2021 was a busy year for construction in the Pikes Peak and Pueblo regions

Last year was a record-breaking year for commercial construction permits in the Pikes Peak region with 550 new projects, up by more than a third over 2020.

That's according to the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, which handles permitting for El Paso County, Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Monument, Palmer Lake, and Woodland Park in Teller County.

The 2021 commercial permits included apartment complexes with nearly 4,000 new units, a quarter of which are in downtown Colorado Springs, as well as a new hospital, two new medical centers, a Coca-Cola distribution center, 5 new hotels, and Colorado’s first Whataburger restaurant.

The agency also said this was the second year in a row they’ve issued more than 5,000 new single-family home permits, and estimate the total value of 2021’s construction at more than $4.3 billion.

Single-family home building in the Pueblo area is ticking up too, which has been the trend for the past decade. The Pueblo Regional Building Department reports issuing 28 percent more new home permits in 2021 than the year before. That totals 729 new homes around the city and county. In comparison, only 111 permits were issued in 2011, after a high of almost 1,200 in 2006.

Much of the new home construction in Pueblo is currently happening in subdivisions that have been stagnant for about 13 years, according to the city planning department.

Meantime, Pueblo has approved rezoning for a number of developments that could add up to thousands of new residential units. The largest is a nearly 1,200-acre project in northeast Pueblo near the Colorado State University campus that is expected to have some 4,300 dwelling units of different types.

Commercial construction in the Pueblo area saw a much smaller bump from 37 to 39 permits, but the estimated value of those projects was up by about 48 percent to total more than $104 million.

More people are opting to install solar power at their Pueblo homes too. Those permits are up 35 percent.