ESTEVAN — The year-end building permit report for the City of Estevan shows overall activity was up in 2023, but the overall permit value was down by about 50 per cent from the previous year.
According to the document, released at the Jan. 8 meeting of Estevan city council, 45 permits worth $3.08 million were issued in 2023, including three permits worth $20,000 in December.
In 2022, there were 40 permits issued, but the total value was $6.14 million. The biggest difference for 2022 came through a couple of multi-family permits for seniors' condo units in north-central Estevan that generated $2.85 million.
The miscellaneous permit category once again accounted for the bulk of the activity in 2023, with 30 projects worth nearly $1.71 million. Next was commercial permits worth $960,000.
Four garages were worth $87,200 and three single-family homes had a combined $327,800 value. There were no multi-family, industrial or institutional permits issued in 2023.
The busiest month was in June, with eight permits worth $890,552 being approved.
The average value of a project requiring a permit was $59,557.89, the total permit fees collected amounted to $17,107 and the average permit fee was $342.14.
Council also received the 10-year numbers. They showed that Estevan has had 62 permits per year with an average value of more than $9.88 million, although those numbers were boosted by 2014, which was the tail end of an economic boom in the community.
The average value was $127,521.35, the average permit fees amounted to $1,366.23, and the total permit fees for an average year was $106,526.36.
