By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

Despite the tumbling economy, September was a good month for building permits in Joplin.

The city issued 65 permits in September with an estimated value of $22.36 million, compared with 56 permits in September 2007 for $5.5 million in projects.

The Joplin R-8 School District had the largest building permit for September with its $19 million renovation and addition project at North Middle School. Construction plans call for gutting the 60,000-square-foot building and adding 93,000 square feet to it.

That project is being paid for by a $57 million bond issue that Joplin voters approved in April 2007. The bond issue also includes construction of two new middle schools.

Freeman Health System had the next largest project in September with a $582,000 permit for renovation of the west hospital emergency room to add a second magnetic resonance imaging machine. Heather Goff, Freeman spokeswoman, said the project is under way and will involve filling in the old emergency-room entrance behind the building.

While September was strong, so far fiscal 2008 is lagging behind 2007. By this time last year, Joplin had issued $112.64 million in building permits. This year, that number is at $84.78 million.

The city’s fiscal year runs from Nov. 1 to Oct. 31.

Last fiscal year ended up being a record year for Joplin, with $128.1 million in building permits issued.

The figures do not include construction taking place outside the city limits, such as the two new middle schools or the casino and hotel complex near the Oklahoma state line.

Besides the school and hospital projects, 14 other commercial additions and renovations received permits in September. Two new commercial structures also received permits last month: a $250,000 metal building for American Ramp Co. and a $65,000 tower for T-Mobile.

Joplin issued permits for eight new residential starts in September. Four of those houses are projected to cost more than $200,000 each, and one had projected construction costs of $600,000. A $289,000 duplex project also helped boost September’s building-permit numbers.