Joliet continued to set records last year for building permits issued, further evidence, officials say, that the city is still in the midst of a construction boom that began 10 years ago.
City officials said Monday that 5,019 building permits were issued in 2003, breaking the 4,630 mark set in 2002 and double the number of permits issued 10 years ago.
The estimated value of the permits was $346.4 million, a $42 million increase over 2002, said city spokesman Kevin Hegarty.
Despite an increase in overall construction, permits for new housing last year declined for the second year in a row, according to city data.
Joliet had set records for housing-unit construction starts every year from 1998 to 2001. In 2002, however, housing construction dipped to 1,885 units from 2,062 in 2001. And last year, the number of housing unit permits slid to 1,686, including permits for 1,392 single-family homes (down from 1,517 in 2002) and 294 multifamily units (down from 368).
Still, officials said they’re heartened by the fact that single-family housing starts continue to exceed 1,000 units a year.
