Longview commercial, residential construction dip in 2015

​LONGVIEW - New home and commercial construction in Longview took a dive in 2015, with builders pointing to a faltering oil and gas industry as the culprit. 

New home construction fell almost 15 percent in 2015 from a year earlier and new commercial construction fell by more than half, according to building permit information provided by the City of Longview.

Residential and commercial remodeling increased in 2015, however, helping push the total number of permits issued in both the residential and commercial categories up year over year.

However, the construction value of those permits was down because of the decrease in new single-family home and new commercial construction.

The number of permits issued for construction of single- and two-family homes was down 21 percent from 2014. The valuation of those permits fell almost 24 percent.

• 2015: 167 permits, $29.2 million
• 2014: 211 permits, $38.4 million

However, multifamily construction was up from 2014.

• 2015: 8 permits, $3.3 million
• 2014: 2 permits, $1.3 million

New commercial construction saw a large decrease in 2015 from 2014.

• 2015: 12 permits, $13.7 million
• 2014: 32 permits, $83.8 million

Commercial renovations and additions saw an increase in the number of projects but had a significant drop in value.

• 2015: 237 permits, $29.4 million
• 2014: 206 permits, $40.9 million​