MINTO - Citing rising construction costs, inflation and an increased demand for housing, the Town of Minto’s building department has seen a record year in 2021 for number of building permits and construction value.
In 2021, Minto issued 218, and the construction value was $38.8 million.
Of the permits issued, 53 per cent were residential construction, 26 per cent were other, 15 per cent was agricultural, and six per cent were commercial or industrial.
The construction value for residential dwellings, accessory structures, pool enclosures, or decks was $28.5 million.
Meanwhile, the construction value for commercial and industrial buildings was $5.8 million, and the value for agriculture was $3.8 million.
Only seven permits were issued for industrial buildings and eight permits for commercial, but these permits ranged from industrial warehouses and manufacturing facilities to retail stores.
As for agriculture permits, seven were for barns or barn additions, and 26 were for agricultural sheds, machine storage, grain storage and manure storage.
“We had the same number of permits in 2017 and 2018 as we did in 2021 because those were the years Minto had a flooding problem. However, the construction values for 2017 and 2018 were not nearly the same as 2021,” explained Ashley Sawyer, town’s planning technician, over the phone.
“We think the construction value has gone up mainly because of the Palmerston Industrial Park, but also there’s been an increase in demand for property in Minto because of the population growth and more people are working from home.”
The town’s deputy chief building official, David Wilson, further explained that the general construction costs are significantly higher in 2021 and 2022 due to inflation, resulting in a record breaking construction value for Minto.
In a staff report, Minto could also see a record year for 2022 based on the current trajectory.
“If we were to issue all the applications we have queued up from January 2022 up until today, the construction value would already be double than what we had in 2021 which is around $63.3 million. This does not include any permits that have not yet been applied for,” explained Sawyer.
To date, the building department has already issued 57 permits, which adds to a value of $27.9 million. Currently, there are 17 building permits in the review or in the issuance stage.
Minto council is set to receive the year end report for information at Tuesday’s virtual meeting.
