INNISFAIL - The town is officially out of the building doldrums.
In fact, it’s red hot right now, especially with new commercial construction.
On Jan. 15, town council at its Agenda & Priorities meeting was presented with final building permit numbers for 2023, and there was substantial good news when compared to the less than impressive 2022 numbers.
“It’s definitely a positive to see these numbers,” said Town of Innisfail Mayor Jean Barclay. “I think it's a reflection of obvious investors’ confidence in our community, coming out of those two or three years we spent dealing with the pandemic.
“I think we're a very competitive market here in Innisfail as far as our land acquisition costs, our property taxes, and affordable living. I just think it’s a reflection of all those things.”
Meghan Jenkins, director of community services for the Town of Innisfail, told town council the total number of all building permits issued in 2023 increased by 47 per cent over 2022, with 99 issued last year against 67 in 2022.
The total construction value of all building permits in 2023 is $9,760,330, which is more than $2.6 million more than the $7,143,906 recorded in 2022. That’s a 36.7 per cent increase over 2022.
However, the impressive 2023 increase is still down from 2021 when the town recorded a total building permit value of $11,276,751, and far below the banner year of 2018 when the town had total building activity worth almost $26.7 million, with $20.5 million of that total coming from institutional construction.
The significant 2023 increases were led by commercial activity, which had a staggering building permit value jump of 840 per cent over 2022.
In 2022 there were eight commercial building permits recorded with a total construction value of $576,000.
In 2023 there were 13 commercial building permits recorded that had a total construction value of $5,411,250, an 840 per cent increase in value over 2022.
Last year’s spectacular commercial value jump was largely due to the new Shoppers Drug Mart project immediately south of Paul’s No Frills Innisfail, exterior upgrades at Henday Mall, and the construction of the five-business plaza at Main Street and 46th Avenue.
There was also good news on the housing front. In 2023 the town recorded 12 low density residential building permits that had a total value of $3.31 million, almost a million more than in 2022 when the town issued seven building permits.
No multi-unit residential permits were issued in 2023 but council was told an eight-plex was approved last fall for 49th Avenue and 59th Street. However, council was also told it was not included in the final 2023 figures because an application for a building permit has not yet been made.
The town also did well in 2023 with permits for garages and renovation, recording 38 in 2023 with a total value of $809,830. This compares to the 10 approved in 2022 that had a total value of $499,964.
There were three institutional building permits issued in 2023. They had a total value $64,000. The town did not record any institutional building permits in 2022.
There were also three industrial permits recorded in 2023. They had a total value of $165,000.
In 2022, the town recorded six industrial building permits that had a total value of $3,747,816.
