Sandy Springs reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2007-current, January 02, 2021, Image 2

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Sandy Springs reporter., January 02, 2021, Image 2

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Newspaper Page Text2 | Community 4 Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News Permit data shows how local construction is weathering the pandemic storm BY JOHN RUCH AND MAGGIE LEE The commercial and residential con struction industry is weathering the pan demic storm in local cities, though with fewer of the gigantic projects filed in 2019, according to a Reporter review of building permit filings. Building permit categories and filing methods vary among local cities, but offi cials agree that the number of filings is a general indicator of developers’ and home- owners’ confidence in growth and invest ment. And those numbers were broadly similar in 2020 compared to 2019, despite the apocalyptic pandemic and its econom ic fallout. Officials say that the lack of severe plunge in permit filings illustrates some of the industry changes in the pandemic. City halls shifted to online permitting and vir tual inspections. The construction indus try remained an “essential” business im mune to shutdown orders. And there was a boost in home renovations as some peo ple who shifted to teleworking found them selves eager to spruce up the four walls they were now staring at all day. The city of Dunwoody successfully shift ed its planning staff to teleworking, says Community Development Director Rich ard McLeod. “We never really shut down. New building permits in local cities, 2019-2020 Sandy Springs' Aria and Buckhead's Peachtree Hills Place condo tower drove high 2019 permit numbers ■ 2019 ■ 2020 220 Brookhaven Buckhead Dunwoody Sandy Springs This chart uses each city’s building permit categories. “Multifamily" includes rental and ownership housing, and projects may be permitted by floor or by unit, depending on the city. "Commercial” is just about any project that is non- residential. Any large project will have many permits. Buckhead data is based on the main local ZIP codes of 30305,30326,30327 and 30342. Brookhaven and Dunwoody data through Dec. 7,2020; Buckhead data through Dec 14,2020; Sandy Springs data through Dec. 17,2020 WINTER MENU THE ELDERBERRY BOWL Almond Milk, Banana, Cherries, Maple Syrup, Acai, Cacao Powder, Coconut Oil, Elderberry, Hemp Protein, Topped with Granola, Goji Berries, Coconut Chips, and Cacao Nibs THECHOCOLATE CHERRYONE Almond Milk, Banana, Cherries, Vanilla, Cacao, and Maple Syrup THE SWEET & SAVORY WRAP Toasted Flatbread Wrap, Provolone Cheese, Chicken, Spinach, Dates, Walnuts, and Tessemaes Green Goddess Dressing SOUPS: Coconut Lentil Soup, Tomato Bisque, and Chicken Noodle Soup MONDAY-FRIDAY 7AM-8PM I SATURDAY 8AM-8PM I SUNDAY 9AM-6PM SANDY SPRINGS 6125 Roswell Road 404-565-0493 WESTSIDEVILLAGE 2260 Marietta Blvd NW 404-254-3235 TAP FOR THE NEW APP We closed City Hall for the most part, but we had everyone working at home and we could handle [permits] pretty well,” he said. In his city, McLeod said, “the commer cial permits have dropped a little,” while residential permits “ticked up because so many people were doing home projects.” While the number of permits were sim ilar, McLeod said, the fee revenue dipped because, especially on the commercial side, 2020’s projects were smaller. Last year, for example, including permitting for one of the new skyscrapers at State Farm’s new complex in Perimeter Center. A similar drop in large-scale projects is part of the story in Atlanta, the local city that did see a significant dip in permit fil ings. The city of Atlanta also briefly shut down its permitting and inspections in March. City Planning Commissioner Tim Ke ane said that new residential and commer cial permitting citywide in 2020 is about 70% of what it was last year. But here’s the thing, he says: 2019 was Atlanta’s biggest- ever development year. “If you consider that we’re in a global pandemic, to be at 70% of the permits we did last year, the busiest year in the city’s history — it’s pretty impressive,” Keane said. Permitting in the last quarter of the year has picked up to about 85% of 2019 numbers, he said. Permit filings in Buckhead’s main ZIP codes echo the citywide trend, with sin gle-family and commercial permits down about 70%. But 2019 also had a big local spike from the Peachtree Hills Place se nior residences on Peachtree Hills Avenue, where each condo was permitted individ ually. The city of Sandy Springs had a simi lar 2019 spike that did not repeat: a phase of the massive Aria residential develop ment along Abernathy Road and Glenridge Drive. Ginger Sottile, the city’s community development director, said the permit mix changes naturally year to year, and in 2020 might be tilted toward renovations rather than new construction. “I think our overall permit numbers are very consistent over the past few years,” she said. Building permits are just one window into the state of the construction industry. Not every permit it approved, and many projects that get a permit are never fin ished. Big projects will have many permits filed over several years. Time will tell whether the pandemic may have longer-term impacts on what is built and when, noted Burke Brennan, a spokesperson for the city of Brookhaven, which continued its permitting uninter rupted and saw little change in the num bers. “Building permits are ... a step in a pro cess, which is often months, sometimes years, in the making,” Brennan said. “As it pertains to what plans may have been in terrupted by this pandemic, those results may have yet to be seen.”