Allen County Board of Commissioners news release:
COVID Can’t Stop Building Growth in Allen County
Construction investment exceeds $1 billion for fourth consecutive year
(December 7, 2020) — The COVID-19 has presented its share of challenges in 2020. But it hasn’t slowed down building development growth in Allen County.
During a news conference today, the Allen County Board of Commissioners announced that building permit values have exceeded $1 billion for the fourth consecutive year. And commissioners believe that streak will continue into 2021 despite the pandemic.
According to the Allen County Building Department, the value of building permits issued from January 1 through December 3 of this year totaled $1.237 billion. Commercial permit values for that same period totaled $669 million, while residential permit values were at $568.4 million. The number of commercial and residential permits issued through December 3 total 29,345, compared with 30,133 during all of last year.
“While construction in some areas of the nation slowed, or even halted during the pandemic, Allen County prospered through 2020 and we look forward to even more growth,” the Board of Commissioners said.
Technological advances in obtaining building permits were also credited with the county’s continued strong showing. According to data from the Building Department, 68.7 percent of permits were acquired online during the first eleven months of 2020.
“Our building department was able to remain in service with no interruption from the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis,” said John Caywood, county building commissioner. “We have an outstanding staff from permitting to inspectors who excel and take pride in their work. They adjusted and worked overtime to keep up with the influx of applications and additional inspections every day.”