The City of San Bernardino Building and Safety Division issued 6,093 building permits in 2022, more than any other recent year. The total reflects an increase of 42.6% over 2021 when 4,270 permits were issued.
“These numbers show that people are investing in San Bernardino,” said Mayor Helen Tran. “There is a great deal of opportunity here and I am glad to see people are taking advantage of it.”
The valuation of the permits issued also jumped significantly, totaling $363,841,706. This represents an increase of 57% over 2021 or a gain of more than $132 million in investment. Building permit valuations do not reflect total project costs. Property acquisition costs and architecture services are excluded. Government projects are not included in the total either.
“I expect these numbers to increase further in 2023 despite the national economic headwinds,” said San Bernardino Community, Housing, and Economic Development Agency Director Nathan Freeman. “We have a number of large projects in the queue and our phone continues to ring with developer interest.”
In the short term, the increase in permitted activity will be reflected in an increase in local construction jobs, to be followed by new housing, new shopping options, permanent jobs, local sales tax revenue, and property tax revenue.
Freeman added that San Bernardino is in the process of launching a One Stop Shop to speed up the development process. “This is reinventing our customer service approach to serving residents, contractors, investors, and developers through the entitlement and permitting process, making it easier to get projects done.”