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January building permits up but lower than in 2006

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published February 22, 2007

After a December slump, Citrus building permit numbers bumped up slightly at the start of 2007.

Builders applied for 1,150 permits in January, according to county records.

That's a 27 percent increase from the 903 permits the county issued in December.

"It's encouraging to see and I hope it continues," director of development services Gary Maidhof said, though he said an increase after the holidays is common.

"There's been a little bump," commission Chairman Dennis Damato said. "I think what you're going to see soon is a big bump."

In a few months, Damato said, permit numbers will likely spike significantly with businesses hoping to get projects off the ground before impact fee hikes kick in June 1.

Maidhof said the January increase may be an early reaction to new impact fees.

"But I'd like to think we're just seeing the system start to recover from the post-2006 downturn," he said.

Compared with January 2006, numbers are still down. Then, the county issued 1,295 building permits.

But Maidhof said Citrus County has advantages other communities recovering from building slumps lack.

"We're still an attractive place for people to move to from the Northeast or the Midwest, and we're still seeing a lot of people moving up from the South Florida area," he said.

Damato said several significant commercial projects are in the works in locations across the county, including Citronelle and Floral City

And he said commissioners are slated to approve a new Publix near Sugarmill Woods soon.

The housing market, he said, is more static.

"We're probably going to go back to where we were before the boom," Damato said.

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.

[Last modified February 21, 2007, 20:10:41]