The City of Weyburn had its third best year of the decade in construction activity, especially of commercial projects, with building permits exceeding expectations for the year.

With permits compiled as of the end of December, there were 104 building permits issued worth a total of $10.5 million, down just slightly from 1998's total of 113 permits worth $11.1 million, said Doug Mulhall of the city's building department.

While the value of the permits was slightly down from the previous year, Mulhall pointed out that 1998 was one of the best years Weyburn has ever had.

"Just going into 1999, there was a downturn in the agricultural economy and oil pricing was down. It wasn't as bright an outlook at the start of '99 as it is this year, and we actually did pretty well. 1998 was about the best year we had, so we were doing fairly well. It reflects well on Weyburn that people had confidence in the city," said Mulhall.

The emphasis in construction shifted from residential development to commercial and industrial this past year, with industries and businesses building new or expanding current facilities. Commercial building permits totalled $5.4 million, compared to $1.6 million in '98.

The major builders this year included Alcatel Canada Wire, which accounted for $890,000 worth of construction in the industrial category; Westfair Foods, with a new $2.5 million development; and the Weyburn Credit Union with an expansion worth $1.8 million. In addition there were renovations by Weyburn Inn, Weyburn Cable, Weyburn Curling Club, Perfect Inns, Bonnie's Bagels, the Co-op in their bakery department, a new Subway store, a new headquarters for Southeast Regional Library and the Weyburn Agricultural Society, which constructed a new barn on the exhibition grounds.

Residential construction permits totalled $2.1 million, creating 16 new dwelling units, compared to the year before when 86 dwelling units were created, most of them in multiple-family buildings. There were 10 new single-family homes built this year, along with 23 garages, said Mulhall.

In the institutional category, there were 13 permits totalling $2 million, down slightly from $2.5 million the previous year. Major developments in this category included a personal care home, a $332,000 fire safety upgrade of the Community Health Services building, an addition to Calvary Baptist Church worth $300,000, an addition to St. Dominic Savio School and improvements to the Salvation Army building.