Halifax Building Permits

[Wishblade]

This can be a discussion about anything related to building permits in the Halifax area, but here is an article from the chronicle herald today:


Halifax building permits down
Mayor blames drop on recession



Halifax issued permits for about $681 million in construction last year, down $51 million from 2008, according to Mayor Peter Kelly.

He said the city issued permits last year for about $409 million in residential construction, $207 million in commercial and industrial construction and $63 million worth of institutional construction.

In 2008, the mayor said, the municipality issued permits for about $732 million in construction.

Mr. Kelly blamed the global recession for the overall drop.

"We were not out of that element," he said. "But when you see the solid numbers and look back over the last 10 years, we have done extremely well."

The city issued $6 billion in construction permits over the past decade, he said.

Residential construction permits issued last year bucked the trend, increasing by more than $25 million over 2008, said the mayor.

He attributed that to a population hike.

"We are bringing people in from around Atlantic Canada and from elsewhere across the country, as well as new immigrants," Mr. Kelly said.

The municipality’s population is hovering around the 400,000 mark, he said. In 2006, the mayor said it was about 387,000.

"Our forecast that was done shows that by 2012 we will just be eclipsing 410,000 people," Mr. Kelly said.

He noted several projects with a total anticipated value of just under $1 billion are pending on the Halifax peninsula.

The mayor pointed to examples including the planned $20-million doubling of the TD Canada Trust building on Barrington Street, the $16-million nine-storey Waterside Centre on Upper Water Street, the $200-million Queen’s Landing development proposed for the Halifax waterfront and the $14-million residential-commercial project to be built at the southwest corner of Hollis and Morris streets. He also sited the convention centre, coupled with a hotel with residential units, retail complex and office tower planned for the site of the former Herald building on Argyle Street projected to cost more than $300 million.

"Those alone would blow these numbers out of the water," Mr. Kelly said of the figures for 2009.