Growth In The Friendly City

Monday, 11 March 2019 06:18

Council's 2018 Annual Building Report says the residential construction values were the front runner, generating close to 147 million dollars.

WOODSTOCK - Woodstock City council released their Annual Building Report for 2018.

Residential construction values were the strongest across all sectors, making up for 69% of the total construction value.

Mayor Trevor Birtch says it shows how much the community continues to grow.

"Last year we saw a very large increase in residential permits, so a lot of new single family homes, as well as town homes, semi's, condos and apartments. And again, that's just a sign of the growth here in the community with the employment and the new jobs that are here, there's a lot of people looking to make the Friendly City their home."

Birtch says the strong numbers indicate that Woodstock is a great place to live.

"Woodstock has a proactive council and we have a lot of great members in the business community that continue to tell their contacts and neighbours about what a great opportunity there is here at the crossroads of Southwestern Ontario. Not just just to run your business, but also to raise your family and to enjoy culture."

Council received the report at their latest meeting, put together by Manager of Building & Facilities Craig Wallace.

The construction activity remains strong for the fourth consecutive year, generating $213,373,894.51 in 2018, increasing from $184 million in 2017.

The residential construction value this year was $146,850,929.00, increasing from $102 million in 2017. The number of residential units doubled to 634 dwelling units, compared to the 307 dwelling units in 2017. 578 residential permits were issued as well.

The report says the industrial construction value was also strong. It made up for 24 percent of this year's total construction value, generating $51,570,419.23. That was a slight drop from 2017 when the sector's value was $55.5 million. Notable projects included additions and renovations at Toyota, the Soprema plant and a multi-industrial building on 468 Innovation Way.

There was a slight increase within the commercial sector, bringing its total estimated construction value to $12,711,046.28 in 2018, compared to last year's value of $10.6 million. Some of the larger projects included a new commercial plaza on 1534 Dundas Street, a commercial plaza at 805 Vansittart Avenue and Image Health addition at 630 Dundas Street.

The institutional sector construction value was $2,241,500.00, dropping from $16.1 million last year. The primary construction project was the addition to the City of Woodstock Firehall, generating a construction value of $1.8 million.