Construction goes on, warning lights flash

While Washington Gov. Jay Inslee deemed the majority of commercial and residential construction in the state non-essential, construction projects have continued in Idaho during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Post Falls Community Development Director Robert Seale said development in Post Falls has not slowed in the last month, although the city has modified its inspections to keep inspectors and construction crews safe.

Inspectors are not allowed to enter occupied homes and have postponed inspections for all occupied residences. Seale said the city is conducting virtual inspections on certain units — for example, to inspect a new furnace in an occupied residence.

“It’s for their safety and the public safety,” Seale said. “Our inspectors may visit up to 100 sites per day. Limiting the number of people they have to come into contact with at sites will protect everyone.”

Post Falls has 1,358 active residential permitted projects including new single family, duplexes, alterations, additions, decks, accessory structures, roofs, mechanical, plumbing and electrical projects. Of those, 845 of the permits were issued this year. The city also has 313 active commercial projects, including multi-family housing construction.

Coeur d’Alene officials are expecting a dip.

“What we’re going to see is a drop-off for next month,” said Ted Lantzy, building official for the city of Coeur d’Alene.

Lantzy anticipates project extensions as contractors ask to pause their projects because of economic uncertainties.

Rand Wichman, a contracted city planner for Athol and Dalton Gardens, first noticed a modest reduction in new building projects before COVID-19 became a significant concern.

“Some developers were already concerned that the market was going to start to slow down this year,” said Wichman, who also runs a land use planning and consulting company. “With the stay-at-home order and the recession that is widely expected to follow, that caution has only increased. More than one of my development clients has slowed down their projects to get a better sense for how this shakes out.”

A sprawling construction complex on Hayden Avenue between Ramsey and Atlas roads hasn’t slowed. Crews are busy at work, erecting a new brick and steel facility for H.D. Fowler, a plumbing supply distribution chain.

Barry Baker, president and majority owner of Baker Construction for the past 43 years, said his Spokane-based company — which is licensed in 12 states — has seen all manner of reaction to the coronavirus. He said Idaho’s approach has been the most reasonable.

“When you think about construction, you want to be safe,” he explained. “You want to promote social distancing. But in construction, typically, two guys seldom work close together.”

While Inslee has limited construction to publicly financed low-income housing and to address essential businesses and emergency repairs at non-essential businesses and residential structures, building in Idaho continues without statewide restrictions.

“We haven’t had any problems yet with supplies or materials,” Baker said. “We’ve had trouble getting something from one of our wholesalers, but that’s because the wholesaler had to shut down because of [the coronavirus]. It’s not that there’s a shortage in that case; what we need is in their warehouse. It’s just a communication problem, because nobody’s there to pick up the phone.”

Baker expects disruption in the supply chain as construction picks back up in neighboring states.

“I appreciate your governor’s approach, as opposed to our governor’s approach,” Baker said from his Spokane office. “We’re blessed in the matter that Idaho has not shut things down the way that Washington has.”

In the south-central portion of Idaho hit hard by the pandemic, the city of Ketchum forced all housing and commercial construction projects to cease operations until at least April 12. Property owners were permitted to work on their own property, but not allowed to hire help from individuals living outside their residence. The city will not conduct any building inspections during the shut-down.

The Wood River Valley, home to Ketchum, saw the first case of community transmission in the state and took drastic measures to protect residents. In keeping with the governor’s initial stance on closing school districts, the extent of precautionary measures against the pandemic have largely been left up to the discretion of cities.

In Coeur d’Alene, project permits are comparable to last year. Construction typically heats up in March. If anything, January was more of a harbinger of an economic slowdown, before the coronavirus struck Idaho. This year’s opening month saw fewer than 200 permits issued, compared to 230 in January 2019 and 225 in January 2018.

In Rathdrum, Mari Davey, public works administrator and assistant planner for the city, has not noticed any slowdown in building permit applications being submitted. The city has 121 active building permits, 115 for residential projects. The total project cost is just over $45 million, with nearly half of that construction value in the city’s six commercial projects.

In Athol, P1FCU received a building location permit Thursday to construct a new credit union. Wichman expects to see permits issued for a new AutoZone and new gas station/convenience store in the next week.