Platte County is continuing to maintain a steady growth in development, according to end-of-the-year figures from the county’s planning and zoning department.
According to Aaron Schmidt, director of planning and zoning, the 2004 figures show just how explosive the county’s growth continues to be.
In 2004, there were 296 building permits issued for single family dwellings in unincorporated Platte County compared, to 243 permits in 2003.
Platte County Codes Coordinator Gale Cantu said the 2004 average value of the single family home built was $150,302. That figure is down from last year’s average of $166,777 per home.
Cantu also stated that while the number of permits issued was up from 2003, the square footage of the homes this year per unit was down. The average square footage for a home in 2003 was 2,374 square feet compared to 1,814 square feet in 2004.
Total valuation of residential construction in 2004 saw a nearly $4 million increase from the previous year. Cantu reported that 2004 residential construction was valued at $44,489,627 compared to the 2003 figure of $40,526,811.
“The county’s growth has been explosive and continues to be explosive,” said Schmidt. “We set another record year in building permits, especially in single family dwellings, and we don’t expect to see it slow down anytime soon. It’s a sign of the times.”
Cantu said while she couldn’t pinpoint the exact location that saw the most development, she believed it was just south of Platte City and in southern Platte County because that’s where most of the platted subdivisions are located.
While the single family housing continues to boom in the county, Cantu said there have been no applications for two family or multi-family dwellings in the past two years.
However, she does believe that will change in 2005 with plans currently being developed for multi-family dwellings in the county.
The county also saw commercial permits more than double from four in 2003 to 9 in 2004. As the number of permits doubled, the total valuation of commercial activity took a dramatic jump. In 2003, the total valuation equalled $57,000. Total valuation for 2004 was an impressive $1,721,500.
It must be emphasized these numbers deal only with development in the unincorporated areas of the county, and do not include construction done inside the city limits of municipalities.
Cantu explained how the valuation of commercial permits skyrocketed over the previous year.
Permits were issued for additional daycare space to an existing site down south at a value of more than $500,000; four new additions of antennas to existing communication towers totaling $65,000; Platte County Ready Mix added a heated building for $56,000; and The Society of St. Pius purchased land by Farley to build over a 10,000 square foot, 3-level home for regional priests in the amount of $1.1 million.
“With a booming county, we’ll continued to get these kinds of impressive numbers,” said Schmidt.