The year 2007 appeared to be going out with a fizzle in terms of building activity in Leelanau County.

During the final two-week reporting period of the year – but with three working days left in the year and final statistics not yet compiled – numbers remained decidedly below last year’s.

Between Dec. 13 and Dec. 27, only nine new building permits with a combined estimated construction value of $1,281,681 were added to a file available for public perusal at the Leelanau County Building Inspections Department. That brought the year-to-date total number of permits issued to 561, and year-to-date construction values to $38,097,408.

The number of permits issued in 2007 was about 20 percent behind the number issued by this time in 2006. More significantly, the construction value estimated for those building permits was down nearly 25 percent from this time in 2006.

At this time last year, we noted that numbers between 2005 and 2006 were “nearly identical.”

Final statistics for the year, as prepared and issued by the county Building Inspections Department, are generally higher than the number reflected here this time of year because of a time lag in processing, issuing and placing permits in the file available for public review. A comprehensive wrap-up of building activity in the county based on the department’s official calculations will appear in the Enterprise later this month.

For now, the following is a list of projects for which permits have been issued, listed by the community in which the work is being done:

BINGHAM: Quality Associates (Bayview Contracting), one-story single-family residence on basement with covered porch, deck and attached garage at 5573 S. Spyglass Ridge Dr., $269,300; Michael A. and Mary A. Reed (Bardenhagen Construction), two-story residential detached garage at 3193 S. Lee Point Rd., $21,280.

CLEVELAND: Jesse and Jessica A. Carden (Seeco Contracting), one-story addition to single-family residence on crawlspace plus garage at 890 E. Narlock Rd., $44,690.
 

EMPIRE: Michael G. and Monika Heidel (Prestige Construction Group), two-story single-family residence on crawlspace with attached garage, deck and porches at 7980 W. Latter Rd., $203,640; Paul and Janice Richards, one-story single-family residence at 5627 W. Macfarlane Rd., $80,820.

GLEN ARBOR: Glen Peterson (Prestige Construction Group), demolition of residence at 6233 S. Glen Lake Rd., $1.

LEELANAU: Peter C. and Ilene H. Wolcott (Dan Ray Construction), two-story single-family residence on crawlspace with decks and attached garage at 12271 N. Island View Dr., $171,000.

SOLON: Scott A. and Sherry K. Oberholt (Tarras Construction), one-story single-family residence on basement with attached garage, deck and covered porch at 7110 E. Hoxie Rd., $314,280.