OLDS – Building permit statistics in Olds fell off cliff in May, due to the COVID-19 lockdown, but they’ve rebounded since then, especially in July, according to operations director Scott Chant.
Chant made that observation during the town’s Aug. 20 Municipal Planning Commission meeting.
Statistics provided during that meeting show that in May, only eight applications were filed for a total of $64,400 worth of projects.
That’s far below the pace in May, 2019 when 19 building permit applications were filed for $1,735,440 worth of projects.
In June this year, four applications were filed for projects worth a total of $481,552.25.
In June last year, 13 applications came across planning department desks for projects worth a total of $1,616,292.
“May was a fairly light month for us but you do see with July now we’re starting to go back up,” Chant told commissioners.
He conceded though that the vast majority of projects are still relatively small ones, like rebuilding or expanding decks or fences.
“With the way COVID’s been, there’s been a lot of ‘honey-do-list’ projects that have been completed with new fences and things like that,” he said.
However, he noted that in July, the Town received a permit application for construction of a duplex valued at about $900,000 to be constructed at 50 and 54 Violet Close.
Also, another permit was filed do building a detached home at 22 Coutts Close.
When all the other applications for garages, fences and decks are added, the result is relatively “healthy stats” for that month, he said.
A couple of big building permits are expected in the next month or so for $21.4 million worth of renovations and expansions to two buildings at Olds College, announced earlier this summer, he said.
“Hopefully in the next month or two you’ll see those guys hit us and that’ll help us a little more,” he said.
