Banff’s development permit activity was at a five-year high in 2015.
Commercial development permits remained relatively static compared to the previous five years, making up 24 per cent of the 78 development permits; however, there was a big jump in residential and other permits, which accounted for 69 per cent of permits.
Town of Banff planners say several commercial applications reflected reinvestment in existing buildings, such as changes of use and exterior upgrades, whereas residential projects were dominated by smaller accessory developments and uses like B&Bs and home occupations.
“Commercial development permits stayed fairly static even in a year when we saw quite a bit of visitor activity and the commercial sector was incredibly busy,” said Darren Enns, the Town of Banff’s senior planner.
“This could be a function of when you’re in the throes of a massive year, as a commercial operator, you simply don’t have time to do that sort of bigger activity. If you want to do a renovation, it’s hard to replace guests when you are so busy.”
The rooftop solar photovoltaic incentive program also contributed to a jump in development permit numbers, although there was no revenue collected because fees were waived to encourage residents and businesses to take part in the program.
The number of building permits issued last year also increased over previous years, albeit more modestly than development permit volumes. There were 23 commercial building permits issued and 42 other permits, including residential.
Commercial building applications represented a smaller share of total volumes when compared to previous years, with a fairly even distribution between the downtown core, hotel areas and the industrial compound.
Construction of The Moose Hotel was the most visible project in 2015, while projects included renovations to the former Aurora nightclub to turn it into a bowling alley and construction of new Central Park public washrooms.
The value of building permits – the main way municipalities tend to measure development activity – was running at about half of the 15-year average, just over $9 million in 2015 compared to almost $35 million last year.
Most major projects that went ahead last year were actually reported in 2014. A notable exception was Caribou Properties’ Beaver Street residential project. The $4.6 million value accounts for half of all 2015 construction value.
“You can expect construction to begin soon on that site,” said Enns. “Hopefully, it’ll come online within a 12- to 18-month period.”
Other high value projects in 2015 were the High Rollers bowling alley and Pacini Restaurant at the Moose Hotel. The Birchwood apartments received an occupancy permit in late 2015, adding 38 rental units to the town’s housing inventory.
“The majority of those units are now rented,” said Enns.
Councillor Stavros Karlos said it’s interesting to see residential projects make up half of the value of building permits.
He said it appears changes to the land use bylaw and policy reviews have led to a higher degree of private investment in developing new residential buildings.
Enns agreed with that, noting there were many years when there were as few as four housing units built over an entire year.
“It’s a very striking change to see 38 units come online in one year with the Birchwoods. It was the first purpose-built rental project built in decades and now we’re seeing another one come online next year,” he said.
“Even though our housing shortfall is great, when it comes to our residential housing numbers, our incremental growth in meeting that shortfall is growing. We’re doing better.”
