Prince George is ending 2023 in a building slump.
In November, a total of 22 building permits were issued by the City of Prince George, made up of six commercial/industrial permits and 16 residential permits. This includes the approval of a five-story, 59-unit apartment complex at 1070 Patricia Blvd.
The report also shows the total year-to-date figure for 2023 is 374 permits, worth approx. $149.9 million.
The year-to-date figure is down from the previous year, with 2022 having 471 permits worth $248.6 million.
“It's really heartening because from here, we can only go up there is no further down,” said Coun. Garth Frizzell at Monday night’s council meeting. “I know that during November and December, construction eases off and we can't expect to see the numbers climbing up.”
Deanna Wasnik, director of planning and development, said they are hoping that 2024 will see more permits than 2023 encouraged by things like housing incentives.
“Being down $99 million is a very disappointing way to end 2023,” said Coun. Cori Ramsay. “Economists are projecting that this will continue into midway of 2024 as well. It is disappointing after having multiple record-breaking years in a row. I know that Ms. Wasnik’s team works incredibly hard and diligently on this, especially given all the five or six pieces of legislation that have come out recently, that we're going to have to navigate throughout 2024.”
The value of building permits issued by the city set new record highs for several consecutive years.
In 2021, the city issued a total of 460 permits worth a combined $237.2 million and in 2020 the city issued 532 permits worth a combined $220.99 million.
