The City of North Bay is applauding some impressive construction numbers for the first nine months of 2022.
The City of North Bay announced Thursday that it has issued more than $200 million in building permits so far this year, surpassing last year’s all-time record of more than $150 million.
“I’m extremely proud that we are experiencing another record year for construction in North Bay,” said Mayor Al McDonald.
“These numbers show that families, businesses, and industry continue to want to build in North Bay and have the confidence to invest in our community.”
McDonald credits community partners, and all levels of government for helping to create this success story. He believes that being prepared for uncertainty was key.
"The pandemic provided challenges but also opportunities for us because of all the investment in infrastructure we made to the airport industrial park which was ready to go," noted McDonald.
"We had infrastructure down Pinewood Park Drive that allowed the casino to open. We were ready to go. Now we did not know a pandemic was coming of course but we were prepared. So it was kind of criticized for 'build it and they will come,' and thank God that we did build it because we were ready for the pandemic. But there is no question that our focus was on job creation, rolling out the red carpets for industry."
According to the city, more than $510 million in building permits have been issued by the City since 2019.
"I think half a billion dollars in construction in the past four years, I think instills a lot of confidence that people want to invest in the City of North Bay and I think that is a good thing," said McDonald.
“As a City, we’ve worked hard to help facilitate development and I would like to thank those who made the choice to invest in our City. We believe this trend will continue next year given the pent-up demand in our City for residential, commercial and industrial serviced land.”
Of the 2022 year-to-date total, more than $125 million represents the construction value of institutional developments in the city. Residential development makes up more than $45.5 million, more than $14.6 million is from commercial projects, industrial projects add up to more than $17 million and another $2 million is the result of miscellaneous projects throughout the city.
Year-to-date commercial, institutional, and industrial construction values are all up over last’s year’s year-end totals and year-to-date residential construction values are slightly higher than the $43.6 million that they were sitting at this time last year. Residential construction values eventually climbed to $78.4 million by the end of 2021, with 245 total new dwelling units. Total new dwelling units so far this year are at 112.
