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Lee's Permits Resume More Typical Pace
Sep 5, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mary Gibbs, Lee County Community Development Department LEE'S PERMITS RESUME MORE TYPICAL PACE FORT MYERS Fla. (Sept. 5, 2006) – Permitting for single-family residential building continued its return to a more typical pace in August in unincorporated Lee County, Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach. During August 2005, permits soared to an all-time high of 1,309, valued at more than $276 million. This year in August, Lee County Community Development issued 590 building permits for single-family houses, valued at $160 million. August single-family residential permits are up slightly from the 583 issued in July, although value of the construction is down nearly 4 percent from the $166 million last month. However, the pace of permitting this August is still higher than August 2004 and 2003. About 75 percent of the single-family home permits were for construction in Lehigh Acres, valued at more than $98 million. Construction of new multi-family housing is up 109 units, or nearly 51 percent from July to August. Most of the growth is in apartment complexes with buildings of five or more units. August's multi-family construction was valued at $115 million, nearly four times greater than in July. From July through August, the value of new commercial construction fell 65 percent, or nearly $41 million. However, permits for commercial interior remodeling were up by 53, or 86 percent, and by $5.6 million, or 53 percent. That's due to new tenants of the Gulf Coast Town Center and Coconut Pointe malls in south Lee County. So far this year, Lee County issued 35,141 building permits for a total value of $3.122 billion. The record increase in 2005 hit the $4.7 billion mark for the year. These totals include unincorporated Lee County, as well as the City of Bonita Springs and the Town of Fort Myers Beach, which contract with the county for permitting services.
Lee County Community Development oversees planning, zoning, and development services such as permitting, development review, code enforcement and building inspections in the unincorporated areas of the county and for Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach. To learn more about the department and its services, visit http://www.lee‑county.com/dcd/. This release was prepared by: Joan D. LaGuardia, Communications Manager Lee County Department of Community Development (239) 479-8705 or jlaguardia@leegov.com
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