Development Smashes A Number Of Records

PRINCE GEORGE – 2018 has been a banner year for development in Prince George. It has smashed the value of building permit records. $169 million, easily surpassing the previous record of $147 million set in 2007. Economist Al Idiens says there’s a couple of reasons for that.

“One is the population increase,” he says. “We’ve been increasing by about two and a half percent per year over the last few years. And that comes to, roughly, about 1,800 new people every year coming in.

Another reason is that many seniors are opting to stay in Prince George and that changes the requirements around housing stock. And therein is another record. The value of residential building permits topped $100 million.

The best news is that $135 million, or 80%, of the total permits, were issued for public projects. Mayor Lyn Hall says this kind of growth is unlikely to continue forever.