Building Boom Taking Shape

The Packet & Times

A condominium development planned for the site of the former Atlas Block manufacturing plant is a sign of Orillia's thriving construction industry, according to the Orillia and District Construction Association (ODCA).

In the zoning and draft-plan approval stage, the proposed 177-unit, 9.5-acre site is one of a few planned projects that point to healthy growth in housing development for the upcoming year, said Joe Emmons, a director with the ODCA.

"Orillia is going to get busier. There are a few fairly significant projects getting ready to come online right now," he said. "Last year, we were relatively level. Things started to come on strong near the end of the year."

In 2011, 366 dwelling units were created — 132 more than the previous year. The majority of gains in Orillia's housing starts were in multiple-residential buildings, which rose by 67% last year.

"We built some new houses last year, but we built more apartments. You can attribute that, in part, to the growing population of students," said Kelly Smith, the city's chief building official.

The growth in the student population isn't necessarily a permanent one, she noted.

Provincewide, the value of building permits rose sharply in December 2011 to $2.9 billion — the second-highest level on record — according to the provincial government.

Following that trend, the value of permits in Orillia jumped by 15% to more than $105 million from $89 million the previous year.

"It just shows that Orillia is growing at a steady rate," Smith said. "We did very well during the recession, from a building-permit standpoint."

That steady flow of business in the city’s planning and development department paralleled the local construction industry thanks, in part, to government infrastructure funding.

As the construction manager of Mariposa Homes, Emmons has seen business picking up since the last quarter of last year.

"We have 35 townhouse units, eight semi-detached and four single-family homes planned for a new street (in west Orillia) being serviced this year," he said.

He said the hope was to have half of those units completed this year.

With mortgage rates hitting a post-recession lull, residential developers saw a flood of first-time homebuyers since 2008, Emmons said, adding that trend has started petering off.

Going forward, home developers are more likely to target retirees and second-time purchasers with larger homes and condominium-style living, he said.

Image: A construction crew member works to frame a Bay Street house Tuesday. Officials say the industry is doing well both locally and provincially.