Building material shortages and bottlenecks in the supply chain slowed the pace of construction during the first quarter of 2022; but municipal officials expect to issue many more building permits in the coming months.
“It should be a busy summer,” said Martensville Planning Manager Bonnie Gorelitza. “There are a lot of projects coming down the pipe.”
Martensville issued a total of 42 development permits worth a combined total of $3.3 million during the first quarter of 2022 (January 1 to March 31). The projects so far this year include: seven single family dwellings, 19 residential additions, six commercial or industrial buildings, and 14 “other” projects.
That’s a drop compared to the numbers for the same period last year: 62 development permits worth over $5.7 million (four single family units, 14 multi-family dwellings, 24 residential additions, eight commercial or industrial and 18 “other” permits).
In a report to the Martensville City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 19, the city’s planning department noted there are several substantial construction projects slated to begin this year, including a building to house Medavie Health Services West’s satellite ambulance base on Centennial Drive North.
During the overall 2021 calendar year, Martensville issued a total of 239 building permits valued at $20,093,467. In the 2020 calendar year, there were 244 permits issued worth a total of $12,214,951.
First quarter building permit numbers for the City of Warman in 2022 are also below last year’s levels, but Warman Planning Manager Brad Toth expects that by the end of the year, construction activity will top last year’s overall totals.
“Based on the number of lots on hold, we expect the permit numbers to date to catch up and even surpass last year’s numbers as we move forward,” stated Toth in his report to Warman City Council’s meeting on Monday, April 18.
For the first three months of 2022, Warman issued 67 building permits worth a combined value of $6,985,385. This total includes eight commercial buildings, 13 single-family residential dwellings and 46 “other” projects. For the same period in 2021, Warman saw 90 permits issued with a cumulative value of $10,216,400 (10 commercial buildings, 13 single family homes, five multi-family duplexes and 62 “other” projects).
The RM of Corman Park issued 45 development permits collectively valued at $17,633,011 during the first quarter of 2022, according to the RM’s Planning and Development Department.
For the same period a year ago, the RM issued 62 permits worth a combined total of $19,500,350.
While the RM of Corman park’s permit numbers for the first quarter of 2022 are down from the year before, they’re still higher than the 10-year average of 37 permits. The overall value for the first quarter of 2022 is also higher than the 10-year average value of $15,458,447.
The RM’s record for first quarter construction activity was in 2019, when it issued 52 permits worth a combined total value of $37,659,053.