Although the number of construction projects appears to be down so far this summer in Bellingham, there is a larger amount of bigger projects under way to keep both general contractors and subcontractors relatively busy this summer.
For the first five months of the year, there have been 387 building permits issued, compared to 401 permits issued for the same period last year, according to the City of Bellingham Building Services Division. However, the amount of money being spent on construction has skyrocketed to $66.4 million for this year, compared to $51.3 million for the first five months of 2001.
"With St. Joseph Hospital, Western Washington University, Bellingham Technical College and Lowe's working on huge projects this summer, that would explain the high valuation numbers," said Preston Burr, manager of the city's Building Services Division.
It's not just large, new buidings that are propping up the valuation numbers. The biggest jump has been in commercial alterations or remodels. So far this year, 103 commercial alteration permits have been issued, with construction costs at $23.2 million. For the same period last year, 98 permits were issued, but the valuations for those permits totaled a mere $7 million.
With other large projects expected to get …
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