permitted in March and 60% less than the $2 million new construction project permitted in April 2023.

There was also a $424,450 “other” commercial project permitted for the new Community School of the Arts building at 1101 Riverfront Drive, a commercial remodel for townhouses at 7409, 7407 and 7411 Terry St. for a total of roughly $100,000 by Daniel Hill, and a $1.6 million permit for ongoing repair by Fort Smith Public Schools needed for damage caused by a fair in the orchestra room at Ramsey Middle School in July 2023.

VAN BUREN AND GREENWOOD
Van Buren, the region’s second largest city, had 94 projects permitted in April with a total value of $1.444 million, more than four times the $346,5000 value of 60 projects permitted in March and a 0.8% increase from the $1.433 million value of 92 projects permitted in April 2023.

The city issued 13 permits for residential construction with a combined value of $1.243 million, more than five times the $244,500 value of four residential construction projects permitted in March and more than twice the $577,200 value of two residential construction projects permitted in April of last year.

There were six commercial projects permitted in the month, down 77.7% from the two commercial projects permitted in April 2023. There were no commercial construction projects permitted in March.

The city has had $4.162 million in permitted activity through April, down 63.6% from the $11.419 million permitted through April 2023.

Greenwood issued 24 permits in April with a value of $2.326 million, roughly 8.5 times more than the $268,728 with 13 permits in March and seven times more than the $317,660 with 13 permits issued in April 2023. The month included a permit for a $1 million commercial remodel of a loading and unloading dock at 255 Industrial Drive. In the first four months of 2024, Greenwood issued building permits with a value of $5.335 million, up 9.1% from the $4.888 million through April 2023.

The Fort Smith metro ended 2023 with building permits totaling a record $520.644 million, 8.4% more than the $480.376 million in 2022. Building activity has continued to show gains in the past few years, with 2023’s total up 51.7% from 2021’s $343.289 million and 95.7% up from 2020’s $265.975 million.

REGIONAL BUILDING ACTIVITY RECAP
Combined total for the three cities
2023: $520.644 million
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