CONSTRUCTION PERMITS DOWN IN 1999

Cape Girardeau homeowners are making a big splash.

Although it's summer and that means time to indulge in the luxury of a swimming pool, some Cape Girardeau residents are wading in line for construction permits.

The city's inspection services division has issued eight permits for swimming pools so far this year, including four this past month alone.

While the pool permits total $157,000, and deck permits range from $600 for a self-constructed one to $5,500 for one with benches, fancy trim and landscaping. Fifteen permits for decks have been issued this year.

But these are only a portion of the construction project permits issued so far this year.

Nearly $11 million in permits have been issued by the city since January. But overall, construction permits are down for Cape Girardeau during the first five months of 1999.

Builders got a late start because of cold and inclement weather during January and February.

The city issued 157 permits through May. A year ago, more than 215 permits totaling $18 million were issued in the same time span.

In January, only 14 permits were issued when below-freezing temperatures were recorded during the first 20 days of the month. Two of the permits issued then accounted for $1.3 million of the month's $1.6 million total.

In contrast, April was fueled by 10 single-family home permits in the amount of $1.6 million. It's bee one of the biggest months this year, with a total of 30 permits issued in the amount of almost $3 million.

May showed an increase in permits issued, particularly for home construction. The city issued 40 permits, including eight single-family home, two duplexes and a triplex, which shoved the dollar total to about $1.7 million.

With the permit for a million-dollar Clippard School project, the largest individual project of the year, May's total jumped to around the $3 million mark.

Housing has dominated the construction market in the city for 1999.

Through May, $4,945,025 worth of permits were issued for 34 single-family dwellings. Multi-family dwelling permits were issued for $1,805,000, which breaks down to 15 units. Those figures shove the overall housing totals to $6,750,025, well over 50 percent of the entire permit total.

Some commercial work is continuing and other projects are on the horizon.

A grocery store is slated to open at the former Del Farm National building at the intersection of Sprigg and William streets. It will occupy half the building and another retail operation will fill the remaining space.

Meanwhile, Pyramid Home Care group, with offices here, Kennett, Sikeston, Fredericktown and Ferguson, is expected to move into its new headquarters in downtown Cape Girardeau within a month. Pyramid purchased a portion of the old Montgomery Ward Building downtown, and will move when remodeling is completed.

But housing construction isn't the only project under way in Cape Girardeau. Other projects include city street and sewer improvements, construction of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge and two commercial plant expansions.

Procter & Gamble Co.'s $350 million plant addition and Biokyowa Inc.'s $85 million plant expansion would top the list of high-dollar projects. And these two giant commercial projects are progressing.

Mike Jennewein, resource development manager at Procter & Gamble Paper Products, said the plant expansion is on schedule.

The expansion project was announced in 1997.

"We're on track and we have had a great safety record during the construction to this point," he said.

The new tissue and towel facility, being built just north and west of the present facility, will include 20 acres of space.

Biokyowa is also on schedule with a couple of project at its Nash Road Industrial Park location. Two years ago, the company announced a $35 million expansion of its manufacturing facility, which produces swine and poultry supplements.

Last year, the company announced a new $50 million plant for the manufacture of Kyowa Foods, a firm that makes food enhancers. Overall this translates into an investment of more than $85 million and 90 new employees for the company.

State, national construction

While housing projects and commercial expansion is rising in Cape Girardeau, construction activity is down about 6 percent in Missouri through April.

Missouri construction totaled $1.84 billion through the first four months of 1999, compared to $1.95 billion during the same time span a year ago.

These totals were provided by the F.W. Dodge Division of the McGraw-Hill Cos., which keeps tabs on state construction projects.

Residential construction in the state increased the first four months, to $924.5 million, up 14 percent from the $810.3 million during the same period a year ago.

Nonbuilding projects -- streets, highways, bridges, river and airport developments -- were also up, 26 percent, at $539.3 million, from the $427.9 million of during the same period a year ago.

Commercial, manufacturing, educational, hotel and other building construction is off almost 50 percent from the 1998 totals. Through April, nonresidential spending was $373.9 million, compared to a whopping $720.8 million a year ago.

Nationally, construction totals are up about 2 percent over the same four-month period a year ago, according to McGraw-Hill totals. Residential and nonbuilding construction showed gains of 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively.