Windsor permit values fall again in August
The summer of 2020 may not go down as one of the best on record in the City of Windsor.
The city’s report on the value of issued permits for August shows a total value of slightly more than $19 million issued for new construction. Of that total, $14 million was in the residential sector.
August’s total is about 34 percent lower than July’s total of more than $29 million, and the second consecutive month in which permit totals have declined. Builders posted an impressive $66 million worth of permits in June.
Compared with July, permit totals were down in all four sectors. At slightly more than $14 million, the value of work in the residential industry dropped by almost $5 million. Also hard hit in the month was work in the government & institutional sector, which fell from $5.5 million in July to just over $1.6 million in August. The value of work in the industrial sector dropped by $550,000, and the value of commercial sector work fell by just under $1 million.
The value of construction activity also dropped compared with August 2019, which recorded just over $29 million worth of work. That figure included $20 million in residential construction, $3.2 million in industrial work, $3.6 million in commercial-sector work, and $1.9 million in government & institutional projects.
The city issued 341 construction permits in August 2020, compared with 290 in July 2020, and 307 in August 2019.
For the year to date, construction permit totals are now well below last year’s pace. For the first eight months of last year, the industry recorded just over $270 million worth of construction activity. Over the same period this year, the industry has recorded slightly less than $260 million.
The value of work performed through the first six months of this year was higher than in 2019.
The largest-value permit issued by the City of Windsor in August 2020 was for $1.15 million – for the fit up of a new Princess Auto location at Walker Square Shopping Centre on Walker Road. Construction of that outlet and a new Winners store began in June.