City construction increases
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on February 9, 2014 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/SETH MABRY
Palmetto Design Associates superintendent R.B. Mixson holds the blueprint of the Holiday Inn Express as he talks with fellow superintendent Larry Owensby at the construction site on Sunburst Street in Goldsboro on Friday.
Construction in the city of Goldsboro increased over the past year, leading officials to say that the local economy is beginning to look up.
Construction was up $16 million over the previous year, according to the city Inspections Department.
Goldsboro Chief Building Inspector Allen Anderson Jr. said that the rise in numbers as well as the number of permits issued is a good barometer of Goldsboro's economy.
"People are building things again," Anderson said. "People are starting to build again everywhere. I think things are turning."
Among the biggest construction projects in the city were the construction of the Sheetz on Spence Avenue and the building of a new Holiday Inn Express on Sunburst Drive.
While most construction in the city is commercial, residential development in the city has been showing trends of its own.
"We are seeing mostly $100,000 to $160,000 houses being built instead of these giant $200,000 houses," Anderson said. "People are in smaller houses now. They are building smaller two to three bedroom houses."
Once the market comes back he still expects to see people renovating homes more in line with the shift he has seen.
"I think they will grow together and parallel each other," he said. "I think we are seeing the effects of that shift in the numbers."
Building tends to be slow during the first winter months, Anderson noted, with applications for permits picking up as the weather grows warmer.
"Things always slow down when it's cold but once the weather warms up the market comes back," Anderson said.