For the fourth straight year, Cranbrook’s construction values continued to exceed its previous total, as $46.7 million of total construction is on the books in 2019 from 221 different building permits.
“In 2018 we had $43.7 million which was unprecedented growth and we got off this year at a little a slow start because of the weather early in the spring and we were concerned whether we were going to match that or not but as it was we ended up exceeding it,” said Mayor Lee Pratt.
A total of 260 building permits were submitted in 2018, which is 39 more than in 2019, but the City of Cranbrook once again exceeding the previous year’s construction values by $3 million.
Cranbrook City Council heard on Monday that the total construction values have climbed 174% since 2015 with the year-over-year growth.
Mayor Pratt told MyEastKootenayNow.com that he’s confident 2020 can be just as strong of a year as 2019 with several multi-million projects on the books.
“With the number of projects we have in the works next year, I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t hit the sixties (millions). It’s exceptional, and I can tell you we’re getting a lot of interest from developers and investment people now so with that interest and the Tembec Lands coming available this year, it’s going to be good.”
The fourth quarter of 2019 saw $9.3 million of total construction compared to $7.4 million in the same quarter of 2018. $6.7 million of the $9.3 million consisted of just two projects, one $3-million multi-family residential projects on 6th Street North and another $3.7-million industrial project.
Now with the totals from 2019, the statistics reveal that 35 single-family dwellings were under construction along with 107 medium multi-family dwellings.
Mayor Pratt believes Cranbrook is a busy community now, and that more and more young families and retirees are looking to move in, which is the main reason for their year-over-year growth since 2015.
“You’re not just driving through a sleepy little town that you don’t want to come to,” said Pratt. “We have the college, we’ve got the hospital, we’ve got the theatre, we’ve got Western Financial Place, we’ve got the studio, all the amenities that we have to offer all age groups plus the recreation side of it, it’s starting to attract people. People are taking notice of it.”
Here’s the fourth quarter comparison between 2019 and 2018 for total building permits and construction values:
| Category | 4th Quarter 2019 Value (# of Permits) |
4th Quarter 2018 Value (# of Permits) |
| Residential | $1,956,365 (19) | $3,271,900 (26) |
| Residential (Multi) | $3,000,000 (1) | $0 (0) |
| Commercial | $375,000 (7) | $3,660,800 (12) |
| Industrial | $3,781,000 (1) | $405,000 (2) |
| Institutional | $55,000 (1) | $0 (0) |
| Government | $0 (0) | $0 (0) |
| Temporary Building | $0 (0) | $0 (0) |
| Signs | $173,845 (11) | $69,307.50 (9) |
| — | — | — |
| 4th Quarter Totals | $9,341,610.00 (40) | $7,407,007.50 (49) |
| 3rd Quarter Totals | $19,727,180.22 (62) | $6,945,655.93 (80) |
| 2nd Quarter Totals | $14,049,020.36 (75) | $16,028,644.78 (86) |
| 1st Quarter Totals | $3,588,377.73 (44) | $13,342,556.13 (45) |
| 2019 Totals | $46,706,188.31 (221) | $43,723,864.34 (260) |