Housing helps drive Joplin building permits in April
May 9—New housing has helped drive building permits for the city of Joplin recently, and April was no exception.
Construction in the first half of the city's fiscal year, which runs from Nov. 1 to Oct. 31, also continues to lag behind the pace of construction in previous years.
Ledford plans
Ledford Construction led April building with eight permits for duplexes on Kenser Court, the total valued at more than $2.9 million.
"They are on the south side of 32nd Street," Lance Ledford said. "It's real close to Flying J."
Ledford Construction is also building a housing subdivision on the west side of Joplin. Called Eagles Edge, it is being built in phases and will eventually include 153 homes that will sell for $200,000 to $300,000. It is located in the Wildwood Ranch area just off Central City Road, and it will be one of Ledford Construction and Development's largest projects.
There are 20 homes in the first phase, and they have sold five, Ledford said, and they have seven more homes in various phases right now.
"They have been going under contract and are being sold about the time we have gotten them finished," Ledford said.
The second-largest permit in April, valued at $2.8 million, was for a single-family home on Cambridge Road.
So far this fiscal year, there have been 47 permits for new homes, valued at $13.8 million, or more than $293,000 per home. City building permits for the fiscal year that ended Oct. 31, 2022, contained 167 permits for new homes, valued at $35.2 million, or almost $211,000 per home.
Other living units for Joplin, including apartments and downtown lofts, also drove permits last year for Joplin.
Springfield-based Ross Construction filed $34.5 million in permits for new apartments from 3301 to 3329 S. Hammons Blvd. It is part of a $188 million mixed-use, retail and residential development called 32nd Street Place on land east of Range Line Road and south of East 32nd Street. Redwood Development also filed $17 million in permits for apartments from 1906 to 1924 W. 20th St. Other large permits for filed last year for restoration of historic downtown buildings that incorporate loft living, including the Olivia Apartments and former Pennington Drug Co. buildings. Also last year, a $2.1 million permit was filed for renovation of 223 W. Third St., currently the home of Create & Sip Art Studio.
Housing study
Housing experts see strong demand continuing through this decade for Joplin, and they recommend doubling the pace of construction in the city, according to a study released last year. City officials received the results of a comprehensive housing market analysis commissioned from a Philadelphia firm, Urban Partners.
City Manager Nick Edwards said at the time the biggest takeaway for him was that Joplin needs more housing options at all levels and prices for different ages and demographics.
"We need more affordable housing," he said. "We need more workforce housing. We need housing for the senior population, and we need more housing for the younger generation. There's an across-the-board need for additional housing."
"The eye-opening thing was the consultant said that to stay on pace to meet that future need, the city would need to double its current level of home construction," he said.
Spire permit
The largest commercial permit, and the only one to top $1 million in April, was for $1.4 million. It was filed by Spire Energy, a natural gas distributor, for work on its service center at 520 E. 55th St.
"We are doing a remodel of that facility," said John Mink, communication manager for Spire. "The project has kicked off, and we'll probably be at it for a few months."
In all, construction in Joplin hit $10.1 million in April, bringing the total for the first six months of the fiscal year to $55.5 million.
Other large permits so far this year include:
—$11 million, filed by WestRock, a global company that specializes in packaging, for a commercial addition to its plant at 4200 E. 32nd St.
—$4.3 million for commercial improvement for the Target store at 3151 E. Seventh St.
—$2.6 million by Owens Corning for a plant expansion at 1983 State Line Road.
—$2 million for a new car wash at 1626 W. Seventh St. that will be west of the new Starbucks property, formerly MoJo Burgers.
Construction pace
The $55.5 million in permits Joplin hit in the first six months of its fiscal year is slower than in recent years.
Construction in the city hit $224.5 million for the fiscal year that ran from Nov. 1, 2021, to Oct. 31, 2022, according to city building permit records. In the previous fiscal year — Nov. 1, 2020, to Oct. 31, 2021 — building permits for Joplin reflected $168.2 million in construction. Total building in Joplin the year prior, which ended Oct. 31, 2020, came to nearly $246 million.
The figures reflect only that construction taking place inside the city limits.
