Friday, November 28, 2008

TOP STORY > >Construction down double digits

By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer

New construction is down, but Jacksonville seems to be feeling much less of the brunt than Sherwood or Cabot; both have seen drops around 60 percent. Jacksonville has fallen just 23.5 percent.

Sherwood saw $66.5 million worth of construction through the first 10 months of 2007, which includes a Walmart Supercenter, but for the same period this year has logged in just $21.7 million — a 68 percent drop.

Cabot had $41 million worth of construction in the first 10 months of 2007, which included the $9.4 million rebuilding of Cabot Junior High North, but is down to $17.3 million, a drop of 58 percent.

In Jacksonville the slide has not been so steep. For the first 10 months of 2007, the city had $26.9 million in new construction, and this year it has seen $20.6 million in construction, which includes more than $3 million for the new library.

Austin has seen a drop of more than $2 million in construction, going from $4.18 million in August through October 2007 to $1.92 million for the same time period this year.

Even Ward has seen a drop in construction. For August through October 2007, the city had $2.09 million in construction, but that fell to $1.55 million for the same three months this year.

Not only is the total value of construction down, but so are the number of permits in Cabot and Jacksonville.Cabot has gone from 250 permits issued through October 2007 to 129 for the same time period this year. Jacksonville has dropped from 263 permits to 195 and Austin went from 34 permits in August through October 2007 to 14 permits those months this year.
Ward went from 31 permits issued in August through October 2007 to 18 forthe same time period this year.

Sherwood actually has issued six more permits this year, standing at 554 compared to 548 last year, but more of this year’s permits have been for remodeling rather than new construction.

For the month of October, Cabot leads other cities in the area in value of its construction permits, standing at $4.5 million, which includes $1.74 million for a new hotel.

That $4.5 million nearly triples up on Sherwood and is about nine times more than Jacksonville’s amount for the month.

Sherwood issued 53 permits in October valued at $1.7 million, while Jacksonville issued 17 permits worth a total of $680,300 and Ward had eight permits valued at $500,875.

CABOT

Permits issued in Cabot in October include:

A $1.74 million commercial permit issued to Surraj Home Builders to construct a hotel at 1302 W. Locust St.

A $206,150 single-family home permit issued to S&H Construction to build at 138 Ridgecrest St.

A $104,325 single-family home permit issued to Paul Shield to build at 16 Elizabeth Lane.

A $100,500 single-family home permit issued to Paul Shied to build at 18 Elizabeth Lane.

A $92,050 single-family home permit issued to Pipkins Construction to build at 2802 Ewing.

SHERWOOD

Permits issued in Sherwood in October include:

A $300,000 single-family home permit issued to Renaissance Homes to build at 2101 Oakbrook.

A $250,000 single-family home permit issued to Damien Diamond to build at 3101 Clearwater Court.

A $225,000 single-family home permit issued to Bruce Engel Construction to build at 9209 Johnson.

A $180,000 single-family home permit issued to Daniel Menden Homebuilding Contractor to build at 9224 Johnson.

A $148,000 single-family home permit issued to R.B. Ewing Builders to construct a home at 4300 Community Cove.

A $145,000 single-family home permit issued to Danruthen Construction to build at 2909 Maelstrom Circle.

A $131,000 single-family home permit issued to Tim Wilson Custom Construction to build at 3409 Brundle Court.

JACKSONVILLE

Permits issued in Jacksonville in October include:

A $200,000 single-family home permit issued to Roy Smith to build at 2413 Estates Court.

A $145,000 single-family home permit issued to Greg Brock to build at 5508 Aviator.

A $145,000 commercial permit issued to Dave Grundfest Co. to build a fitness center near CiCi’s on John Harden Drive.

WARD

Permits issued in October in Ward include:

A $119,500 single-family permit issued to Charlotte Pack to build at 150 Sweetwater.

Two single-family permits issued to Ricky Miller, one for $74,700 and one for $72,000, to build at 13 Sooiee Cove and 15 Sooiee Cove.

Three $67,425 single-family home permits issued to Rausch Coleman to build at 15, 17 and 19 Green Apple Drive.