In a recap of the January 23rd meeting of the Hastings Planning Commission, Community Development Director John Hinzman presented the annual report that lists highlights and major projects that took place during the previous year. Of note were the 60 residential building permits that were issued, a 115% increase over those issued in 2015. The total valuation of those projects were just under 13 million dollars. On the commercial side, however, only 3 new commercial permits were issued. He noted that 44 permits were issued for remodeling projects. Real Estate numbers also decreased, by 9.3 percent in new listings and by 7.2 percent in closed sales. The average sale price mirrored the region , increasing by 5.7 percent with a slight 2.8 percent rise in average sale price. The report included some projections on areas that are condusive to development, including several areas on the south and west ends of the city. Additions of single family and multi-family housing units are estimated at nearly 600 readying to be available for tenents within the next 12 months. There was no information given on the anticipated valuation level of those units, however the minority of that number, just 134 listed as single family homes.This report will also be provided to the full council on February 6th.
