Apartments dominate new area building permits

New residential construction around the Twin Cities continues to plod along, led largely by apartment buildings.

Municipalities issued 228 construction permits last month, down slightly from 235 a year ago.

However, the total number of units permitted rose 38 percent to 604 from 437 a year ago as more permits were issued for apartment buildings, according to the monthly Keystone Report that the Builders Association of the Twin Cities issued Thursday.

Minnetonka topped the September list with 149 units permitted. Those are all for a senior housing project that Frana Companies has begun building near North Glen Lake Park.

Year-to-date, building permits are still outpacing last year by about 30 percent. About half the activity is multifamily as opposed to single family homes.