By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Pelham saw a significant increase in its number of new home and commercial building permits compared to previous years, according to city Building Department data.

A few days before Christmas, Pelham had issued a total of 123 new home and commercial construction permits – 119 of which were for new homes, said Pelham Finance Director Tom Seale.

The number marked a more than 40-percent increase in the city’s number of new home and commercial building permits in 2012.

At the end of 2011, Pelham had issued 66 total new home and commercial building permits, and had issued 81 new building permits at the end of 2012. Pelham had already exceeded the 2012 and 2011 year-end numbers at the end of August 2013.

Seale previously said growth in Pelham’s Ballantrae neighborhood has contributed to the higher numbers this year. Several new homes also have been constructed in the Grey Oaks neighborhood off Shelby County 11 after the subdivision sat largely vacant for years.