August 2016 – Eastern Ontario – Building Permits Update


AUGUST 2016 – BUILDING PERMITS UPDATE

< Go Back to Regional Permits Menu Page

Industrial permit values in Eastern Ontario increased slightly compared to Q2 last year. Underneath though there are two opposing dynamics contributing to these seemingly mediocre results. Ottawa is experiencing a massive increase in industrial permitting while the Kingston-Pembroke region is going through a decline. In Ottawa, transit station construction on the Confederation Line LRT project has pushed industrial permit values up 144%. Permit values in Kingston-Pembroke are down 60% due to lost value from the Napanee Generating Station. The project produced strong permitting numbers in Q2 last year. Ultimately these two factors have cancelled each other out and left Eastern Ontario’s industrial sector with a small increase in permit values.

Commercial permit values rose dramatically in both Ottawa and Kingston-Pembroke in Q2. Increases of 59% and 83% respectively lifted Eastern Ontario’s commercial permitting to its highest second quarter level since 2010. This growth is being driven collectively by office, retail, and mixed-use projects in Ottawa. Commercial permitting in Ottawa doesn’t show any signs of slowing down either with a variety of major projects in the planning stages. The commercial sector is the clear driver of Eastern Ontario’s ICI industry with the sector now accounting for two-thirds of total permit values.

Contrasting the commercial sector, Institutional permit values in Eastern Ontario fell to their lowest second quarter level since 2010. Ottawa and Kingston-Pembroke both fell significantly. There is at least one major project on the horizon. Bidding is scheduled in September for a new $164 million military compound in Petawawa.

The Eastern Region includes: Ottawa, Kingston, and Belleville

________________________________________

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Ian Worte
Research Analyst,
ianw@iciconstruction.com

Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS)
180 Attwell Drive, Suite 360, Toronto, ON M9W 6A9
P 416.620.5210 ext. 241
F 416.620.5310