Mississauga Set to Welcome Significant Influx of Construction Projects
Published February 8, 2018 at 7:54 pm
If there’s one thing Mississauga isn’t afraid of, it’s growth–and lots of it.
The city that’s tackling a range of infrastructure and development projects (the Hurontario LRT, Inspiration Lakeview, Inspiration Port Credit, Reimagining the Mall and more) recently announced that it issued more than 4,000 construction permits in 2017, an increase of approximately eight per cent from the previous year.
The total value of construction permits remains at $1.3 billion for the third consecutive year.
“Mississauga is a leading destination where people choose to build a more promising future,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “With our strong economy, an educated workforce and good transportation network, Mississauga continues to be a forward thinking and growing city. These significant and ongoing building investments help strengthen Mississauga’s tax base which allows council to fund future projects and important resident priorities we all rely on, including libraries, community centres and public transit.”
A vibrant and developing city could also (in theory, at least) look good to Amazon–a company that’s considering the GTA as a possible future site for its second North American headquarters (HQ2).
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The city says it issued permits 10 per cent faster than in previous years with the full integration of ePlans into the building permit process.
Approximately 79,000 building inspections were also completed by the city on permits issued.
According to the city, life has also been made a little easier for residents who want to register secondary units (better known as basement apartments).
“We have made the process easier and more efficient for anyone wanting to submit a building permit,” said Ed Sajecki, commissioner, planning and building. “We’ve also experienced a 40 per cent increase in permits issued on first submissions. There has been greater collaboration with the public to ensure that second units can be registered easily and constructed safely.”
It’s important to note that the city has a vested interest in registering more secondary units, as the suites are typically less costly and can count towards Mississauga’s affordable housing inventory–something that a city with a rental vacancy rate of just 1.6 per cent (a healthy rate is three per cent) needs.
As for the numbers break down, the city says it issued $516 million in residential permits, $417 million in industrial permits, $283 million in commercial permits and $46 million in other permits for schools, government buildings and churches.
The city says the permits indicate a thriving local economy.
“The value of construction permits is the result of strong, sustainable and balanced growth in Mississauga,” said Ezio Savini, chief building officer. “The greatest increase saw the value of industrial permits reach $417 million, up from $192 million in 2016, which can also be attributed to Mississauga’s strong economy and continued growth in the knowledge-based sector.”
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