County sees more building

Construction is on the rise in Custer County.

As the economy slowly recovers from the recent crushing recession, construction is following suit, with building permits pulled in the county on the uptick in the past couple of years.

Through Oct. 16, 134 building permits had been pulled in Custer County, nearly the amount of permits that were pulled the entirety of last year, which was 140. Of the 134 taken out this year, 63 have been for new homes in the county, which already has surpassed last year’s figure, 62. There have also been two more commercial structures built than a year ago.

David Green, Custer County planning director, said he believes the rise in construction is related to the slowly recovering economy. However, also a product of the economy is the size of the homes. Green said in the past couple of years, there has been a trend of people building smaller homes. This year, the average home built so far has been 1,894 square feet, which is down from last year.

“I think the trend is to smaller houses,” Green said.