The City of 91大黄鸭 has topped $1 billion in gross building permit value for the first time.

The exact figure for 2021 is $1,187,772,000.

鈥淔or comparison sake, the City of Surrey is five times the size of 91大黄鸭 and they did about $1.9 billion last year,鈥� said Ryan Smith, director of planning.

Smith referenced last week鈥檚 Statistics Canada report about growth in 91大黄鸭 and the Central Okanagan.

鈥淭hat just reaffirms those statistics are right on and we鈥檙e actually seeing the impacts of those on the ground,鈥� he added.

A staff report showed residential building permits dropped significantly, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, occupancy permits remained high due to construction projects in 2018 and 2019 being completed.

鈥淏ecause the city didn鈥檛 shut down our inspection services team with COVID,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淲e were able to keep inspections going and keep occupancy permits being issued.鈥�

The report also showed strong demand for all types of housing with a focus on multi-family housing types in the city core, and many larger-scale applications at various stages of the approvals process leading to the potential for lots of additional housing supply for 2022. Staff also anticipate continued interest from developers for the construction of rental housing in urban areas specifically.

Smith added the trend over the next 20 years, as the Official Community Plan (OCP) is implemented, is a heavier split to more development in the urban core.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what a lot of our in-fill programs are geared towards is that core area of 91大黄鸭 focus especially on the urban centres,鈥� said Smith.

Looking ahead to 2022, Smith said there is continued strong interest in rental construction with a number of large-scale projects coming to council over the next six to eight months.

鈥淐ertainly that鈥檚 being fuelled by low-interest rates, low vacancy rates, city incentives, and support,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been doing our best for those projects to find ways that are creative to have them meet zoning and to get the best use of our land possible in the core of the city.鈥�

Read More: The City of 91大黄鸭 has a vision for the future

Read More: Less than 1 in 10 can buy a home: Affordable housing key issue for 91大黄鸭

gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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