CALGARY - The City of Calgary finished 2009 with $3.66 billion worth of building permits, down only nine per cent from 2008 ($4.04 billion*) and up 11 per cent compared to the ten year average ($3.32 million).

 "Over the past year we have seen a focus shift from new projects to improvement projects because of the home renovation tax credit and back to new projects at the end of the year," says David Watson, general manager of Planning, Development & Assessment. "Despite all the fluctuation we experienced, there has still been a great deal of activity, new and improvement, that happened in our city and our year end numbers reflect that."

For the month of December residential values more than doubled ($153 million) compared to the same period last year ($44.6 million).  Non-residential is up 86 per cent to $452.5 million from $205.9 million in December 2008.

"There has also been an increase to the levels of single and multi-family permits coming in at the end of 2009 which we expect is a sign of a more balanced residential market," says Watson, "The projects in December alone, Lumino, Lighthouse Landing, Riverside, Salix, and Prospect Hill show that the industry is looking at a variety of housing forms, which is a great way to end the year."

In 2009, residential permits are up four per cent to $1.44 billion compared to $1.38 billion at the end of 2008, indicating a shift in focus from the smaller improvement projects that were taking place earlier in the year back to larger new residential projects happening now.

Some notable residential projects for the year include Rocky Ridge Retirement Residence ($21 million), Lumino ($11 million), Lighthouse Landing Apartments ($9.2 million) and Riverside Townhomes in Chaparral (totalling $496 million for four separate improvement applications).

Some notable non-residential projects for the year include the South Health Campus ($371.9 million), The Bow-tenant improvements ($204.5 million), Bow Valley College South Campus ($117.6 million) and Telus World of Science - New Science Centre ($69.8 million) among many others.

Building permits are a barometer of intentions in the construction industry and are not actual construction starts.

*Year-end numbers for 2008 have been adjusted to reflect permit cancellations or changes that were received after December 31, 2008.