By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – During the first month of 2019, Alabaster was about on par with the residential and commercial building and remodeling it saw during the same time period last year, although the value of the projects is on the rise.

Alabaster City Council members reviewed the year-to-date report from the Alabaster Fire Department’s Building and Fire Prevention Department during a late-February meeting, which gave the city its first look at the building market for 2019.

The city issued no permits for new homes in January, which was down from three new home permits for about $1 million during January 2018.

On the commercial building front, the city matched the total of one new building from last year, but the value of the building was down from $535,360 in 2018 to $59,540 this January.

While the number of commercial and residential renovation and remodel was no more than last year, the value of the projects was up significantly

In January of this year, the city issued permits for six residential addition or remodel projects valued at a total of $150,979, compared to 12 such permits for projects valued at a total of $134,001 last January.

Commercial addition or remodel permits saw the largest spike in value out of all building categories. This January, the city issued four commercial addition or remodel permits for projects valued at a total of $767,324, compared to four such permits last January for projects valued at total of $293,488.