New construction activity in Henderson and Henderson County last year went out with a whimper, with just eight building permits issued in December by the city and county codes offices.

But 2023 nonetheless is another high-dollar year for the total value of new construction, once again thanks to a big industrial project.

The biggest permit of December by far was a $1.65 million permit issued to Henderson Station I Limited for commercial remodeling of the apartment complex at 1303 Washington St. It accounted for three-fourths of the value of new construction activity authorized for the entire month.

No permits were issued for new single-family homes in December. That marked the third consecutive month in which the city codes office issued no permits for housing starts and the second straight month for the county codes office.

For the entire year, permits were issued for just 36 new houses, up slightly from an even more anemic 32 housing starts in 2022. Last year’s housing starts included 21 in the city and 15 out in the county.

While housing starts here have been weak for several years — the greatest number of housing starts in the past half-decade was just 54 in 2021 — higher mortgage rates the past two years were of no help. As the Federal Reserve raised rates in a move to control inflation, average 30-year primary mortgage rates climbed from around 3% in late 2021 to a peak of 7.79% in late October 2023, according to Freddie Mac.

Since then, rates have dropped by more than 1 percentage point, to an average of 6.61% the last week of 2023.

“The rapid descent of mortgage rates over the last two months stabilized a bit this week, but rates continue to trend down,” Freddie Mac said in a recent summary. “Heading into the new year, the economy remains on firm ground with solid growth, a tight labor market, decelerating inflation, and (the beginning of a) rebound in the housing market.”

Locally, the start of a Jagoe Homes’ 87-acre Bentley Point housing development of up to 300 homes off Barret Boulevard behind the Walmart Supercenter could help turn around the general lack of homebuilding here.

Henderson Economic Development and city officials have worked with Owensboro-based Jagoe in recent years to encourage the housing development to address a years-long shortage of new housing inventory in Henderson.

Missy Vanderpool, executive director of Henderson Economic Development, told the Henderson Lions Club last Tuesday that earthwork for the Jagoe development is 90% complete and that work is beginning on utility infrastructure. A street constructed off Barret Boulevard into that development appears to be completed.

Meanwhile, the value of all new construction projects receiving building permits in December totaled nearly $2.2 million, down from $3.1 million in December 2022.

But for the entire year, the value of all building permits totaled nearly $227 million, up from $176 million in all of 2022 — believed to be the two biggest annual totals on record here.

Last year’s permit total was dominated by a $186.5 million county building permit issued to Unbridled Solar LLC for construction of a large solar energy farm immediately south of the city of Robards.

The 2022 construction values were boosted by a $125 million city building permit for construction of the Pratt Paper complex on the Kentucky 425/South Bypass.

December building permits

City of Henderson

Commercial remodeling: Henderson Station I Limited, 1303 Washington St., $1.65 million.

Manufactured home, new: Isaac McPherson, 0 Adams Lane, n/a.

Single-family residential accessory: Steven and Tracy Powell, 2430 U.S. 60-East, $45,000; and Austin M. Garrigus and Holly Willingham, 19 Willow Dr., $11,000.

Single-family residential addition: Happe & Sons Construction Inc., 2507 Springer Road, $215,000.

Sign: Jerry Collman, 1336 S. Green St., $675.

Total: $1.9 million

Henderson County

Miscellaneous: Kevin Clayton, 4071 Shady Hollow Dr., $95,000.

Manufactured home: David and Andrea Howard, 14102 Chase Road, $167,550.

Total: $262,550

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: New construction weak in December, but Jagoe development is progressing