Construction value up in Cape, lower in Jackson for 2019

The City of Cape Girardeau issued 248 commercial and residential building permits last year for projects that had an aggregate value of approximately $69.3 million.

Both numbers represent increases over 2018 levels when 233 permits were issued in Cape Girardeau for construction projects valued at nearly $48.6 million.

Data released this week by the Cape Girardeau planning and development office showed there were 113 permits issued in 2019 for new homes, home additions and residential remodeling projects valued at about $21.1 million.

That number was up slightly from 2018’s totals when 103 permits were issued for new residential dwellings, additions or remodeling projects valued at about $14.6 million.

Cape Girardeau also reported issuing 17 permits in 2019 for new commercial structures and building additions for a combined value of $36.7 million. That figure includes the SoutheastHEALTH’s new behavioral health hospital now under construction along Silver Springs Road south of Highway 74. According to the building permit data, that project has a construction cost of about $23.3 million, accounting for most of the commercial construction value.

In contrast, the city issued 22 permits for new commercial construction in 2018, but the value for those projects was only $8.1 million

In addition to the new commercial construction permits, Cape Girardeau issued 64 permits last year for remodeling projects in commercial structures with a total estimated cost for those projects of nearly $7.5 million. That’s down from 2018 when 71 commercial remodeling permits were issued for projects valued at almost $19.4 million.

Cape Girardeau’s top four commercial construction projects for which permits were issued in 2019, and their estimated construction costs, were:

• SoutheastHEALTH’S Behavior Health Hospital, 639 S. Silver Springs Road — $23.3 million.
• Morgan Distributing Inc. Office & Warehouse, 4110 Nash Road — $3.1 million.
• Wink’s Convenience Store, 2505 Veterans Memorial Drive — $2 million.
• Bennett Dental Family Dentistry Office, 989 N. Mount Auburn Road — $1.8 million.

In addition, construction of several apartment and town-house projects began in 2019, the largest of which was the Liberty Apartments complex along Walnut Street in south Cape Girardeau. The 40-unit project, which began last spring and is scheduled for completion around April 1 this year, is valued at about $4.5 million.

“We have several commercial projects in the works that will be rolling out in 2020,” said Gary Hill, Cape Girardeau’s building and code enforcement manager. Among them will be a Veterans Affairs health clinic on South Mount Auburn Road just north of Southeast Hospital’s Cancer Center.

Jackson permits

In Jackson, total construction values for residential and commercial building projects in 2019 were estimated at about $32.3 million, down significantly from $43.6 million in 2018 when a permit for construction of the $18 million Cape Girardeau County Courthouse/Justice Center was issued, which accounted for the lion’s share of construction value in Jackson that year.

There were significantly more permits issued in Jackson for new commercial construction projects last year, 18, than in 2018 when five were issued, but at $18.8 million, the value of the 2019 projects was lower than the $25.8 million value of Jackson’s 2018 commercial projects, including the new county courthouse.

In addition, there were 21 permits for commercial remodeling and add-on projects issued in 2019 with a construction value of just more than $3 million compared to 20 commercial remodeling permits issued in 2018 totaling almost $5.2 million.

As for residential construction in Jackson, permits for 29 new single-family homes were issued in 2019, two fewer than the 31 permits issued in 2018. The total calculated construction value for single-family homes in Jackson last year was about $5.2 million compared to just under $5.9 million in 2018.

According to data released by Jackson building and planning manager Janet Sanders, the average value for home built in Jackson in 2019 was $180,385, down slightly from the 2018 average of $189,694.

Jackson issued 54 permits for residential remodeling projects in 2019 with a total declared value of $695,793, compared to 30 residential remodeling permits issued in 2018 with a value of $688,529.

The top five commercial construction projects in Jackson for which permits were issued in 2019, and their estimated construction costs, were:

• Jackson Police headquarters, 202 W. Jackson Blvd. — $6.5 million.
• Best Western Plus hotel, 3003 S. Old Orchard Road — $6.1 million.
• Villas of Jackson memory care facility, 664 Broadridge Drive — $2 million.
• SoutheastHEALTH Primary Care, 2600 E. Main St. — $1.67 million.
• Vintage Software office remodel/basement office addition, 100 S. High St. — $500,000.

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