Tyler commercial permit valuations up 169 percent

TYLER – Commercial building permit valuations totaled $125.4 million in 2013, a 169.1 percent increase from $46.6 million 2012. The City of Tyler saw 64 commercial buildings constructed in 2013, a 20.76 percent spike from 53 new building permits in 2012, according to Michael F. Wilson, development services engineer for the city.

There is an estimated half billion dollars’ worth of commercial construction currently underway, including:

•  the City of Tyler’s $7.2 million Fair Plaza Garage;
•  Tyler Junior College’s $8 million Rogers Nursing & Health Sciences Center;
•  Tyler Independent School District’s $27.692 million Career & Technology Education Center;
•  the $35 million Smith County Jail expansion;
•  Grace Community Church’s $3.115 million renovations; and
•  Cumberland Academy’s $7 million middle school.

New school construction attracts new commercial and residential construction. “They see these new campuses and see this commitment to education. … It speaks very positive to Tyler’s commitment to investing in our future,” said Tom Mullins, president and chief executive officer of the Tyler Economic Development Council.

There were 274 new residences constructed in 2013, a 31.73 percent hike from the 208 new residential permits filed in 2012. Valuations for new residential permits were $83.4 million in 2013, a 39.2 percent increase from the $59.9 million in 2012.

Residential building has been seen throughout the area, especially custom homes in outlying communities such as Whitehouse, Bullard and Lindale, according to Jason Gregory, president of the Greater Tyler Association of Realtors.

Overall, the city saw 5,884 building permits filed in 2013, a 1.06 percent increase from 2012, when 5,822 permits were filed. The total valuation for all permits filed in 2013 was $296 million, an increase of $58.4 million, or 24.6 percent, compared to the $237.6 million valuation of all permits filed in 2012, according to Wilson.

Read more at the Tyler Morning Telegraph.