Big building projects the trend in Kamloops, Kamloops This Week

This article appeared in the Kamloops This Week on August 27th, 2012 and was written by Andrea Klassen.

Complex, big-ticket construction projects are the trend in Kamloops for 2012, according to a mid-year report from the city’s development and engineering services department.

Total construction value for the year is now over the $100-million mark, but director Marvin Kwiatkowski noted many of the city’s application numbers are below the 10-year average through the first half of 2012.

Development variance and rezoning applications are both below average.

Residential-construction numbers are also down this year, with 224 applications worth $44 million compared to 264 worth $56.5 million by this time last year.

What’s pushed the city well ahead of its original $120-million target for construction in 2012 is commercial building, Kwiatkowski said.

While the city has issued 90 permits this year compared to 97 at this time in 2011, the value of this year’s projects is more than double — $54 million compared to $24 million.

Kwiatkowski said the “value of the projects to the community” is increasing, pointing to a rezoning for Hugh Allen Drive that will see a $4-million building replaced with a $25-million hotel.

“It is indicative of the confidence that the development community currently has in Kamloops,” he added in the report.

On the business side, however, Kamloops’ numbers are looking flatter this year.

The total number of business licences in the city is slightly higher than this time last year, but new business starts are below both the city’s five-year average and 2011 numbers.

This year, there were 375 new licences given out, compared to 421 last year.