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GREENBURGH, N.Y. Both the number of building permits and building revenue have increased considerably in the past decade, according to the Greenburgh Building Department.
The revenue from building permits, both commercial and residential, has fluctuated over the years, but in 2010, Greenburgh issued 1,000 more building permits than it did in 1998. With the number of permits up, revenue has tripled from $701,150 in 2005 to $2,105,390 in 2010, according to the Building Department.
Building Inspector John Lucido said the past two years have been steady, with up to 3,000 permits issued in 2012, and Greenburgh's diversity of building needs can be thanked for the market's survival.
"It's a very large town and very diverse," Lucido said. "We have a lot of different types of building going on industrial, warehousing districts, recreation, multifamily and single-family residences, and that's a good thing. Other small villages don't have the diversity and activity, so they can't do as well."
The Building Department's success could be riding from the town's bond credit rating, which was issued high marks in April by Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service. Moody's gave Greenburgh its highest rating, AAA, which allows the town to borrow money at lower interest rates.
And despite what a New York Times article says about developers building smaller houses in Westchester, Deputy Building Inspector Anthony Zacarolli said builders are still putting up big homes in Greenburgh, and those homes are still selling.
"The last two years were our busiest years," Zacarolli said, adding that many residents have also renovated their existing homes.
For architect Jeffrey Jordan, who owns a private business in Elmsford, the building revenue is coming primarily from renovations instead of new construction.
"I have a meeting this weekend about doing a new house, which is rare," Jordan said. "Houses have been slower than they were three years ago."
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