Dec. 03--The construction of single-family homes and other small to midsize construction projects in Chicago has continued to improve by one measure, but remains far below its pace set before the real estate market crash.
As of Nov. 15, the city's Building Department issued 1,436 permits for small to midsize construction developments. That compares with 1,202 permits a year earlier and a low of 573 permits on that date in 2010. Still, this year's figure is well off the 1,747 permits issued by mid-November 2007.
"After years of remaining flat, Chicago's economy is moving in the right direction with more new construction taking place," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement.
The department's definition of small to midsize projects includes single-family homes, and buildings that are up to 80 feet tall with less than 150,000 square feet and 40 dwelling units.
A separate report from McGraw Hill Construction showed that for the first 10 months of the year, the financial value of contracts awarded for all types of projects across the Chicago area rose 15 percent, to $8.6 billion from January through October 2013.
mepodmolik@tribpub.com
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