Rochester Home Construction Lags as Commercial Building Booms

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) -Rising interest rates are apparently having an impact on home construction activity in Rochester. The latest numbers from the City Building Safety Department shows local home builders took out 31 permits for new single-family homes in August.

Since the start of the busy summer season, the city has approved 104 single-family home permits, compared with 127 last year. The total for the entire now stands at 233, which is down nearly 60 when compared to the first 8 months of 2017.

It was a huge month for commercial construction in Rochester, largely because of the approval of an $86 million dollar building permit for the huge Berkman Apartments project just west of St. Marys Hospital. The overall cost of the nearly 300 unit housing project, which also includes parking, office, and retail space, is around $125 million.

Overall, Rochester issued 224 building permits valued at $141 million last month. The valuation total, which pushed the year-to-date total above $412 million, also got a big boost for the Mayo Clinic’s expansion of the Generose Building at St. Marys Hospital. A $23 million permit was issued for that project and Ryan Companies was issued a $10 million permit for the renovation work it is doing to the Wells Fargo Bank building along the Peace Plaza.