Building record may be smashed
Hot year $80.7 million in building so far this year
(excerpts from article posted in the Daily Gleaner on August 25/10)

Fredericton is having another scorching construction year with $80.7 million in building racked up to the midway point of the year. If the pace continues, the city could be looking at shattering its 2006 record when total building for the year hit $132.4 million.

Construction is balanced across all sectors - residential, commercial, government and institutional. Development is very much in accordance with the municipal plan and that reflects a high degree of certainty.

A mild winter that allowed developers a good jump on the 2010 construction season has helped to get a lot of the building permits into the hopper early. Projects on the books now will also keep the city humming through the end of the year and into 2011,.

The value of residential construction in the capital city between January and June is short of the $30-million mark by $200,000. That again outpaced the 2006 numbers.

Commercial construction in Fredericton was worth $25.8 million, again a peak figure when measured against the same time period for prior years.
Multiple-unit starts were down from 2009 when 171 units were built. So far this year, 141 multiple units have been built.
Seventy-five single family homes have been constructed during the first half of the year, on par with 2009. The average permit value of a new single detached home is hovering at $172,000.

Some of the major construction projects anticipated into the latter half of this year and into 2011 include:
* 46 single detached homes in Phase 5 of Brookside West.
* 43 residential units, eight townhouses and one apartment development in the second and third phase of North Brook Subdivision off Brookside Drive.
* A 40-unit apartment building, 30 townhouses and four semi-detached units in Rainsford Gardens off Sarah's Lane.
* 80 townhouse units at 850 Kimble Dr.
* 48 residential lots in the first phase of The Meadows at Neill Farm.

Major projects planned in the commercial sector include continued expansion of Corbett Centre retail development atop Regent Street and another building at Knowledge Park.

The construction of a downtown hotel has also been approved. Other major projects that are ongoing include the Currie Center at UNB, the Shannex Senior Living Complex, the second phase of the YMCA, continued expansion and renovation of York Manor and the Grant * Harvey sports centre.