While the town has issued fewer building permits this year than in 2022, the value of those builds is triple the previous year’s numbers.
A control bylaw that required council exceptions for building permits lifted in July, but the town's chief building officer doesn't consider it a source of significant impact on the local building industry.
Other factors such as inflation, interest rates, construction material supply and workforce availability are, however, influencing the trends in building permits, according to the town’s chief building officer Tammy Hogg.
“A significant focus this year has been on closing open permits, resulting in the closure of 483 permits to date,” noted Hogg in an email interview with CollingwoodToday. “This marks a considerable improvement from the 182 permits closed during the same period last year.”
A building permit is closed after the town completes its final inspection on the project.
This year, Collingwood has issued 419 building permits which marks a slight decrease from the 467 permits issued during the same period in 2022.
The construction value of permits in 2023 to date stands at $324.9 million, an increase from the $109.7 million recorded in the same period of 2022.
Year-to-date the town has completed 4,140 building inspections this year, compared to 3,896 in 2022.
Occupancy inspections for low-rise residential units have totalled 129, slightly lower than the 148 conducted last year, however Hogg notes this number does not include apartment units.
“Collingwood is seeing an increase in multi-residential construction, particularly low-rise apartment buildings,” said Hogg, noting that recent development approvals include 469 apartment units, reflecting a growing demand for such housing options.
“Additionally, there is a noticeable trend in re-purposing existing buildings to support intensification,” she said.
Permit revenues to the town are rebounding from 2022 numbers, reaching $842,000 year-to-date in 2023 compared to $765,000 in 2022.
“(This) aligns closely with the five-year average of pre-COVID numbers recorded from 2015 to 2019 ($820,280),” said Hogg.
