Lake Country in Okanagan sets record for construction
Daybreak South | CBC News | Posted: January 13, 2016 9:05 PM | Last Updated: January 13, 2016
$68 million of construction investment went into the Central Okanagan community in 2015
The Okanagan's Lake Country set a record for construction in 2015, with $68 million in building projects — the busiest year in its 20-year history.
The figure represents a 36 per cent increase over the previous year, according to the district, which says it is the fastest growing community in British Columbia.
"We're feeling very upbeat about investment in Lake Country," said Mark Koch, the district's director of community services.
Koch told Daybreak South host Chris Walker that investment has included large residential projects such as the LakeStone and The Lakes developments, as well as a number of projects in the town centre.
He said that over the years since the community was incorporated in 1995, investment from construction has averaged around $30 million a year.
Increase in density
Last year 339 permits were issued for a variety of construction projects. They included 113 permits for single-family dwellings, 18 multi-family dwellings, 22 commercial permits and 12 for agriculture.
Koch said the district has been pleased to see more multi-family units being built, as much of the land in the region is in the Agricultural Land Reserve.
"We are seeing a lot of activity in the townhome centre which is great to see from a limited land base perspective, where we're trying to develop gracefully with the limited land base that we have," Koch said.
Koch said the projects are putting a lot of money into the community.
"It helps council achieve a number of projects without having to put that burden on the taxpayer, so I think everyone benefits with that," he said.
To hear the full story listen to the audio labelled: Construction growth booming in Lake Country