Fort Smith metro building activity up more than 15% through May

Building activity in the Fort Smith metro had an upward swing in May. Building permits issued in Fort Smith, Greenwood, and Van Buren totaled $29.03 million, up 76.4% from the $16.453 million in May 2024, and up 61.9% from the $17.927 million in April.

Year-to-date, the three cities reported $119.326 million in permitted projects, up 15.4% from $103.438 million in the first five months of 2024.

Fort Smith issued 271 permits in May with a value of $27.048 million, up 73% from the $15.61 million value of 214 permits issued in May 2024. The city has issued $102.649 million in building permits through May, up 12.5% from the $91.271 million value of permits issued in the same period of 2024.

There were four Fort Smith permits issued for new residential construction of single-family homes in April with a total value of $1.592 million, up 17.3% from the $1.357 value of five new single-family homes construction projects in April but down 54.7% from the $3.518 million value of 17 new single-family home construction permits issued in May 2024.

There were two permits for new commercial construction during the month with a combined value of $2.05 million. A building permit for construction of a 6,152-square-foot new Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy store at 8001 S. Zero St. was issued on May 6.

Fort Smith also has issued a $14.917 million building permit for a project at 4300 Geren Road, which is south of Rheem’s Fort Smith facility on Arkansas Highway 45 and north of the Silgan manufacturing plant. The permit was issued to Brighton, Mich.-based BC Construction Group, which specializes in building large facilities for warehouse use, distribution centers, advanced manufacturing, and charter schools. BC clients include FedEx, Hyundai, American Tire, the U.S. government, and Loomis. Sources have told Talk Business & Politics the facility will be around 72,000 square feet and will be a distribution and logistics center for a retail operation.

VAN BUREN, GREENWOOD
Van Buren, the region’s second largest city, had 70 projects permitted in May with a value of $1.381 million, 32.5% less than the $2.047 million value of 82 projects permitted in May 2024.

The city issued 14 permits for residential construction during the month with a value of $1.215 million, 433% more than the $228,000 value of two residential projects in May of last year.

Van Buren had a total of $12.23 million in permitted building activity in the first five months of 2025, a 96.97% increase from the $6.209 million during the same time in 2024.

Greenwood issued 26 permits in May with a combined value of $600,509, a 123% increase from the $269,890 value of 19 permits issued in May 2024. Through May, the city issued building permits with a value of $5.42 million, down 3.3% from the $5.605 million in the first five months of 2024.

Fort Smith, Greenwood, and Van Buren building permit values in 2024 totaled $271.09 million, a 45% decline from $492.29 million in 2023. It was the first year since 2017 that regional building activity declined.

REGIONAL BUILDING ACTIVITY RECAP
Combined permit value totals for the three cities
2024: $271.09 million
2023: $520.64 million
2022: $480.37 million
2021: $343.28 million
2020: $265.97 million
2019: $241.74 million
2018: $231.78 million
2017: $210.84 million
2016: $211.34 million
2015: $218.89 million
2014: $198.98 million