December building permits in the city of Calgary more than doubled from $44.6 million to $153 million compared with 2008 levels, leaving overall 2009 permits down only nine per cent from 2008.
Overall, 2009 finished with $3.66 billion worth of building permits, down from $4.04 billion in 2008.
According to David Watson, general manager of Planning, Development and Assessment the city received a boost from those seeking improvements because of the federal government’s renovation tax credit.
“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,” Watson said.
The end of the year also marked an increase in permits for single and multi-family units and Watson said he expects a more balanced residential market in 2010.
“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,” Watson said.
