Page A12 —~ Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 2, 1990

BUSINESS REVIE

House building

TERRACE — The number of
homes being built in the city this
year will pass the number built
‘in 1989 by this month, indicate
figures from city hall.

Building inspector Paul.
Gipps said last week 26 building
permits were approved leading
to the end of April and five or
six were waiting to be process-
ed.

That makes more than 30
when March’s figures are taken
into account and stands in com-
parison to the 32 home building
permits granted in all of 1989.

“It’s a good year. They (the
permits) just keep coming
across my desk,’’ said Gipps.

He attributed the increase to
a lack of single residential
dwellings in the city and to peo-
ple wanting new homes before
the proposed Goods and Ser-
vices Tax takes hold next year.

A good number of the new

homes are going up on Moun-
tain Vista and McConnell on
the bench while others are going
up on vacant [ots on Medeek,
Haugland and Agar, said
Gipps.
. He estimated the average
value of the permits at 590,000
while a couple are in the
$220,000 range. Only one home
is in the $70,000-$75 ,000
category.

When combined with the
start of Phase II of the Twin
River Estate senior housing pro-
ject and the Muks-Kom-Ol
Housing Society’s townhouse
project, there are now more
than 100 housing units under
construction, said Gipps.

“We're certainly one of the

THERE'S LOTS of new house construction going on in Terrace with building permits this year already
over the amount issued for all of 1989. Part of the demand comés from people wanting new homes
before the federal Goods and Services Tax takes hold next year, Shown here is Bob Shaver working on
a house on Mountain Vista Drive on the bench.

more active cities in the nor-
thwest. Smithers is alsa going
strong,’’ he said.

One of the more active com-
panies involved in the local
housing market is Nelson Great
Western manufactured homes
and it is having a good year,
says salesman Russ Shauer.

“‘There’s really nothing
available existing. I’m getting
phone calls every day by in-
terested people. Homes that are
10-15 years old are going for

$100,000 and people know they

can get a mew one for that

amount,’’ he said.

At the same time, Shauer said
high interest rates could have an
effect on home construction as
the year progresses.

As with Gipps, Shauer said
some of the construction is due
to people wanting homes built
before the Goods and Services
Tax comesin. |

But while there haven’t been

Kermodei to shut down

TERRACE — Bruce Toms of
Kermodei Construction is shut-
ting the company down because
‘he says he can’t make any
money...

“The (construction) ‘market

doesn't: justify the risk in this.

area. The return on investment
isn’t goad enough for the risk,”’
said Toms last week.

“TY can make more selling
shoes than I can building a
building,” he added.

Kermodei Construction was
formed in 1988 and has under-
taken three large contracts
amounting to approximately $3
million in the area. The first was
the extended care addition at
Terraceview Lodge, the second
was the newly-completed com-
bined services building at the
Terrace airport and the third
was the renovations at the Ter-
race Co-op. Kermodei also did
an expansion at the Smithers
airport.

Kermodei drew opposition
from building trades unions
because its workers were

Shopping
Centre
put off

TERRACE — Okanagan-
Skeena Group has again put
back plans to build a shopping
complex on its property bound-
ed by Lakelse Ave. and Ottawa
St.

““We want to wait acouple of J

years,’ said company official
Bryan Edwards last week. He
declined to outline reasons for
the decision.

The company already owns
the building housing the Bank
of Commerce and the liquor

_ store arid the adjacent building
containing retail outlets,

_ Okanagan-Skeena will in-

. stead, said: Edwards, repair a

portion of a roof and paint the
exterior of the buildings. .

Such work. won't conflict

‘with the company’s building
plans, when it does go ahead
with the development, he said.
 Okanagan-Skeena first an-
nourced’it wanted to build on
the property in 1988 but set
back that date last June until
sometime this year. In January,
it ‘said. it was reconsidering the
kind of: development it. wanted
to do,

The: estimated ‘cost of “the:

development, including value of
the’ land Nas: 3: millloth, we

represented by the General
Workers Union of B.C., a
‘union the others said
represented employers more
than it did employees.

Affected by the closure are 14
people, said Toms.

A shutdown date hasn't been
set because Kermodei has a
small amount of work to com-
plete at the Co-op and at the air-
port.

Toms said Kermodei’s best
project was the Co-op renova-
tion and the most frustrating
ones were working for the
federal government’s Public
Works Canada, the agency
which handles construction con-
tracts,

“They're a poor client to
work for, It takes far to long to
get paid — three to four mon-
ths. You never know when the

money’s going to arrive or how
much,”’ he said.

Toms said he’ll be moving to
southern Vancouver Island. to
find wi werk once. Kermodei : fs
finished with its projects,

a lot of homes on the market in
the past while, realtor Stan
‘Parker and public relations
chairman of the Northwest Real
Estate Board said the amount is
going up now that spring is
here.

“The market is quite bouyant
out there,.It’s more active than
last spring,’’ said Parker.

He added that the average
home falls within the
$80,000-$100,000 price range
and that the price of homes is
gradually going up,

nh tht eee

Gipps also reported a strong
increase in commercial con-
struction and lots of speculation
of further development.

Those include a new Copper-
side, a new three-storey office
building on Kalum and a new
furniture store.

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NOTICE

SPRING CLEAN-UP WEEK.
MAY 7 TO 11, 1990

- The City of Terrace’s Public Works Department will pick up
extra garbage and refuse, free: ot charge, on the above

This service does NOT include car: - bodies, stumps. or ‘in.
dustrial waste, Kindly arrange to have this extra garbage and
waste material set. out on your: regular pick up day. Please -

- have garbage and waste material in plastic bags or cartons to

"Residents are reminded to check thelr ‘Add:A- Day Calendars,
"as garbage pick | up days change ‘following all: Statute

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