Liz Holland | The Daily Times

Liz Holland

Salisbury had its best year for construction in more than a decade, with permits issued for 19 new single-family homes inside city limits.

Staff photo by Liz Holland

During an event Thursday at the Hunter’s Crest subdivision, Mayor Jake Day attributed the boomlet to a moratorium on city building fees that was put into effect a year ago.

“We believed we could put Salisbury back into play and it paid off,” he said.

Twelve of the houses are under construction and are scattered between Sassafras Meadows, Sleepy Hollow, East Church Street and Hunter’s Crest. They are the first single-family houses to be built in Salisbury since 2007, Day said.

City officials anticipate construction will continue into 2018. Day said construction on the Coventry Square apartments at Aydelotte Farms is expected to begin in the coming months, and the city is close to awarding building permits for two large downtown parking lots for a new multi-use development.

Mike Dunn, president and CEO of the Greater Salisbury Committee, called the mayor’s announcement “thrilling news” because Salisbury is attracting people to live and work here.

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“There’s an atmosphere that things are happening,” he said.

In addition to the new houses under construction, Day said the city is seeing a surge in commercial development, including a new Aldi grocery store on Route 13 near Dagsboro Road. The groundbreaking is expected in about four or five days, he said.

The work happening all over town has created 200 new construction jobs, Day said.

“Beyond just adding attractive new single-family homes and strengthening our core, we’re strengthening our workforce, putting local paychecks in local pockets,” he said.

Early last year, Salisbury City Council members approved the moratorium on city fees associated with new house construction on vacant lots and some abandoned subdivisions in the city as a way to boost home ownership.

During 2017, the city waived $70,412 in fees which resulted in $55.5 million in new construction.

Staff photo by Liz Holland

The moratorium applies to building permits, plan reviews, plumbing permits, mechanical permits, capacity and central line fees on infill lots in residential zones R-5, R-8 and R-10.

City officials also hoped to target subdivisions that were abandoned due to a downturn in the economy: the Heritage, Aydelotte Farms, Parsons Lake Phase 1 and Sassafras Meadows.

The incentive was estimated to save $14,250 off the cost of a dwelling unit, but the builder would still be responsible for water and sewer tap fees of $7,480.

In November, the city also rolled out a new one-stop shop to ease the process of getting city permits.

The new Department of Infrastructure and Development, located on the second floor of the Government Office Building helps builders and developers take their projects from permitting through completion.

Previously, anyone tring to build in the city had to visit six different offices, including planning and zoning, public works and the fire marshal. They also had to submit four applications and sets of plans to the shared city-county planning office, city Public Works, the fire department and the city’s Building Permits and Inspections.

Now they can make one call instead of six which gets everyone on the same page right from the start.

The office also added a new city planner, said Amanda Pollack, the department’s director.

“That coordination up front is making things so much easier,” she said.

Twitter: @LizHolland5