Kelowna’s record year for building permits rivals Surrey

The City of Surrey may be home to four times as many people as Kelowna but both cities are much more closely matched when it comes to the value of building permits issued in 2021.

Kelowna passed the $1 billion mark last fall and finished the year having issued permits worth almost $1.2 billion ($1,187,772), according to a report going to city council on Monday, Feb. 14.

By comparison, Surrey issued permits worth $1.9 billion, the report says.

While that city report says Surrey is five times the size of Kelowna, the 2021 Census data issued this week shows that it’s actually about four times the size (568,322 in Surrey versus 144,576 in Kelowna).

READ MORE: Kelowna, Kamloops among three fastest-growing larger cities in Canada, new census data shows

Kelowna issued a total of 2,841 building permits in 2021, up from 2,201 the year before.

There were 3,187 new housing units created during the year, including 504 single-family dwellings and 1,716 apartment units. The five-year average for the total number of housing units created is 2,101 per year and the 10-year average is 1,467.

“It is expected that both planning application and building application volumes will remain near record levels through 2022,” the report says. “Staff anticipate continued interest from the development community for construction of rental housing as well as strong development interest in the city’s core area and specifically its urban centres.”

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