The city of Asheville issued 741 new building permits during the first quarter of the year, an increase from the last three years. The figures include both new residential and commercial construction.
During the same time last year, the city issued 693 permits, just a slight increase from the 686 permits in the first quarter of 2011, and the 670 in 2010. In first quarter of 2009, the depths of the downturn, the city only issued 506 building permits. The drop in new construction has remained a major factor in the city’s annual budget gap, due to a loss of revenues from new development.
According to city staff, the permits include “single family, multi family, townhouses, duplexes, commercial, residential additions/alterations, commercial additions/alterations, and mobile home permits.”
