Sudbury new building permits down in 2017

The number of building permits issued in Sudbury is slightly down from last year.

But the city's director of building services isn't worried.

A building permit has yet to be issued for a major affordable housing unit for seniors that will be built on Paris Street, Guido Mazza said.

In April, the city approved plans to build the 6-storey, 65-unit complex at 1381 Paris Street, which they expect will be ready for occupancy in March, 2018.

• Dalron-owned company gets city approval to build 65-unit affordable housing on Paris Street

Once that happens, residential building permits should bounce back closer to last year's numbers, Mazzasaid.

"New construction is down, but our renovations in the residential sector are staying pretty well on par with what we did last year."

"So people may be making the decision to stay at home and upgrade their existing homes as opposed to jumping into a new building," he said.

Mazza said that despite the numbers, he feels Sudbury is diversified enough to weather any downturn, and that overall the statistics point to the economy "moving quite well."