The value of construction activity occurring in Prince George is nearing last year's record-setting pace, according to the latest building permit report from city hall.
During August, 61 permits for $28.2 million were issued, pushing the year to date total to $145.9 million and just $1.3 million shy of the mark reached by the same point in 2018.
"It looks like we're on track for another year where we're going to be breaking records with the amount of construction going on in Prince George," Coun. Garth Frizzell said during Monday night's council meeting when the report was considered.
By the end of 2018, permits for a record-setting $186.4 million worth or work were taken out.
August was a banner month. By comparison, permits for $13.3 million were issued in August 2018 and $13.7 million in August 2017.
Highlights for August 2019 include 13 permits for $7.3 million worth of new single-family homes, as well as for a three-home townhouse and a four-home townhouse, adding up to a further $1.6 million.
On the commercial and institutional side, four were issued for $4.5-million worth of commercial building alterations, two for a pair of new commercial buildings, adding up to $12.5 million, three for $437,000 worth of new industrial buildings and one for a $700,000 institutional building alteration.
"This quiet boom keeps going on and it's hard to put into the context with all of the challenges economically around us in the region," Frizzell said. "But we keep plugging on and we keep seeing the growth in construction and hearing stories of construction companies that are booked sometimes years in advance right at this point, so this is an incredibly promising time."
