Indoor sports facility, potato sheds among biggest projects

EPHRATA — While county residents were building a lot of houses, the highest-value projects that received building permits were commercial and industrial.

Grant County issued 162 building permits for new houses in 2019, and another 83 permits for manufactured homes, according to a year-end report issued by the county’s building department.

The value of the permits issued for dwellings was $42,377,820, and the value of the manufactured home permits was $4,601,440. The building department issued 61 permits to add living space to an existing building or to remodel a residence. They were valued at $2,067,684.50.

The county issued 229 permits for accessory buildings to residential properties, for a total valuation of $6,023,959.40.

County officials issued 829 building permits in 2019, down from 903 in 2018. The total valuation of projects dropped as well. For 2019 it was $90,439,821.90, compared to $98,629,240.50 in 2018.

Coco Ventures had the biggest project approved in 2019; the building, about 39,000 square feet, will house an indoor baseball and sports training facility, across the street from the Big Bend Community College campus. The project was valued at $5,782,500.

Owners of the Genie facility in Moses Lake applied for a permit to build a storage lean-to, valued at $2,508,000.

Potato storage sheds accounted for three of the top six projects, with permits granted to Weber Farms ($2,333,250), LA Storages ($2,183,220) and Segale Properties ($1,657,980).

The Consolidated Disposal project to rebuild the Moses Lake facility destroyed by fire was valued at $1,884,312.

Woodinville Whiskey Company was granted permits to build a bottling facility ($1,642,502) and a barrel storage facility ($1,416,400). According to the company’s website, the grain used in its products is grown near Quincy.

The Hutterite Brethren were granted a permit to build a new church and gym near Marlin, a project valued at $1,435.212.

Big Bend is building a new Aviation Maintenance Technology facility, valued at $1,628,744. The existing AMT building will be demolished as part of the conditions for building the new Workforce Education Center, which is now nearing completion.

Agriculture uses accounted for 64 building permits, with a total valuation of $12,354,241. The county issued 30 permits for business and retail facilities, valued at $1,517,752. Industrial and food processing facilities accounted for 14 permits, an estimated $6,751,540 valuation.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].