Construction trade in Park City posts a solid month

The construction industry in Park City enjoyed a solid month in April, with the permits issued in the month accounting for roughly half of the value of the year-to-date figure.

The Park City Building Department reported the industry ended April having amassed a little more than $10.7 million worth of permits. The figure through April slightly trailed the number recorded through the same period last year, when a little less than $10.8 million had been processed at City Hall.

The spring is an important season for the construction industry as crews prepare to start projects. The numbers often tick upward at that time of year as permits are issued for work in the spring, summer and fall.

The numbers, though, continue to trail by a wide margin the figures that were posted in the years prior to the recession.

The department in April issued 82 building permits valued at a combined $5.8 million. Permits for four houses pushed up the month’s numbers. They were worth approximately $2.9 million combined.

Alterations and additions accounted for nearly all of the rest of the month’s dollar figure. Work on residential properties was especially notable, as a little less than $2.7 million in that category was tallied.

The $5.8 million recorded in April was well above the $1.3 million in permits issued in March and it slightly beat the number from the previous April.

The number of electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits was up from the previous month but down from the same month the previous year.

The Building Department in April conducted an average of 78 inspections each day, up from the previous month but down sharply from April 2011, when the daily tally hit 137.

The construction industry, an important segment of the Park City economy, has suffered in the years of the recession after setting records in the period prior to the economic downturn.

It is difficult to project what sort of numbers will be posted by the end of the year. There is a possibility several high-dollar permits could be issued in the coming months, but those timelines are not clear.