Construction in Windsor has never been hotter.

The City of Windsor issued more than $419 million worth of building permits in 2019—the highest ever total issued since the city began recording building permit values in the 1990s, and a far cry beyond the previous record of $287 million it issued for the whole of 2018.

By far the largest permit issued by the city—at $45 million—was for an addition and interior alterations to the University of Windsor’s St. Denis Athletic Centre. The city also issued a permit worth $15.4 million for an addition to the Buske Logistics warehouse on Sprucewood Avenue, and another for $10 million for the 152-unit West Bridge Place apartment building on Wyandotte Street West.

Curiously, the city issued fewer construction permits in 2019 than it did in 2018.

Three of the four construction sectors in the city saw growth—some significant—in 2019. The value of residential construction permits, for example, jumped from $153 million to $224 million.

In addition to the permit for the West Bridge Place apartments, the city issued two initial construction permits of $8.3 million each and a third permit for $1.3 million for footings and foundations for the new seven-storey Eastside Horizons condo buildings on Banwell Road.

Residential construction as a whole was hot in Windsor last year. The city issued nearly 100 more permits for single-family homes than it did in 2018. The value of those permits reached $95.8 million—compared with $57.8 million a year ago. The value of permits issued for apartment buildings hit a record high of $41.2 million, with nearly 350 permits issued, compared to none in 2018.

The number of industrial-sector permits issued by the city was nearly unchanged compared with a year ago (51 in 2018 and 50 in 2019), but the value of those permits jumped from $16.5 million to $30.1 million. By far the largest industrial-sector permits issued was for the $15-million Buske warehouse project. The next largest—for an addition to a property on Anchor Drive—was valued at $700,000.

Activity in the government and institutional sector was also strong in 2019. Permit values jumped from $57.7 million in 2018 to $109.5 million in 2019. In addition to the $45-million permit issued for the St. Denis Athletic Centre, the city also issued permits worth $7.5 million and $5.6 million for new soccer and tennis facilities at St. Clair College, and one worth nearly $6 million for a new elementary school on Mercer Street.

Only the commercial sector experienced a drop in activity in 2019. The number of permits issued dropped from 412 to 312, and the value from $60.6 million to $55.8 million. The largest commercial permit issued was worth $3.25 million for construction of a Walmart on Dougall Avenue.