Sackville sees steady growth

Town councillor Virgil Hammock said he believes Sackville has the potential to weather the current recession better than many communities in New Brunswick.
"We are in a healthy situation in this community when it comes to planning and growth," said Hammock during his monthly planning commission report to town council.
Although much talk has been centred in the past few months around the global economic downturn, Hammock said Sackville saw stable development growth in 2008 and expects similar results in 2009.
"I sometimes worry about all the 'doom and gloom' talk about the economy," he said. "But the sky is not falling in Sackville yet. We have a stable community . . . and we should continue moving forward with optimism."
According to the planning commission report, which gives an overview of the development activities over the past year, 71 permits were issued in 2008 with a value of just over $12 million. This compares to 71 permits issued in 2007 at a value of about $10.6 million.
The report states that although the number of permits issued for Sackville in 2008 remained consistent with 2007, the value of construction increased by over $1.3 million.
Of those permits issued, eight were institutional permits valued at $7.7 million compared to four the previous year at $1.4 million. As well, nine new single dwellings were built in Sackville last year with an average construction cost of $167,000.