Business

Construction surges in county

By Bill Moss, Published: December 24, 2018

Construction is surging in Henderson County, with housing starts and residential renovation projects showing double digit increases and commercial construction soaring by 116 percent.

Overall, the value of new construction totaled $216 million in the first 11 months of 2018, up 30.2 percent over last year, figures from the Henderson County Inspections Department show. The construction value of new houses, condos and apartments rose by 8.6 percent, to $144 million, while the commercial construction value more than doubled, to $72 million.
Contractors pulled building permits for 813 residential units through November, up 45 percent from the 2017 total through 11 months of 560. Residential remodeling, at 877 permits, rose by 17 percent. New commercial permits surged by 29.6 percent, to 70 projects, while commercial remodeling, with 275 projects, grew by 32.2 percent.
The value of the remodeling work and additions rose dramatically, too, by 31.7 percent for residential building and 75.7 percent for commercial work. Overall, the value of remodeling projects rose by 52 percent, to $51 million.
The county collected $1.5 million in building permit fees so far in 2018, a 62.7 percent increase. Among the biggest jobs last month were the Bonclarken Founders Hall, Leisure Craft Warehouse, Baker Roofing, Gaia Herbs ($53,990), and GF Linamar ($89,666).
Figures for the first five months of the county’s 2018-19 fiscal year — July through November —showed growth in the number of projects but a drop in value. While housing starts rose by 24.5 percent and commercial projects climbed by 19.4 percent, the overall value of new construction, at $89 million, was 9 percent less than for the comparable period in 2017. The value of residential and commercial remodeling work nearly doubled, however, to $25.7 million, an 89.5 percent increase. The county has collected $678,297 in building permit fees this fiscal year, up 29 percent from 2017-18.