Good news, bad news in building stats for Kamloops

NEWS — Building activity was off target in 2013 and “significantly lower” than 2012, says a report going to City council on Tuesday.

But there’s good news and bad news.

Marvin Kwiatkowski, development and engineering services director, says in his department’s annual report to council the pace of the Royal Inland Hospital expansion is part of the cause of the lower numbers.

He says permits for the foundation for the new RIH clinical services building and the Shiloh Place multi-family residential development weren’t taken out in 2013 as expected. “Otherwise, the division would have been above the targeted amount.”

Construction values totalled $149.2 million, below the 10-year average.

While Kwiatkowski says building activity is “a traditional indicator of community economic health,” and activity in commercial, industrial and institutional sectors was down $62.6 million, residential construction was up significantly.

Kwiatkowski says development activity fluctuated during the year but found stability in multi-family housing, with starts up 88 per cent over the previous year.

Total permits for residential units in 2013 hit 503 compared to 354 in 2012.

“The strength of the residential market is a positive sign of stability within the local economy,” he said.

Half the new dwelling units were built on the North side of the river, while 35 per cent were on the South Shore and 15 per cent in bedroom communities like Barnhartvale, Dallas, Valleyview and Rayleigh.