Jun 10, 2011, Calgary’s May building permits up 14 from last year

The estimated construction value of building permit applications for May was up by 14 per cent compared with a year ago in Calgary.

The City of Calgary reported Friday that permit applications reached $274 million for the month, up from $241 million in May 2010.

But the total declined by 47 per cent compared to the five-year average of $520 million and was down 30 per cent from the 10-year average of $391 million for the month.

In May, there was $186 million in residential activity compared with $88 million in the non-residential category. Compared to May 2010 residential values are up 18 per cent from $158 million and non-residential values are up six per cent from $83 million.

Mary Axworthy, acting general manager of planning, development and assessment for the city, said the residential increase was in part due to a new Mustard Seed housing project valued at $32 million.

Year-to-date ending in May, total values across all categories are up 50 per cent over the previous year to $1.9 billion compared with $1.3 billion for the same period last year. The residential category was up one per cent to $769 million and the non-residential category increased 123 per cent to $1.1 billion.

By Mario Toneguzzi