There were a lot of shovels in the ground, and foundations being laid in West Nipissing over 2019.
As indicated by the building permit report that council received on Tuesday, there were nearly 200 more permits issued than in 2018, for a combined total value of $23 million.
“2019 was a great year,” Mayor Joanne Savage said. “We were able to see there was an increase in either renovations or new construction of seasonal dwelling. There were also 40 permits that were issued for demolition that will hopefully assimilate for new growth and new construction.”
Hosting a world-class event such as the International Plowing Match helped as well, as 55 permits were issued for the five-day attraction. A lot of areas saw increases, such as single-family dwellings jumped from 22 to 27, Commercial and Industrial from 41 to 46.
With budget meetings still ongoing, Savage doesn’t expect to see these numbers reflected until the 2021 budget.
“Council was informed that new assessment doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to be captured in 2020,” she explained. “It all depends when the construction timeline is completed and occupancy permits are being provided. The majority of times, by the time the completion of the entire project is done and the assessments are completed, the assessment can be relatively higher than what was the building permit value.”
“We will definitely see some of the benefits of these new constructions, hopefully by 2021,” she added. “If we compare ourselves to our location and our tax break in comparison to the large urban centres to the east and west of us, there’s a lot of advantages to call West Nipissing home.”