By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Area construction has clearly rebounded from the lows of 2011. Cabot’s commercial construction was up nearly tenfold from 2011 to 2012, and overall building permit values were up 300 percent.
The value of construction in Jacksonville more than doubled from 2011 to 2012 and in Sherwood it came close to doubling.
Lonoke and Ward also saw increases. Only Austin had a drop in construction values.
In Cabot, even though three fewer permits were issued in 2012, compared to 2011, the value more than tripled.
In 2011, Cabot permits for single-family homes and commercial projects came to $14.7 million, but in 2012 it shot up to $52.3 million.
Cabot commercial projects alone went from $4.2 million in 2011 to $40.6 million in 2012. A gated apartment complex project valued at $22 million, plus school facilities and a new Dollar General led the commercial boon.
Single-family home permits jumped about $1 million, going from $10.5 million to 11.7 million in 2012.
Construction permits were up by more than 100 in 2012 and the value of work nearly twice that of 2011 in Sherwood. In Jacksonville the number of permits jumped by 58 and the value jumped by 110 percent.
In 2012, Sherwood issued 652 building permits worth $42.8 million, compared to 535 permits worth $23.8 million in 2011. For Jacksonville, 228 permits were issued in 2012 with a total value of $28.9 million, compared to 170 permits worth $13.2 million in 2011.
Six of eight categories of Sherwood building permits were up in 2012, especially commercial construction, up over 400 percent from 2011 and single-family construction up 50 percent.
Commercial construction came in at $11.3 million in 2012, compared to $2.1 million in 2011.
Single-family home construction went up from $13.7 million in 2011 to $21.9 million in 2012 with 144 permits being issued.
Commercial remodeling in Sherwood was up, based on permits, going from $5.7 million to $6.9 million; home remodeling moved up slightly from $1.5 million in 2011 to $1.7 million in 2012, swimming pool permits went up from $211,000 to $475,000 and the value of fence permits went from $289,000 to $353,000.
Only storage building permits fell slightly, dropping from $190,000 down to $154,000.
For the second year in a row, Sherwood issued no multi-family construction permits.
Sherwood finished the year on a high note issuing 25 permits in December worth a total of $1.5 million compared to 36 permits in December 2011 worth just $577,000.
In Jacksonville, five of the seven permit categories showed improvement from 2011 to 2012.
Commercial permits jumped from $5.6 million in 2011 to $10.2 million in 2012; commercial remodeling jumped from $2.8 million to $6.5 million; single-family home permits went up from $3.4 million to $9.8 million, multi-family permits jumped from none in 2011 to $875,000 in 2102; and remodeling permits moved up from $660,000 to $989,000.
Permits for additions such as sheds, pools, room additions and garages dropped, falling from $726,000 in 2011 to $601,000 in 2012. No permits were issued for HUD rehabs in either year.
In Lonoke, the value of construction jumped from $3.4 million in 2011 to $11.4 million in 2012. For the year, 39 permits totaling $11.4 million, mostly miscellaneous permits such as remodels, room additions, fences and sheds but 2012 permits also included four homes, a McDonald’s, a Waffle House and a gym for the school district.
Ward issued eight less permits in 2012, but the value jumped by $600,000. In 2011, the city issued 76 permits, including 46 for single-family homes, worth $3.5 million. In 2012, 68 permits were issued, including 57 for homes, worth $4.1 million.
Austin saw almost a $2 million drop in permit value from 2011 to 2012. In 2012, the city issued 58 permits, 57 for homes and one for a new Dollar General Store, valued at $7.2 million. The year before, the city issued 76 permits, 75 for homes and one for a daycare, valued at $9 million.
Dollars figures weren’t available for Beebe, but permits jumped by more than 50 percent from 2011 to 2012.
In 2011, the city issued 52 permits, including 28 for homes, two for duplexes and three for commercial projects. In 2012, permits jumped to 83, including 45 for homes, two triplexes, three apartment complexes and 10 commercial projects.
