St. Paul has issued building permits for projects valued at more than $143 million so far this year along the Central Corridor light-rail transit line on University Avenue, now called the Green Line, officials said last week.
That's slightly more than the value of St. Paul building permits along the line for all of 2012, and a 49 percent hike in permit valuation since 2008.
From 2009 through 2012, the average yearly valuation of St. Paul building permits along the line was $97 million.
City officials expect that permits will rise to $150 million by the end of the year.
"The growing number of building permits represents something that is very real and extremely positive," said Steve Johnson, chair of the Midway Chamber of Commerce and a BankCherokee vice president.
The Metropolitan Council recently estimated that $1.7 billion in new private development was finished or underway along the entire 11-mile Green Line, from Target Field in Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul.
KEVIN DUCHSCHERE
@KDuchschere
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