The City of Steinbach issued building permits for eight new dwelling units in January, marking a promising start to the year despite the typically slower winter months. The total value of the building permits issued was $1,607,200. Among the permits, the largest project is a double duplex dwelling set to be constructed on Kootenay Way.
Demolition permits issued
In addition to the new dwelling units, permits were also issued for the demolition of two single-family dwellings located at 6 First Street and 13 PTH 52 West. Councillor Jac Siemens highlighted the importance of these demolitions, stating, "That means there are two old, dilapidated homes that are coming out so new construction can happen there as well. I think it’s always important to recognize new construction but also those that are being taken out to provide space for new construction."
Record-setting year in 2024
Steinbach set a new record for residential growth in 2024, issuing building permits for 344 new dwelling units. These permits included 89 single-family and two-family homes and 255 multi-family units, bringing the total residential permit value to $77,046,419. Combined with $27,850,889 worth of commercial building permits, the total value of all building permits reached $104,897,308.
Continued growth and demand
City Councillor Damian Penner is enthusiastic about the ongoing interest from developers in building multi-family units in Steinbach. "It's incredibly exciting. Steinbach is a growing community. And what drives the housing market is supply and demand, and the demand is there. So the supply needs to just continue to catch up. We need to just keep on building and making sure that we can welcome as many residents to Steinbach as possible," he said.
Penner also emphasized the importance of providing services and recreation for the growing population. "That's the mandate that we felt on Council is to make sure that there's accommodation, there's recreation for the residents that are coming to Steinbach. Prime example, you can just look down the street in the Event Center coming up and we’re all very excited for that. That's just one little piece of the puzzle. Obviously, it's a desirable community to be here, there's jobs to be had, otherwise we wouldn't be having residents coming here. So it's good to see a thriving community and it also shows that with all the multifamily that's coming that Steinbach is a developer-friendly city, that developers are able to come in, they're wanting to develop in Steinbach and they're wanting to work with our administration to continue to build," he added.
Mayor's perspective
Mayor Earl Funk shared his thoughts on the January building permit numbers. "January was a little slower, and it usually is. But the great number is 8. We've got 8 new dwelling units in our community and that just shows again the need for residential units. I'm very encouraged and I believe as we start warming up, when and we get out of the deep freeze, that the numbers will increase and we will have a very good year again," he said.
Funk also addressed the city's efforts to make the most use of available land. "We are always working at densifying our downtown core. And that has been happening, as you can see the projects that are going up and our central business district, we've seen the proposal today for 17 new units there, so I'm very confident that it will continue. The densification will continue, and I think it's moving ahead just fine," he explained.
Meeting the demand
Councillor Michael Zwaagstra echoed the sentiment of growth and demand in Steinbach. "It is good to see that there is more residential development that is happening in Steinbach. We need as many units as we can get because there’s obviously a huge demand," he said.
As Steinbach continues to grow, the city remains committed to accommodating new residents and ensuring that the necessary infrastructure and services are in place to support the community. The issuance of building permits in January is just the beginning of what is expected to be another strong year for development in Steinbach.