Unlike Penhold, the town is not going through a building boom but ongoing steady construction and housing starts continue to fuel optimism.
Last week, the town released its 2013 year-end report for the number of building permits issued and their values.
The total number of building permits issued last year for all sectors -- including residential, commercial, institutional and industrial ñ was 78 ñ down from the 81 in 2012. However, the value of the 2013 building permits was almost $5.9 million, or 38 per cent higher than in 2012. In 2013, the total value of all building permits was $21,429,457 compared to $15,559,257 the year before.
While at first glance the huge jump in total permit values may signal a building boom it was actually caused by one project ñ the $6.9-million institutional upgrades at the Innisfail schools campus, which includes a new gymnasium.
Even still, Craig Teal, the town's director of planning and operational services, said there is still plenty of good reasons for Innisfail citizens and business people to feel optimistic, particularly when one looks at the housing starts, which remained almost the same from 2012 to 2013 but greatly increased in overall value. In 2013, the overall value for low-density residential unit startups in Innisfail was $8,455,432, more than $1 million more than the year before.
ìWhat this is telling me is that the 29 houses we built in 2013 had more value in 2012 so they are a little bit higher up in the housing market segments than the 30 houses we built in 2012,î said Teal. ìAnd that is not just a result of construction inflation. That could be people putting in fancier trimming, maybe bigger houses, and nicer kitchen cabinetry, that sort of thing.
ìThat is positive news,î added Teal. ìWe have maintained our pace of housing starts and we've had an increase in assessment on that residential side.î
In other sectors, there was little difference in the number of building permits and the total values for garages, decks and renovations from 2012 to 2013. The number of building permits and their total value for commercial was down in 2013 compared to the year before. In 2012, the town issued 15 commercial building permits worth $2,112,500 compared to 10 in 2013 that had a total value of $489,500.
But the industrial sector made up for commercial's lacklustre performance in 2013. Last year the town issued seven industrial building permits worth $4,830,00, compared to eight issued in 2012 that had a total value of $1,758,000. Teal said a large shop expansion at Bilton Manufacturing and Welding was the main reason for the industrial sector's good year for building permit values.
ìWe are holding our own and showing some good signs in terms of the economy coming back up with construction and investment taking place in Innisfail,î said Teal.
