It appears the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't had much impact on new builds in Windsor.
In 2019, the city saw a record year in building permits issuing nearly 3,400 across the four categories which include residential, industrial, commercial and government and institutional.
This from chief building official John Revell, who says the trend continued in 2020 with more than 3,100 permits being issued.
Revell says demand was there and builders pushed forward.
"Lots of contractors and developers eager to build," he says. "The City of Windsor was one of the municipalities in Ontario that managed to continue to issue permits throughout the pandemic year of 2020 unlike some other very large cities which ended up shutting down their operations."
Revell says technology played a big part in the city's success.
"When the pandemic hit we continued our operation. We were able to communicate with the public, contractors and developers via Zoom. Our staff were able to pivot and work from home. We continued to review applications and issue permits. Just business as usual for us," says Revell.
He says things have slowed slightly so far in 2021 as building materials are harder to get.
"So 2021 is still very strong, but we're seeing a little bit of a slow down," says Revell. "Supply chains were a little bit disrupted. Contractors and developers are being advised that there's going to be months and months of delay. The inability to get materials to build is really what the bottleneck is at this point."
Building permits in 2020 amounted to more than $392-million worth of construction activity in Windsor.
With files from Kristylee Varley