Building permits in Salmon Arm to the end of November this year were more than $46 million – and 2015 looks promising.
At the Dec. 8 council meeting, Coun. Chad Eliason noted the city has been having an exceptional year with $46,460,000 in permits, while in 2013 during the same period the total was $30,890,000.
“In my discussions with the building department they expect that to climb… seeing building en masse.”
Kevin Pearson, the city’s director of development services, was a little more conservative.
“I’m not sure who Coun. Eliason was talking to but, in all honesty, we’re predicting a year of about $32 million. If it’s more than that, it’s great. It’s hard to predict the future.”
Pearson said if SmartCentres builds on the rest of its site, that could potentially be another $5 million – “but I don’t want to throw out numbers.”
He said some subdivisions are also expected.
Chief administrative officer Carl Bannister said changes to the BC Building Code are coming into effect shortly.
“That has spurred on some building permit applications, too.”
