HENDERSON, Ky. − Construction of a building that will house a Jimmy John’s sandwich restaurant on the North Strip, a remodeling project at Henderson Community College and a million-dollar building at a solar energy farm that’s under construction here topped the building permits issued by the city and county in November.

KEB Real Estate Holdings LLC received a $250,000 permit for constructing a new 3,300-square-foot building at 336 Rettig Road, adjacent to Sugar Creek Inn on U.S. 41-North. About half of the building will be occupied by Jimmy John’s while the other half will be leased to some future tenant, an engineer for the project told the Henderson City-County Planning Commission in October.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky obtained an $849,000 permit for work at HCC’s Administration Building, the oldest on campus. The building, constructed in 1960, will receive new windows and shades for energy-saving purposes as well as aesthetics, according to Kathryn Lea, HCC’s chief business affairs officer.

In addition, the entrances to the Administration Building will get a face-lift with new framework and doors. And the building, which has ADA accessibility on the west end, will get an additional ADA ramp on the east end. The renovations have been made possible through state-issued asset preservation funding, according to Lea.

Unbridled Solar LLC received a $1.1 million permit for a 3,200-square-foot maintenance building at the 1,700-acre solar farm immediately south of the city of Robards. The project received a $185.6 million permit in October for construction of the thousands of solar panels at the site. Unbridled Solar is expected to begin operations by late May 2024; all of its power will be sold to Big Rivers Electric Corp.

Scott Smith received a $300,000 permit for constructing a 6,400-square-foot mechanic’s shop for Dirty Diesel Repair at 5801 Riverport Road at the Henderson County Riverport.

Permits were issued for demolishing three residences, including one issued to Ragle Inc. to raze a house at 2106 Zion Road to make way for a new U.S. 41 (and future Interstate 69) interchange at Kentucky 351/Zion Road that will feature a double-roundabout.

For the second month this year, no permits were issued in November for new single-family homes. Through the first 11 months of 2023, the city and county issued permits for just 36 new homes, compared with 31 during the same period last year.

However, 2024 should bring an uptick in housing starts. Earthmoving has begun for Jagoe Homes’ 86-acre housing community at the cul-de-sac at the end of Barret Boulevard behind Walmart. That development over the next seven to 10 years could total up to 300 homes priced at an average of $250,000 each, according to a Henderson Economic Development news release from last February, when the project was announced.

Meanwhile, the construction value of all permits issued last month totaled just over $3 million, driven mostly by the Unbridled Solar and HCC projects. That compares with a total of $1.9 million in November 2022.

So far this year, the value of all permits issued by the city and county totaled $224.8 million, with the two Unbridle Solar permits accounting for more than 80% of that figure.

The compares with $172.8 million during the same period last year, which was dominated by a $125 million permit issued for construction of the Pratt Paper complex on the Kentucky 425/South Bypass.

Here are the permits issued here last month:

November 2023

City of Henderson

New commercial: KEB Real Estate Holdings LLC, 336 Rettig Road, $250,000.

Commercial remodeling: Commonwealth of Kentucky, 2660 S. Green St., $849,000.

Single-family residential demolition: Ragle Inc., 2106 Zion Road, $5,000; J.J. Renaker LLC, 401 Eighth St., $6,000; and Hazex Construction Co. Inc., 111 Thompson St., $4,200.

Single-family residential accessory: George Michael Chambers, 3240 Green River Road, $15,000; and Reality Homes, LLC, 626 S. Green St., $4,500.

Single-family residential addition: Schriber Concrete, 187 Melwood Place, $50,000.

Signs: Cliff Hagan Boys and Girls Club, 735 N. Elm St., $75; and Alveys Sign Co., 914 N. Elm St., $7,440.

Total: $1.2 million

Henderson County

Commercial: Unbridled Solar, 8746 Knoblick Road, $1.1 million; Kyle and Natalie Martin, 5136 Kentucky 351, $20,000; Scott Smith, 5680 Riverport Road, $300,000; and Hydro Aluminum, 5801 Riverport Road, $160,000.

Sign: Aksharzi Inc., 14260 U.S. 41-South, $25,000.

Manufactured home: Lucas & Emily Pike, 7451 Dr Hodge Road, $185,000.

Garages/utility buildings: Douglas Justice,1135 School St, $6,000; Franklin Ransom, 5695 Kentucky 351, $30,000; and Melinda Luntsford, 6603 Hatchett Mill Road, $18,000.

Total: $1.8 million

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Jimmy John’s, HCC remodeling among new construction in Henderson