A building boom continues to echo through Vernon.

Building permit values for 2020 were $104 million and are already at $39 million for the first quarter of 2021.

Residential permit values have reached $23 million this quarter, representing 59 units (compared to 46 last year). Overall for 2020, they were $83 million.

Commercial building values were higher in the first quarter last year than this year (mainly due to a $10-million application for a storage centre under construction at the former Canadian Tire building).

Total building permit value saw a 48 per cent increase from $26.7 million to almost $40 million this year.

There is no new industrial activity this quarter.

Unemployment rates in the Thompson Okanagan have also increased — from 5.5 per cent at the start of the pandemic to today’s 7.2 per cent.

Some of the developments underway include a $4.5-million restaurant and clubhouse at the Rise Golf Course.

“The neighbours have been waiting for years for this addition,” Vernon’s economic development planner Roy Nuriel said of the 3,300-square-foot facility.

The Anderson Way dental clinic is anticipated to be completed in the next few months.

The estimated $7.7-million 103-unit waterfront Vita apartment under construction is expected to spur additional growth.

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