City sees a growth in homebuilding

By Samantha Reed 

BELLEVILLE – The number of houses built in the city last year was up considerably from the year before.

A total of 210 homes were built in 2015, said Rod Bovay, Belleville’s director of engineering and developmental services. That’s up from 142 in 2014.

This week, the city released its 2015 Construction Activity Highlights, a report on construction and renovations for the year.

A total of $63 million was spent on additions, renovations and building new homes.

More than 1,600 people inquired about getting building permits for their homes in 2015, said Bovay.

“It’s a challenge to say if one year over another we get more permit inquiries or not. We get a pretty consistent number of visits,” he said.

Approximately 700 permits were actually issued, said Bovay.

Residential growth has a positive impact on the city, he said the city.

“Obviously the more you have in terms of properties, the more the increase in (property-)tax revenue that you have. This allows (the city) to spend more money on repainting the roads and providing services to the residents.”

In the report, Mayor Taso Christopher said he’s pleased to see that people are investing in the city.

“There are many exciting large construction projects on the horizon,” said Christopher.

The new casino on Bell Boulevard, the new Humane Society building and the redevelopment of Century Place are a few of the projects expected to start within the next year.