P.E.I. building permit values rise again

P.E.I. is looking to turn in another strong year for building permits issued in 2018.

According to numbers released by Statistics Canada last week, in the first nine months of the year the province issued more than $250 million worth of building permits, a 10.2 per cent increase over the same period in 2017.

Permit values were up in every category.

That was the case in the province as a whole, and also in Charlottetown. Growth was particularly strong in the industrial and commercial sectors, said Alex Forbes, manager of planning and heritage for the city.

"There are a number of large permits in the industrial and commercial sector which are certainly driving up our numbers for this year," said Forbes.

Those major projects include

• A large hotel in the north of the city.
• Biovectra with several large permits.
• New Nissan dealership.
• New Seafood Express facility.

While growth was strong, it pales in comparison to 2017, when permit values were up 37 per cent over 2016.

Permits for residential construction have shown more of a levelling off this year, up 7.9 per cent, as compared to 44.5 per cent in 2017.

In the non-residential sector, industrial permits have seen big growth in 2018, up 62.6 per cent for the year to date.

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