The COVID-19 pandemic has put an added damper on new commercial and residential construction in the region.
Building permit statistics for Corman Park and Warman for the first quarter of 2020 show a sharp decline in the value of construction compared to the same period last year.
Martensville, meanwhile, has been able to hold its own, with construction values slightly above last year, and a noticeable rise in single-family dwelling starts during the first quarter of 2020.
The slowdown in the economy was already apparent before province-wide restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 were implemented in mid-March.
A report tabled at the Corman Park Council meeting on Monday, April 20 revealed there were 23 building permits issued in the RM of Corman Park between January 1 and March 31, 2020. The total value of the permits was $7,289,575.
This compares to 52 permits, with a total value of $37,659,053, issued during the same period in 2019 in Corman Park.
But despite the steep decline, it actually reflects a return to more average conditions.
Corman Park Director of Planning and Development Rebecca Row said the overall total for the first quarter of 2020 is about average for the last five years. The number of construction starts is comparable to the same period in 2016 and 2017, and not that far below the first quarter of 2018.
The slow start to construction this year stands out because last year was exceptionally good, said Row.
She noted that the first quarter of 2019 marked a record number of new construction projects launched in the municipality.
The value of construction permits issued in Warman for the first quarter of 2020 was also down from the year before.
A report by the city’s planning and development department to a Warman City Council committee of the whole meeting on Monday, April 20 showed a significant decline in both the number and scale of commercial developments.
The first quarter of 2020 (January 1 to April 14, 2020), saw 47 permits, worth a total of $2,361,700, issued in Warman.
This compares to 58 building permits, with a combined value of $9,665,401, issued in Warman during the same period in 2019.
In the first quarter of 2020, Warman had eight commercial building permits worth $268,000; six single and multi-family dwelling permits worth $1,433,900 (although one of those projects had not yet been valued at the time of the report’s writing); and 33 permits for renovations and additions worth $660,800.
In the first quarter of 2019, Warman issued 12 commercial building permits worth $7,079,000; three single and multi-family dwellings worth $1,494,100; and 43 permits for renovations and additions worth a total of $1,092,301.
In his report to the city council meeting, Warman Planning and Development Manager Brad Toth said the eight commercial projects this year involve primarily interior renovations. Last year, the projects consisted of the actual shell of the buildings and some larger scale projects.
“So far on the residential side we are similar to last year, but considerably down from the previous eight years,” said Toth.
Martensville, however, has so far been able to buck the downward trend, registering slight increases in both the overall value of construction and the number of residential and commercial starts.
Statistics from the city’s Infrastructure and Planning department show that between January 1 and March 31, 2020, a total of 37 building permits were issued worth a combined total of $1,584,203.
This compares to 42 permits, valued at $1,399,000, issued during the first quarter of 2019.
Both single-family dwellings (5 in 2020 compared to 0 in 2019) and commercial-industrial (6 in 2020 compared to 4 in 2019) are up this year.
Residential additions and renovations are down (13 in 2020 compared to 23 in 2019).