Photo: Colton Davies
After seeing the highest value of construction in more than a decade last year, the Town of Osoyoos is on pace to have more construction this year than in 2017.
Through the first eight months of this year, the value of building permits issued in the town was just over $10.8 million—just over $1 million more than what it was at the same time last year.
Similar to 2017, town manager Barry Romanko pointed out new residential development accounts for most of that building value.
To date, 25 building permits have been issued for single-family homes, collectively worth just over $9.5 million.
“I just talked to the building inspector and he’s got five [more] on his table right now.”
Driving those permits is a new small-lot subdivision on Raven Court—near the new fire hall—and infill at the Dividend Ridge subdivision near Osoyoos Golf Club.
“Small-lot development provides for more entry-level housing,” Romanko said on the Raven Court homes, which have been under construction since last year. He added those homes are on property leftover from land the town bought for its fire hall, which it sold to a developer.
Romanko said interest in commercial building is currently high as well. Building permit applications are expected to come soon for a new KFC restaurant and a new Great Canadian Oil Change service centre, which are both in the midst of a re-zoning process.
Also planned, he said, is “a new commercial development at our industrial lot at the airport, and we’re also just waiting for the plans to come in on a new Home Builder’s facility as well.”
Romanko stopped short of calling the spike in construction a “building boom,” saying it rather shows incremental growth in the community.
“I think it’s great so many new people are choosing to move to Osoyoos.”
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