Town of Stratford on track for record development year

With the value of building permits up 180 per cent on the year to date, the town of Stratford is making a strong bid to hold onto its position as the fastest growing community on P.E.I.

Building permit statistics for the first nine months of 2018 were released at the town council meeting Wednesday night, with comparisons to the first nine months of last year.

• 2018: $37.8 million.
• 2017: $21 million.

Those numbers include commercial and residential development, including renovations that require a permit.

"It's a record year in the town for development," said Stratford Mayor David Dunphy.

"It shows that the town is obviously a place that people want to live. That's continuing. It's been a fairly hot market for the last number of years, a lot of construction in the town."

Dunphy said growth is particularly strong in commercial development.

At this point last year there were about $1 million in permits issued, and it's up to $5.8 million this year. This year's projects include the renovation of the old Home Hardware and the new Shoppers Drug Mart at the Sobeys.

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With files from Stephanie Kelly