There was a surge in building permit values in Steinbach last month. But, city councillor Jac Siemens notes there is one city project that was a big part of that spike.

"October was a good month for the City of Steinbach as far as building permits go. It was high, it was over $14 million, which is very big for the City of Steinbach. The City of Steinbach also pulled the biggest permit of over $10.5 million for the water treatment plant. It's good to see those numbers but also to realize where they come from."

Siemens notes there were 27 housing starts (15 single-family homes, two duplexes and two fourplexes) in October bringing the total to 126 for the year. He says while that is below what Steinbach has had in peak years where there have been about 250 housing starts, this will be a good average year. By comparison, there were 233 housing starts last year and 50 the year before.

Steinbach has recorded just over $45 million worth of building permits this year. Siemens marvels at how the city just keeps getting bigger.

"It's pretty neat how our community continues to grow compared to other communities in Manitoba. A lot of the credit goes to our developers who continue to make Steinbach a priority."