Optimism for Calgary’s construction industry as permit applications boom

Calgary’s construction industry is seeing a rebound from the start of the pandemic.

The City of Calgary says it received 21,055 building permit applications in 2021, compared to the 10-year median of 16,598 and the 18,181 received in 2020.

Residential construction value for 2021 was $3.6 billion, the highest it has been since 2015. Non-residential construction value finished at $2.1 billion, the highest number the city has seen since 2017.

The total construction value of $5.7 billion is up 68 per cent compared to the $3.4 billion reported in 2020.

“Calgarians are optimistic about the future of our city and that is being reflected in both the residential and commercial building permit numbers,” said Mayor Jyoti Gondek in a news release Thursday.

“Businesses and homeowners are investing in their neighbourhoods and that is, in turn, driving economic growth and creating jobs.”

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The city says developers and builders are investing more in present-day Calgary, with development permit applications up five per cent over 2020.

“The development application submission numbers reveal an interesting story about the construction landscape,” said Stuart Dalgleish, general manager of planning & development.

“We are seeing strong indicators of redevelopment happening in established areas of the city, homeowners looking for flexibility to enable home renovations and land ownership changes as Calgary continues to grow and change.”

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Outdoor café submissions saw the most significant increase, with 285 applications in 2021 compared to 89 in 2020.

“In the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic started, many industries were impacted by the effects of the virus, the construction industry in Calgary is no exception,” said director of Calgary building services Brenda Desjardins.

“Twenty-twenty construction values were some of our lowest, with early signs pointing to the same for 2021, but despite the pandemic, we’ve exceeded our 10-year median for construction value and permit applications by over 25 per cent.”

Permits were handed out for some very significant developments, including the $317-million BMO Centre expansion, a $92-million mixed-use building near Central Memorial Park and a $68-million active seniors building on Macleod Trail.

Building permit application values are available by ward and community on calgary.ca.

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