Palmdale Building Boom Roars on; Permits for New Homes Increase 50%

New construction raced ahead to record highs during the first half of the year in Palmdale, as the number of new building permits and their value both increased by more than 50% over the same period last year, statistics showed Wednesday.

Figures released by the city for the period from January through June of this year showed the total value of building permits for new construction in Palmdale climbing to $257.1 million, a 55.3% increase over the $165.6 million from the first half of 1988.

Likewise, the total number of permits issued for new construction--including homes, apartments, businesses and other structures--rose to 3,745 for the first half of this year, a 51.6% increase over the 2,470 permits from the same period last year.

Leading the way was the development of new single-family homes in Palmdale, recently identified as the fastest growing city in California. Homes accounted for most of the 2,242 new housing units permitted, a 31.1% jump over the 1,710 new units approved during the first half of last year.

“We’ve been busy,” said Craig Scott, director of Palmdale’s Department of Building Services. While cautioning that higher interest rates or other economic factors could sour the boom, he added: “I would say, without a question, this is the high point so far.”

The past six months have seen the biggest building permit rush in the city’s history, figures show. The value and number of Palmdale building permits issued this year exceed the total for all of 1987, when 3,469 permits worth $203.7 million were issued.

Of the 2,242 new housing units permitted in Palmdale during the first half of this year, 2,155 were for single-family homes and only 87 were for units in multifamily buildings. The city valued the units that will be built under those residential permits at $229.2 million, a 55.5% increase over the comparable $147.4 million figure for the first half of 1988.

The valuation, for city planning purposes, usually understates the market value of the buildings when they are eventually sold, city officials say.

Meanwhile, permits for new commercial and industrial projects in Palmdale dropped from 23 during the first half of 1988 to 18 during the first half of this year. But the value of this year’s commercial permits was far higher, totaling $15.8 million compared to $7.5 million for the same time last year.

The latest permit figures push Palmdale well ahead of its neighbor, Lancaster, in the building boom. Lancaster still has a larger population, about 75,000. But Palmdale, at about 46,000, has been gaining in part because it is 10 to 15 miles closer to Los Angeles.

Half-year figures from Lancaster show sizable but lesser gains in development. The city issued 2,105 building permits for the first half of this year, a 34.7% increase over the 1,563 permits in the same period last year. Total value was $165.7 million, an 18.7% climb from the $139.6 million for the same period last year.

Lancaster city statistics showed a 6% increase in the number of new housing units permitted, from 1,205 for the first half of last year to 1,277 for the first half of this year. But the value of the new residential development climbed 40.7%, from $101.6 million to $143 million.