Hamilton could break record with $2 billion in building permits by year end

Hamilton is on the verge of shattering previous annual building permit records in 2021, with nearly $2 billion worth of construction value.

Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson said during a gathering of Shannex Inc. officials at their new three, three-storey retirement building complex under construction on Golf Links Road, that Hamilton could reach $2 billion worth of construction value this year.

The city, he said, has broken every record in the city in the value of building permits."

He said by the end of September, the city had $1.6 billion in building permits for industrial, institutional, commercial and residential construction, surpassing the previous record of $1.26 billion.

It's probably going to hit $2 billion this year," said Ferguson.

Hamilton officials confirmed the city is on pace to reach the $2-billion mark.

The city issued a news released in July trumpeting it had exceeded $1 billion in building permits for 2021 by the end of June, the earliest it had reached the billion-dollar mark in construction value. The previous time it had hit the $1 billion-dollar target was back in August 2019. Hamilton has now reached the $1-billion mark 11 out of the past 12 years.

In 2019, the city topped $1.5 billion in building permits, at the time a record in residential construction.

City officials said the total construction value is comprised of 65 per cent residential and 32 per cent industrial/commercial/institutional. Residential has jumped 55 per cent over the three-year average.

Ferguson said the high number of building permits has created a backlog in the city's planning approval process. The delays were compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, which forced city employees to work from home.

It slows the whole process down," he said.

Ferguson, though, has been critical in the past that even though the city has experienced record-breaking years of building permits, they don't translate into lower taxes fast enough for residents. Homeowners, according to a recent city report, still account for 87 per cent of Hamilton's assessment or about 77 per cent of the tax bill. The city's industrial and commercial businesses account for only about 13 per cent.

We need more commercial and industrial assessment," he has stated. We've been saying that for ages."

City officials have touted the fact Hamilton has become a destination location for large-scale industrial and commercial development, with high-profile companies relocating into the city's industrial parks such as Ancaster, Waterdown and the Red Hill.

Recently, DHL Express Canada held a grand opening for its $100-million, 240,000-square-foot bright yellow building at Hamilton International Airport. While nearby, the city is waiting for Amazon Canada to open its new 855,000-square-foot fulfilment centre, adjacent to the airport sometime later in 2021.

And beside the Amazon facility, Panattoni's first speculative project, a 264,534-square-foot facility, which offered 1.6 million square feet of space, has already been filled with new businesses, say city officials.

In addition, Fengate acquired 75 acres on Homestead Drive, adjacent to the airport. The goal, said Fengate officials, is to rezone the property and create a one-million-square-foot industrial park.

The city is also seeing construction start on the ambitious Copps' Pier 8 promenade in Hamilton West Harbour.

Over the past few years the city has seen the opening of Quebec-based Corbec Galvanizing's new plant at the Red Hill Business Park and the L3 Wescam headquarters in Waterdown.