Regina building permits down $107M in 2014

While building permit values were down about $107 million in 2014compared to the year before, the total value is still good news, Regina's mayor says.

Permit values reached $628 million by the end of December, but the figure for 2013 was $735 million.

Mayor Michael Fougere said in a news release he was "thrilled" by the surge in values in December, and while the 2014 total isn't a record, it's more than three times higher than it was 10 years ago.

The five-year average for building permits is $622 million and the 10-year average is $477 million.

Some of the bigger permits issued in December include:

• the city's new stadium (additional work, $21 million)
• warehouse/office (new, $6 million)
• retail in Harbour Landing (new, $1 million)
• office building on Broad Street (upgrade, $4.6 million)
• Regina Police Service building (upgrade, $1.07 million)
• liquor store on North Pasqua Street (upgrade, $1.5 million)

Fougere said he's optimistic 2015 will be another strong year, with several permits expected for the stadium project and the sewage treatment plant.