PENHOLD – Amid economic uncertainty, the Town of Penhold appears to be holding its own.
Building permit numbers were recently released and showed a slight decrease in growth in some areas with an increase in others, from the previous year.
The 2018 building permit totals for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional came in at $14.26 million; that is just down from $15.2 million in 2017.
However, this year's figures, like those from 2017, are up from $5.1 million in 2016.
“We’re definitely not where we want to be, where we were about four or five years ago,“ said Mike Yargeau, Penhold mayor. “We’re starting to see an increase in commercial growth in town.
“The residential market everywhere is pretty slow but it’s encouraging to see some of that come back,” he added. “We did have a few more multi-family homes this year too.”
Kristina Schmidt, the town's planning and development officer, said while figures are not the same as last year, they are steady even if they are prone to fluctuations due to the economy.
“In conversation with other municipalities, they’ve experienced the same fluctuations but we all have a positive outlook that things will pick up," said Schmidt.
A total of 11 residential permits, totalling $2.9 million, and three multi-family permits valued at $5.5 million, were issued in 2018.
Three commercial permits with a project value of $365,000, were issued for tenant improvements, added Schmidt.
She noted there were two institutional permits with a project value of $1.5 million. The first saw four additional portables added to Jessie Duncan Elementary School, while the second was issued for the Town of Penhold’s washhouse, located at the new RV park that opened last summer.
One industrial permit was issued in 2018, with a projected project value of $7 million.
“The industrial permit was for a proposed fertilizer plant but we are still waiting for the actual building permit for that one,” said Schmidt. “It’s a storage facility for an existing development."
In comparison, the 2017 building permit values show $4.4 million for 18 single family home permits, $560,000 for one multi family permit, about $3 million for nine commercial permits, and $6.3 million for three institutional permits. There were no industrial permits issued that year.
Despite the challenging times, the town remains positive, said Yargeau.
“As a municipality we’re doing great. It’s good to see some increased growth, especially in the commercial area where we really need it,” said Yargeau. “We hope to see more of that this year and into the next few years as well.”
