By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Through the first eight months of 2015, Alabaster continued to see a spike in its number of new homes and commercial buildings, continuing an upward trend in the city over the past few years.

The city’s Department of Building Safety issued nine new home building permits for homes valued at a total of $2.4 million in August, bringing the year-to-date total to 67 new homes through the end of August.

The number of new homes, and the valuation of those homes, has increased significantly over last year’s numbers. So far this year, Alabaster’s 67 new homes have been valued at $17.8 million, compared to 51 new home building permits for homes valued at $11.5 million at the end of August 2014.

Alabaster has already seen more housing starts in the city this year than it had at the end of the year in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Alabaster also continued to see a surge in its number of new commercial buildings for the year, as the Department of Building Safety has issued eight new commercial building permits for projects valued at more than $12.6 million so far this year.

In comparison, the city had issued a total of three new commercial building permits for projects valued at a little more than $3 million at the end of August 2014.

The number of new commercial buildings so far this year has already eclipsed year-end numbers from 2010 and 2011.

August also brought several commercial and residential addition and remodel permits for existing structures in the city. During the month, the department issued 13 residential addition and remodel permits for projects valued at $268,019, and had issued six commercial addition or remodel permits for projects valued at $91,100.

So far this year, the department has issued 160 residential remodel permits for projects valued at more than $1.6 million, and has issued 58 commercial remodel permits for projects valued at nearly $3.8 million.

Those numbers are up significantly from the same time last year, at which the city had issued 81 residential remodel permits and 23 commercial remodel permits.