GB Building Permits and Revenues Spike in 2018

Press Release Information from The Town of Great Barrington

A spike in building permits during the fiscal 2018 year brought the town $262,082, nearly $100,000 more than the 2017 fiscal year. Since 2008 – 10 years ago – building permit receipts have risen by nearly $200,000 in permit revenue.

Building Inspector Ed May attributes the increased revenue – and inspection work – to a wave of commercial investment and construction in Great Barrington, along with some high-end homes in the area.

With increasing demand for building permits comes increasing demand on the inspection staff. Ed May now has an assistant building inspector in the office as well.

Together in 2018 they handled 684 building permits, up from 576 in 2017. In 2008, 373 permits were issued.

Most of the new construction in town that began with 2018 building permits has not yet made its way to the town’s tax rolls. The Powerhouse Square condominiums and the new Berkshire Co-op Market, for instance, are still under construction downtown, as is Bostwick Gardens, an apartment complex on South Main Street.

A building permit is required not just for construction work, but for a range of property improvements: roof work, swimming pools, chimney liners, insulation, window installation, solar panels installation, sheds, tends, fire alarms, fences, new siding and signs, among others.