Oil City saw more than $11.5 million in new construction in 2020 with most of the work focused on commercial projects.
A tally of 83 building permits filed with the city last year pegged the total value of new construction at $11,556,591.
Those figures are a jump from the 77 permits filed in 2019 with an accompanying $9.5 million in new construction.
Top construction projects
The single biggest construction project involved two permits totaling $6.8 million. They were for improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant in the West End and a pump station along Oil Creek.
Also taking top billing in 2020 were major interior upgrades at the Verizon building at 360 Seneca St. where four permits listed an estimated construction cost of $2,643,270.
Oil City School District spent $650,000 to repair the school swimming pool and surrounding area.
And the Oil City Housing Authority saw renovation work done on its housing units throughout the city. The final tally of costs was $492,000 last year.
Venango County continued its renovation work at the Cornplanter Square building in the city’s North Side business district. The 2020 building permit was for $382,000 for a new roof on the former bank building.
The Country Fair convenience store at 1 Spring St. filed two permits with the city. They were for interior renovations to prepare for the sale and service of beer and wine and the replacement of a tank top for an underground storage unit.
The total costs were projected at $155,500.
One notable inclusion in the list of building permits issued last year by the city was for the demolition of the Assumption Church at 7 Pulaski St. The permit was filed by the St. Joseph Parish Charitable Fund and listed a value of $49,850 for the demolition work.
$1 million-plus for homes
The residential side of the permit listing showed 67 of the 83 permits filed were for residential improvements. Total estimated construction costs were $1,033,220.
Most of the work focused on foundation repairs, pool and deck construction, porches, roofing, window replacements and siding installation.
The largest projects were an $80,000 addition to a house and a $22,000 renovation project for a home. Both residences are on the South Side.
The city also tracked the demolition of buildings in 2020. A total of 14 demolition permits were issued and all were for houses.
Of that number five homes were on the South Side with the remainder on the North Side.
As with 2020, the bulk of the overall construction figures centers on government-owned facilities.
In 2020, the City of Oil City accounted for $6.8 million, or just over one-half of all of estimated construction figures, for sewage plant and pump station work.
In 2019, that held true again when a single project – the construction of a new county transportation complex on Elm Street – carried a $7.7 million price tag. That accounted for about 80% of all construction costs in the city.
