Permits for institutional buildings rose by almost 33 per cent. Of the $33.5 million in permits, the largest was for the $26 million Church of Latter Day Saints temple, now under construction at 203 Street and 82 Avenue, the highest point in Langley.
In the commercial sector, $10 million of the $60.7 million in permits was for the foundation of the Langley Events Centre at 80 Avenue at 200 Street.
Industrial permits in 2007 dropped by 17.5 per cent to $61 million. The shrinking inventory of industrial land is a large factor in the decline. However, although Langley's closest neighbours, Abbotsford and Surrey, are building industries on land poached from the Agricultural Land Reserve, Langley's industrial sector will regain strength as the 200 Street corridor, from Willowbrook to the Highway 1 interchange, is developed.
And, MacKinnon pointed out, while permits for industry dropped, the amount of floor space created by those permits rose to 1.3 million square feet in 2007, another record.
"When the 250,822 square feet of commercial floor space is combined with the industrial amount, the total of almost 1.6 million square feet represents the highest annual amount ever recorded," MacKinnon said.
Residential development is clearly cooling. The $218.7 million in permits represented a 5.8 per cent fall. Interest in single-family houses remained steady, but permits for multi-family units dropped.
When compared to the same period last year, statistics for the first five months of 2008 paint a more graphic picture: The number of residential units is down by 50 per cent and, at $110 million, the value of permits in the sector is down significantly from last year's $175 million (January to May).