THUNDER BAY – The soon-to-be-completed $5.5-million renovation at Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute was the single largest project issued a building permit by the City of Thunder Bay in 2018.
The work, made necessary by the closure of Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute last June, was supposed to be completed by the start of the 2018-19 school year, but delays pushed that target back.
Work is now expected to be complete in time for students and staff returning to school on Monday.
The city on Wednesday released the top three building permits, in terms of value.
Coming in second was the new Marostica Subaru dealership on 16th Avenue, which came in at $3.18 million. In third place was a 24-unit complex on Oasis Lane, valued at $2.8 million, not including the foundation, which was issued separately.
Through November, the city had issued $74,907,493 worth of building permits, tracking well below the 2017, which came in at $143,390,427 and included the waterfront hotel project.
Single-family dwelling construction was up in 2018 in value, with $27 million in permits issued through November, nearly $6.3 million more than all of 2017. However, the actual number of permits was actually down, from 78 to 75.
Apartment unit permits were down about $8 million, to $5.7 million in 2018, from 92 units to 45, while duplex numbers nearly doubled, to $3.9 million, up from $2 million the year prior. A total of 16 duplexes were started in 2018, six more than the year before.
