JACKSON POSTS RECORD YEAR FOR CONSTRUCTION AT $33.6 MILLION

~Correction: Casey Bauer of Cape Girardeau practiced her skating technique at The Ice in Plaza Galleria. She is in training for the Junior National Olympics in New York in March. Casey, 13, will compete with her partner, an 11-year-old boy, in an ice-dancing competition. (PHOTO BY FRED LYNCH)

Construction of single-family homes and a new Wal-Mart Supercenter made for record construction totals in Jackson last year.

A total of 292 permits were issued, valued at more than $33.6 million, the first $30 million-plus year for the city.

Although the single-family dwellings fell short of the record 145, established in 1994, permits were issued for 112 homes, at an average of $141,000.

Permits were also issued for a dozen duplexes and two apartment buildings, at a total value of $2.8 million, pushing the cost of living quarters past the $18.6 million mark.

The $33,624,608 construction totals were more than $12 million over the $21,888,867 of 1998.

"The new Wal-Mart Supercenter, and some commercial expansions helped shove the total up," said Lisa Floyd, of the Jackson Public Works Department.

A big difference was the Wal-Mart Supercenter, which was constructed at cost of more than $3 million. Another big structure was that by Buchheit, for the new Buchheit Center at 2801 S. Old Orchard Road, at a cost of $400,000. Buchheit is expected to open its new facility next month.

Business and commercial expansion also figured into the final numbers. A total of 28 permits were issued for the addition and expansion of commercial buildings, in the amount of $10.6 million.

Included in business expansions was the $1.6 million expansion at Lee Rowan, a manufacturer of closet organizers. The Memphis Lee Rowan operation moved to Jackson, making the local plant the largest of three Lee Rowan plants, resulting in about 100 new jobs.

The Jackson Public Works Department averaged more than $2.8 million and almost 24,3 permits a month. The total numbers includes permits for electrical, plumbing an mechanical, but not money totals.

Jackson has had only two $20 million construction years in the 1990s $21.8 million in 1998 and $21.2 million in 1996. The city barely missed the $20 million mark in 1994 at $19.5 million.