Building permit activity in Windsor took a big step back in July.

After reporting increases in three of the four previous months—including a jump of more than 130 percent in June—activity fell to just over $29 million in July. That represented a drop in values of 56 percent.

That change, coupled with the fact that July 2019 was a particularly strong month for construction activity in the city, pushed the running total of construction permit values to below 2019’s level for the first time this year. To date, the City of Windsor has issued $240.8 million worth of building permits. It issued $241.6 million for the same period a year ago.

While the number of permits issued in July 2020 (290) remained comparable to those issued in July 2019 (313), the value of permits issued fell significantly in three of the four sectors. The value of commercial-sector permits dropped from $6.3 million in 2019 to $3.6 million this year, while the value of government and institutional permits dropped from $19.7 million to just under $5.5 million. Most significant among the drops was in the residential sector, which dropped from more than $40.3 million in July 2019 to $19.4 million this year.

Only the value of industrial permits gained ground over last year’s total—riding from zero in 2019 to $833,000 this year.

On a year-to-date basis, the value of residential permits issued in the city has risen from $126 million to $164 million, while the values of permits in all three other sectors have slipped. Institutional permit values dropped from $21.1 million to $18.8 million, commercial permits values dropped from $39 million to $18 million, and government and institutional permits from $55 million to $39.7 million.

The city issued three large-value permits in July. One, for $2 million, was for alterations to the Prince Edward Elementary School on Giles Blvd East. A second, for $1.87 million, was issued for alterations to the Queen Victoria Elementary School on Victoria Avenue. The third permit was for $1.6 million for alterations to a commercial building on University Avenue.