After a strong start to the year, construction activity in Windsor took a step back in February.

A report issued by the City of Windsor Building Department last month shows construction volumes of approximately $19.6 million for the month. That figure is down significantly from January’s total output of $37.8 million, and down slightly from the February 2019 total of $23.3 million.

The city issued permits for 212 projects in February. Of that total, 177 were in the residential sector, where permit values hit $14.6 million—about $4 million more than they did in February 2019. Permit activity in the government and institutional sector dropped from $11.9 million in February 2019 to $3.7 million last month, while commercial activity experienced only a small drop to $1.1 million.

The largest-value permit issued by the city in February was for $2.6 million for an addition to the Académie Ste-Cécile elementary school on Cousineau Road. The next largest permit issued was for $699,000 for a softball complex and parking area at St. Clair College.

The largest permit issued by the city for the year to date was valued at $18 million. That permit was issued for a five-storey student residence at St. Clair College. The residence building will include 512 beds and will deploy modular technology so that the building envelope will be built in just 45 days. The college is targeting project completion in October or November, with a targeted occupancy date of January 2021. The total value of the project is $23 million.

For the year to date in 2020, construction volumes remain comfortably ahead of last year’s pace. Windsor builders have so far taken out 429 permits worth a total of $57.4 million. At this point last year, the city had issued 466 permits worth a combined $34.3 million.