Increases in commercial and retail building permit activity in Melbourne
Inner Melbourne alone experienced 24 per cent growth in the value of building permit activity during the ten months leading to October 11 compared with the same period last year, according to new figures published by the Building Commission.
The data indicated that the value of building permit activity is generally on the increase, with growth recorded in a total of five of seven categories, according to deputy building commissioner Neil Savery.
But while inner Melbourne is "leading the way", Savery said rural areas of the state did not fare as well, with a 13 per cent fall during the same time period.
According to the latest pulse research, the value of commercial building permits reached $2.3 billion - an increase of 16 per cent. Retail saw an even larger rise, experiencing a 53 per cent leap to 1.3 billion.
Commercial properties in Melbourne are set to undergo something of a "retrofitting revolution", according to Cathy Oke, chair of the Future Melbourne (Eco-City) Committee.
The local authority is working to connect building owners with funding that would enable them to make older office buildings across the CBD more energy efficient.
Oke said the council's "ambitious plan" could result in the retrofitting of more than 1,200 buildings across Melbourne's city centre.
