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Construction stays steady

Big projects spike building permits in 2018

Andrea Johnson/MDN Trinity East Ridge, a new allergy and immunology clinic in southeast Minot, was among $130 million in Trinity building projects permitted in 2018.

Minot’s building permit activity jumped sharply in 2018, thanks in good part to construction of a new medical campus in the southwest corner of the city.

Figures from the city building inspection office show $214.2 million of valuation associated with building permits in 2018, up from $43.85 million in 2017 and $71.5 million in 2016. Building permit activity had peaked in 2012 at $304.9 million, with 641 new housing permits. Permits totaled $261 million in 2013 before dropping significantly in 2014 and then gradually declining to 2017.

Trinity Health accounted for $130 million of the 2018 building permits. Most of that amount represents construction of a new medical complex, on which Trinity officially broke ground last year. It also included a new clinic in southeast Minot that recently opened.

Even without the Trinity projects, the amount of residential and commercial construction shows a stable industry over the past few years, said Mitch Flanagan, Minot building inspector.

The remaining $84 million in permit activity included new buildings such as Dollar General, two Auto Zones, Vallely Sport & Marine and “O” bar. Flanagan said six large church remodels, Dakota Square Mall remodels and a Veterans Administration clinic also added to the activity last year.

Minot hasn’t seen a ripple effect from the Trinity construction in terms of nearby residential and commercial construction, although that is expected, Flanagan said. Land around a large medical complex becomes attractive for development, and Flanagan said developers are acquiring land and looking at potential plans for the area near Trinity.

Pat Graner at Craft Builders said the post-flood and energy boom after 2011 set a pace that now makes the industry appear slow, but the Trinity activity has provided some work for local contractors able to handle those types of large projects. Overall, activity has been fairly level in recent years and should be so again in 2019, he said.

“We are very optimistic. We have several projects in the works,” he said of his company.

A significant amount of Minot’s construction activity last year related to public entities. The City of Minot accounted for $46.7 million in permits, of which $45 million was new construction related to flood protection and water system improvements. The Minot Park District’s lion and tiger exhibits at the zoo added more than $1.86 million in permit activity, and the North Central Research Extension Service and Souris Basin Transportation also had expansion projects.

Demolitions in 2018 of just over $1 million has been typical of recent years. Residential remodels and additions accounted for $2.56 million of permits, while commercial remodels and additions accounted for $15.66 million. Both were slightly ahead of 2017 numbers.

Minot 2018 Building Permits

New residential $7.7 million

Residential remodel/accessories/moves $4.3 million

New commercial $185.5 million

Commercial remodel/addition $15.6 million

Demolitions $1 million

Total $214 million

Source: Minot Building Inspection

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