Work at sites like the Kin Centre Arenas gets a boost from this summer’s good weather

Prince George, BC – The President of the Prince George Construction Association says the 2013 building season is following well on the heels of a strong 2012.

While July’s building permit and development permit values won’t be available until the August 26th City Council meeting, figures at the end of June show the year-to-date value of $46.9-million dollars. 

That figure is down from last year’s permit values of $79.6-million for the first six months of 2012,but Roz Thorn points out construction started on the new $40-million dollar RCMP building during that period. (click here, for recent story on that project) 

Permit values for the first six months of 2011 totalled $35-million dollars.

Thorn says, "Locally, it’s really encouraging to see a number of small- to medium-size commercial projects."  In addition to the continuing work on the RCMP building and the major renovation of the Kin Centre Arenas, the PGCA President highlights a couple of new car dealerships and a number of smaller commercial projects as evidence of confidence in the regional and provincial economy.

With a number of major industrial projects looming on the horizon, Thorn says this level of activity and development is often the ‘infrastructure’ that goes in beforehand.  "We have certainly seen a number of major suppliers that have either moved into the area, or are looking to move into the area or the city, so that they’re poised for the larger projects as they come on-stream."

An unexpected bonus to this summer’s building season has been all the sunshine.  "If you have a summer like this, it certainly helps to move projects forward a little more quickly."