Building activity has seen a steep upswing around town, with Vernon processing nearly 1,000 applications so far this year.
“Overall, 975 applications have been processed this year — the highest level of the past five years,” economic development and tourism manager John Perrott said in a report to city council.
The total number of permits year to date is 310, just off of record highs of 327 in 2017 and 324 in 2018. But the value of construction, $121 million, is the highest in the past five years.
Among the buildings under construction are two new restaurants and a car wash at 27th Street and 37th Avenue.
Triple O’s and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen are confirmed for the site.
The two restaurants will share one building and include two drive-thrus.
“We will be excited to see that open later on,” Perrott said.
There is also an $11-million expansion at Okanagan Spring, which is expected to be completed by spring in order to meet summer beer demand.
“The third quarter of 2021 was a very busy and robust quarter with 113 applications and permit values exceeding $48 million,” Perrott’s report reads. “This significant increase is attributable to an increase in single-family dwelling permits, multi-family permits and new institutional construction (second phase of My Place, a BC Housing project).”
Real estate activity boomed in August with 191 transactions, driven by residential sales.
Despite all the new activity, some long-standing buildings are also expanding.
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