Steinbach is experiencing a building boom, with a significant uptick in housing developments across the city. October 2024 saw impressive numbers in building permits, signaling strong growth for the year. City Council recently received an update on the building permit activity, which shows a thriving housing market and a steady increase in both residential and commercial developments.
In October alone, Steinbach issued permits for 13 single and two-family units, bringing the total number of single-family homes and duplexes for 2024 to 85. The real highlight, however, was the issuance of 80 multi-family units in October, pushing the total number of multi-family units for the year to 182.
When combined, these figures show that a total of 267 new housing units were permitted during the first 10 months of the year, which is a significant jump for the city.
Mayor Earl Funk expressed his enthusiasm for the numbers, noting that the city is now seeing a balance between residential and commercial development.
“When I look at the year, it was a bit of a slow start this year. But now we're just under $90 million (in building permit values) for the year and we're at 267 housing units for the year. These are great numbers. Steinbach is really becoming a big player in Manitoba. We're getting recognized for our growth, and that's what's really, really exciting,” said Funk.
Residential building permit values also reached impressive figures. In October, the total value of residential permits was $24,219,500, bringing the year-to-date total for residential permits to $64,661,319. This marks a sharp contrast to commercial and industrial developments, where permits issued in October totaled $5,439,000, bringing the total for the year to $25,061,112.
Overall, the total value of all building permits issued in Steinbach by the end of October 2024 stands at $89,722,431. Notably, the total value of October's permits was $29,658,500, nearly a third of the total value for the first 10 months of the year.
Deputy Mayor Michael Zwaagstra highlighted the importance of residential growth, particularly multi-family units.
"We're very excited to see the strong growth in the month of October. We had almost $30 million of building permits and just over $24 million of that was for housing units. That means we have quite a few multi-family units being built, as well as single-family homes," Zwaagstra commented. “There is a huge need in Steinbach for more housing, both single-family and multi-family. We're very pleased to see the developers in our community stepping up and providing that housing.”
City Councillor Susan Penner also shared her excitement for the growing number of new homes in the city. “Such a huge month for residential in Steinbach, which is very exciting. It was a slow start to the year initially, but now we're at 267 new housing units for the year. That is significant. And in particular, I would like to point out that there's lots of multi-family going up. With more people renting, this is just really a need in our community and will be greatly appreciated,” said Penner.
One of the most anticipated projects is a six-story multi-family building planned for Main Street, just behind Shopper’s. Mayor Funk expressed his excitement for the project, noting it will transform the city's skyline.
“I’m so excited for the six-story multi-family building coming up on our Main Street. It’s going to be phenomenal, and it’s changing the skyline of our city. It’s been long in coming. We’ve been looking for density in our downtown for just over a decade, but it’s starting to happen,” Funk said.
The city’s housing market continues to grow in response to both a demand for residential units and a booming commercial sector. The number of new dwellings, especially multi-family units, is expected to increase as Steinbach works to keep pace with the needs of its residents.