FARGO (KFGO) – Covid-19 hasn’t slowed down construction in Fargo. Based on building permits, 2020 will likely rank as the second-best construction year on record.
Through July, Fargo has had $450 million in permitting, a significant increase compared to the same period last year. June and July permits alone were $250 million. According to government figures, that’s approximately $50 million to $100 million more than either Minneapolis or St. Paul.
Fargo Inspections Director Bruce Taralson expected to see a drop in construction because of the pandemic, but just the opposite has occurred and it’s not just commercial construction that’s skyrocketed.
“This year residential exploded, very strange, people are home, thinking about projects, doing things,” Taralson said. 800 new Multi-family housing units have been approved so far. Taralson said that’s a 10-fold increase over last year.
The construction boom has not gone unnoticed. Ron Wirtz follows the construction and permitting across the Dakotas, Minnesota and several other states for the 9th Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Wirtz said Fargo is not free of the impacts of the pandemic, but he said the city has a new level of development and expansion that is performing “particularly well.” He said while some cities are seeing projects postponed or canceled, that has not happened in Fargo. He cited the planned Amazon facility as an example.
Taralson expects this year’s permitting will be around $600 million, much higher than Fargo’s average growth.