Fort Smith metro building permit values up almost 6% through April

Building activity in the Fort Smith metro declined in April but continues to stay ahead of the same time last year. Building permits in Fort Smith, Greenwood, and Van Buren totaled $16.453 million in April, down 56.7% from the $37.982 million in April 2024.

The April tally was down 38.4% from the $26.723 million in March.

Year-to-date, the three cities reported $90.296 million in permitted projects, up 5.6% from $85.511 million in the first four months of 2024.

Fort Smith issued 171 permits in April with a value of $13.842 million, down 24% from the $18.209 million value of 235 permits issued in March and down 59.5% from the $34.212 million value of 290 permits issued in April 2024.

In the first four months of the year, the city has issued $75.601 million in building permits, down 0.08% from the $75.661 million value of permits issued through April of last year.

There were five Fort Smith permits issued for new residential construction of single-family homes in April with a total value of $1.357 million, down 46.5% from the $2.535 million value of 11 new single-family homes construction in March and down 72% from the $4.838 million value of 27 new single-family home construction permits issued in April 2024.

Building activity in Fort Smith also benefited from three new duplex projects in April with a value of $561,520. There were 48 permits issued for new duplex construction in all of 2024 with a value of $17.07 million.

There was one permit for new commercial construction during the month, the $1.426 million new O’Reilly Auto Parts store being built at 11906 Old Highway 71. The owner of the property is Beau Harlan Living Trust.

There also was a $2.951 million alteration permit issued for American Precision Fabricators at 4401 Savannah St., and a $1.7 million repair permit issued for Methodist Village nursing home at 7815 Euper Lane.

VAN BUREN, GREENWOOD
Van Buren, the region’s second largest city, had 77 projects permitted in April with a value of $537,552, 93.3% less than the $8.041 million value of 75 projects in March and 62.8% less than the $1.444 million value of 94 projects permitted in April 2024.

The city issued 11 permits for residential construction during the month with a value of $390,900, 83.7% less than the $2.391 million value of 20 residential construction projects permitted in March and 68.6% less than the $1.243 million value of the 13 residential projects in April of last year.

Van Buren has had a total of $10.849 million in permitted building activity in the first four months of 2025, a 161% increase from the $4.162 million during the same time in 2024.

Greenwood issued 25 permits in April with a combined value of $2.073 million, a 336% increase from the $475,671 of 23 permits issued in March but a 10.9% decrease from the $2.326 million value of 24 permits issued in April 2024. Through April, the city issued building permits with a value of $4.819 million, down 9.7% from the $5.335 million in the first four months of 2024.

Fort Smith, Greenwood, and Van Buren building permit values in 2024 totaled $271.09 million, a 45% decline from $492.29 million in 2023. It was the first year since 2017 that regional building activity has declined.

REGIONAL BUILDING ACTIVITY RECAP
Combined total for the three cities
2024: $271.09 million
2023: $520.64 million
2022: $480.37 million
2021: $343.28 million
2020: $265.97 million
2019: $241.74 million
2018: $231.78 million
2017: $210.84 million
2016: $211.34 million
2015: $218.89 million
2014: $198.98 million