Dec. 1, 2020

City building permits continue to trail last year’s total – but not in one area and maybe not for the rest of the year.

New residential construction is ahead of 2020, totaling $233.1 million compared with $205.5 million last year. That represents 692 new single-family houses, or 90 more than last year.

Overall building activity totaled nearly $670 million through November, down from $729.7 million for the same time a year ago.

The biggest drop is in new commercial construction, which is at $267.1 million, compared with $314.7 million. The biggest decline is in commercial permits for projects such as strip malls, hotels and restaurants, which total $34.1 million, compared with $119.2 million for the same time last year.

The overall total includes a $6.5 million foundation permit for Amazon’s new distribution center. But the balance of that building permit is expected to be a much larger value. If all or part of it is issued yet this year, it likely will be enough to push the city into record territory.

Multifamily construction continues to be a highlight for the year, with permits issued for 1,555 units through November, compared with 579 units for the same time last year.

Two large projects, Pinnacle Point at 4001 W. 54th St. N. from RMB Associates and The Silos from Lloyd Cos. near 41st Street and Ellis Road were issued permits for their first phases in November. Those totaled $18.8 million and $11.2 million respectively.