Construction for the first half of 2016 in the City of Bridgeport is down more than $10 million from the same time last year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean development is coming to a halt. In fact, the numbers show there is technically more construction.

 

According to Community Development Director Randy Spellman, from Jan. 1 of 2015 through June 30, the city had $15.8 million in construction activity. That number, he said, is a respectable drop from the total of $26.4 million the city saw in the same time frame in 2014.

 

That, of course, would lead  one to wonder how construction could be in perhaps even better shape than the prior year. Spellman, again, turned to the numbers.

 

“Through June 20 of this year, we’ve issued 362 permits,” said Spellman. “Last year, even though we had a higher dollar figure, we issued just 295 permits. A big reason for the price differential was that last year you had the United Hospital Center’s Orthopaedic and Spince Center. There’s been nothing of that magnitude this year.”

 

The spine center was a roughly $15 million project. This year, Spellman said the biggest project to have a permit issued through the first six months of 2015 is for Dan Cava’s Used Car World that is being built along Johnson Avenue. The permit for that project came in at $1.1million.

 

“If you get caught up in the overall dollar figure you might think something was wrong, but there’s actually more construction this year. We’re issuing more permits, but we’re issuing them for smaller projects,” said Spellman. “There’s nothing in any of those numbers that indicates that 2015 is a bad year.”

 

Spellman would be qualified to know. He started with the city in 1987 and has had an active role on the development front for decades.

 

“Back in 1987 we had $1.9 million for the entire year,” said Spellman. “Since 2008, we’ve been averaging between $40 million and $50 million in construction. That’s almost unheard of for a town our size. When you see those numbers it means that developers find the city as a good place to do business.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows construction taking place along Johnson Avenue, while Community Development Director Randy Spellman pictured below.