Fort Smith metro building permits up 236% in June

Fort Smith metro building activity in June rose along with the temperatures. Building permits issued in Fort Smith, Greenwood, and Van Buren totaled $58.484 million in June, up 236% from the $17.415 million in June 2024.

Year-to-date, the three cities reported $177.81 million in permitted projects, up 47.1% from $120.853 million in the first half of 2024.

Fort Smith issued 234 permits in June with a value of $52.651 million, up 224% from the $16.266 million value of 220 permits issued in June 2024. The city has issued $155.3 million in building permits through June, up 29.7% from the $119.704 million value of permits issued in the same period of 2024.

There were 15 permits issued for new residential construction of single-family homes in June with a total value of $3.901 million, down 24% from the $5.131 million value of 15 new single-family home construction projects in June 2024.

There were three permits for new commercial construction in June with a combined value of $17.3 million, six times more than the $2.75 million value of one new commercial project permitted in June 2024.

Permitted new projects included a $10.5 million new furniture store at 5650 Phoenix Ave. owned by Mathias Shopping Centers of Springdale; a $3.5 million Jiffy Trip fuel and convenience store at 7920 U.S. 71 South owned by Hammer Williams Co. of Enid, Okla.; and a $3.3 million warehouse at 6002 S. 31st St. owned by M&A Supply Co. of Brentwood, Tenn.

The city also issued a $20 million building permit for construction of a Bass Pro Shops store. Bass Pro in early February announced it would expand in Fort Smith at a site off Rogers Avenue and along Interstate 540 where the former Best Buy building is located.

VAN BUREN, GREENWOOD
Van Buren, the region’s second largest city, had 70 projects permitted in June with a value of $1.542 million, 59.9% more that then $964,400 value of 86 projects permitted in June 2024.

The city issued nine permits for residential construction during the month with a value of $846,000, 62.5% more than the $520,700 value of seven residential projects in June of last year. The city issued one permit for new commercial construction with a value of $650,000, a 57% increase from the $414,000 value of two commercial construction projects permitted in June 2024.

Van Buren had a total of $13.772 million in permitted building activity in the first half of 2025, a 92% increase from the $7.173 million during the same time in 2024.

Greenwood issued 26 permits in May with a combined value of $4.297 million, 23 times more than the $184,393 value of 17 permits issued in June 2024. One of the projects permitted was $3.904 million for the new Scott-Sebastian County Library in Greenwood.

Architectural designs for the new library in Greenwood were completed about two years ago. The Sebastian County Quorum Court approved construction of the new library in 2021 to be located on Highway 10 Spur and U.S. Highway 71 in Greenwood on 2 acres donated by Jacob Burton. The city of Greenwood spent $180,000 to get water to the property.

Travis Bartlett with Fort Smith-based MAHG Architecture estimated in 2023 construction cost of the 10,400-square-foot facility at $4.3 million. Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz said in December the library is a $5 million project, and construction would take “every bit of year.”

Through June, Greenwood issued building permits with a value of $9.717 million, up 67.9% from $5.789 million in the same period 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 declined.

REGIONAL BUILDING ACTIVITY RECAP
Combined permit value totals 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