Prince George, B.C. – Prince George is open for business “It’s been a very long time since we have seen two cranes working on different sites in the City” says Prince George Mayor Lyn Hall.

The building permit value   for the  first half of the year,  totals  $70.8 million.  “I don’t know if that’s a record” said  Councillor Albert Koehler,  “It  very clearly shows,  that something is happening, that construction is going on, significant construction which,  in my opinion, the two major projects will be game changers in this community.”

While it would be easy to  pull the permit value of  the Riverbend  Seniors complex from the mix and say the year to date figure is closer to $50 million, that doesn’t erase the number of permits issued  January to  end of June this year.

As of the end of June, there have been 218 permits issued.  That’s  about 100 more than the same period in 2014,  and  nearly  three times the number (80)  issued January to end of  June  in 2015.

Councillor Garth Frizzell says  while the City has always been saying it is “open for business” that is the message that is now being  expressed by developers.  In the case of  both the Riverbend Seniors development and the Courtyard Marriott hotel, developers  praised the City  and the  Development Services  Department for   their efforts to bring projects to   life.

Mayor Hall says the  two major projects are an affirmation  that Prince George is on the right path “I think  the economic  impact around employment and the companies in town  who depend on these  big projects   When we take a look at those  two projects, 90% of those dollars are private sector  dollars.  When the private sector decides to invest in your community  you know they have faith in what we’re doing as a community and faith in what Prince George is all about.”