Joplin building permits climb by $7 million in March

The Joplin Globe, Mo.
Updated ·2 min read

Apr. 17—The pace of construction picked up slightly in March for the city of Joplin.

Building permits provided by the city showed just over $7.4 million for the month, compared to $5 million in new residential and commercial construction in February, and just under that — $4.93 million — for January.

That is slower than November and December, when construction numbers were driven by several multimillion-dollar business projects.

The city's fiscal year runs from Nov. 1, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2023.

Construction in the first five months of the city's fiscal year hit $45.5 million.

The largest permit in March was $2 million for a new car wash at 1626 W. Seventh St. that will be west of the new Starbucks property, formerly MoJo Burgers. Permits in January and February topped $1 million.

Other large projects 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. WestRock was formed in 2015 from the merger of RockTenn and MeadWestvaco, two of the country's biggest manufacturers of cardboard and other types of boxes. RockTenn took over the property in 2005 when it acquired the former Gulf States Packaging.

—$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. In a statement, Owens Corning spokesperson Todd Romain said the work will "expand our packaging capabilities at our Joplin, Missouri, mineral wool manufacturing facility, which will increase the flexibility of our plant to meet customer demand."

Also in January and February, seven permits were filed for new homes, bringing the total to 37 new homes in the past four months, valued at $8.3 million. The value of new homes started this fiscal year averaging $226,305.

For the fiscal year that ended Oct. 31, 2022, construction in the city hit $224,548,386, according to city building permit records.

The permits reflect only construction taking place within the city limits of Joplin.