Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Greg Mellis Belmark, a De Pere-based flexible packaging manufacturer, started construction on a Shawano facility in 2017. Thanks to major projects, such as the Belmark plant, and smaller household projects, revenue from city building permits already tops all of 2016.
Leader Photo by Greg Mellis The new State Bank facility under construction on East Green Bay Street in Shawano is among the projects that have bolstered city revenue from building permits this year.
Revenue from city building permits is already outpacing all of 2016, according to a summary from the Shawano Building Inspection Department.
Though the number of building permits issued so far appears to be on track to closely match last year’s total, many of the permits being issued this year are for much larger projects.
Those permits become more expensive when square footage is being added, as opposed to simple fee-based permits that involve making improvements to existing space.
The city has taken in $62,073 in fees through July from 190 building permits, including new construction and remodeling, compared to $48,548 from 334 building permits issued in all of 2016.
The total for all permits — including electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fencing and other — totals $79,829 from 375 permits through July, compared to $70,331 from 628 permits for all of 2016.
“There are a lot of bigger projects this year,” said Brian Bunke, zoning administrator and building inspector. “That drives up a lot of the numbers.”
Those projects include Belmark, with a 125,000-square-foot production area and an additional 5,000 square feet of office space; the 3,600-square-foot Shawano branch of State Bank; the 11,354-square-foot Prevea Health Clinic; and the first stage of a new medical residency training center.
The cost of materials and labor being invested into the projects approved by these permits, at $26.8 million, is also far ahead of last year’s total, compared to $18 million for all of last year, according to Bunke.
City officials say it’s not just large projects that are on the rise in the city. Smaller business and home remodeling projects are also increasing, they say.
“People have more cash and they’re fixing up their places,” Bunke said.
City Administrator Brian Knapp said there’s a lot of residential remodeling going on.
“People are fixing up their homes,” he said. “They’re repairing roofs, they’re doing patios, they’re doing driveways, fencing, windows, doors. The level of activity is outpacing last year’s by 25-30 percent.”
Knapp said the general improvement in financial conditions over the last couple of years might be partly responsible for the increased activity.
“It’s probably a perfect storm of finally getting through the recessionary impacts that everyone was dealing with for the last seven, nine years and finally feeling better,” he said.
Mayor Jeanne Cronce said that in addition to a little extra money, there is a community spirit aspect at work in some of the improvements being made.
“People have a little more money and they’re looking at how they can improve their city,” she said. “And the city is trying to improve the looks of different homes, and we’re reminding people of the ordinances and we’re reminding them that the houses do need new paint jobs and sometimes when you live with it, you don’t see it. Sometimes it needs to be pointed out and sometimes that’s just the jump-start that people need.”