By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
6/11/09
Despite a sluggish economy, the Building Department is about on track with the number of permit applications it traditionally handles in a year.
According to recent data, the department is receiving similar volumes
of requests for construction and home repairs, despite the economic uncertainty.
Building Commissioner Joseph Prondak said it is a “good sign” that residents are in positive financial shape.
“We’ve remained pretty steady for the most part,” he said. “I think it’s a great thing. People are still fixing their homes.”
Despite his prediction in December that permit requests would drop off even more than they usually do during the slower winter months, Prondak said he was surprised to see the numbers have actually “remained within a normal flux” over that time.
Although the Building Department is still in the process of moving all of its data onto a new system, and has not yet done in-depth comparisons, Prondak said the winter months were not “as bad as we thought they would be.”
“We seem to remain in the same ballpark we see from year to year,” he said.
And the numbers seem to bear that out. According to Building Department records, from the beginning of the fiscal year last July 1 to the end of April, the department issued 706 building permits, nearly identical to the 709 permits issued during the same July-to-April stretch in fiscal year 2008, and higher than the 664 it issued from July to April of FY 07.
Over that time, the department also collected $563,750 in permit fees, also similar to last year’s figures.
Permits granted to new dwellings have gone up slightly – from four in FY 08 to five so far in FY 09. The most recent was a permit issued Feb. 27 for condominiums at 10 Adams St., part of the old mill renovations at the Extra Space Storage property located at 2 Adams St. A new building, yet to be constructed, is valued at around $5.83 million and will likely contain 18 to 20 condo units, Prondak said.
The Building Department in February also granted a new-dwelling permit for condos at 36 Central Ave., where 14 to 18 units will likely be built, he said. That project is valued at around $3.09 million.
The department charges $12 per every $1,000 of the estimated cost of a project.
Meanwhile, Prondak said renovations are “about halfway complete” at 550 Adams St., the building that will open as a restaurant called Abby Park. Vance Welch, who formerly operated Java Jo’s in East Milton Square, is the proprietor.
Prondak said he thinks the restaurant could open by August.
“It’s not impossible to have it open by July [as signs on the windows announce],” he said. “You never know.”