{
  "id": "downtown-business-permits",
  "category": "Downtown",
  "title": "Building permits for shops, offices and restaurants downtown",
  "geography": "Downtown Victoria (the City of Victoria's Downtown neighbourhood)",
  "scope": "city",
  "levels": [
    "Municipal (permits issued by the City)",
    "Business owners and landlords"
  ],
  "plain_question": "How many permits a year did the City issue to build, renovate or fit out commercial space downtown?",
  "value": 61.3,
  "display_value": "61",
  "unit": "building permits a year for commercial properties (average of 2023–2025)",
  "period": "Calendar years 2023–2025 (yearly average)",
  "period_start": "2023-01-01",
  "period_end": "2025-12-31",
  "comparison": {
    "previous_period": "2020–2022",
    "previous_value": 68.7,
    "change_percent": -10.7,
    "baseline_period": "2017–2019",
    "baseline_value": 114.0,
    "baseline_change_percent": -46.2
  },
  "since_text": "Was 69 a year in 2020–2022 and 114 a year in 2017–2019",
  "trend": "worsening",
  "trend_basis": "61.3 permits a year on average in 2023–2025, compared with 68.7 in 2020–2022 (-11%) and 114.0 in 2017–2019 (-46%). Three-year averages are used because the yearly numbers are small. Most recent 12 months for reference: 79 permits in the 12 months to Nov 9, 2026, compared with 54 in the 12 months before.",
  "direction_good": "up",
  "right_direction": "A higher number means more owners and businesses are investing in commercial space downtown, such as fitting out a new shop, restaurant or office.",
  "caveats": [
    "Counts building permits on properties the City classes as commercial in the Downtown neighbourhood: interior work (for example fitting out a shop, restaurant or office), larger or complex projects, and other commercial building work. Demolition, strip-out, blasting and noise permits, and permits later cancelled, are not counted. Each permit is counted once.",
    "A permit shows that someone is investing in a space. It does not show that a business opened, how long it stays, or how many storefronts are empty. Storefront vacancy is not published as open data (see the methods page).",
    "The numbers are small, so a handful of permits can move a single year; the headline therefore uses three-year averages (calculated here from the yearly totals). Calendar-year totals: 2010: 109, 2011: 155, 2012: 130, 2013: 100, 2014: 143, 2015: 118, 2016: 106, 2017: 111, 2018: 114, 2019: 117, 2020: 70, 2021: 72, 2022: 64, 2023: 69, 2024: 58, 2025: 57.",
    "The count is calculated here from the City's complete permit file, which is updated daily. The City also publishes a separate 10-year summary file whose counts for the same years are lower; that file is not used.",
    "Some permits may be entered after they are issued, so the most recent weeks can rise slightly when the file is refreshed."
  ],
  "series": [
    {
      "period": "2010",
      "value": 109
    },
    {
      "period": "2011",
      "value": 155
    },
    {
      "period": "2012",
      "value": 130
    },
    {
      "period": "2013",
      "value": 100
    },
    {
      "period": "2014",
      "value": 143
    },
    {
      "period": "2015",
      "value": 118
    },
    {
      "period": "2016",
      "value": 106
    },
    {
      "period": "2017",
      "value": 111
    },
    {
      "period": "2018",
      "value": 114
    },
    {
      "period": "2019",
      "value": 117
    },
    {
      "period": "2020",
      "value": 70
    },
    {
      "period": "2021",
      "value": 72
    },
    {
      "period": "2022",
      "value": 64
    },
    {
      "period": "2023",
      "value": 69
    },
    {
      "period": "2024",
      "value": 58
    },
    {
      "period": "2025",
      "value": 57
    }
  ],
  "series_note": "Calendar-year totals",
  "source": {
    "name": "City of Victoria, Open Data Portal (Building Permits)",
    "url": "https://opendata.victoria.ca/",
    "dataset_url": "https://opendata.victoria.ca/datasets/96207097159742f8af47216bc09fe1dd",
    "download_url": "https://maps.victoria.ca/CustomMaps/OpenData/BuildingPermits.csv"
  },
  "licence": {
    "name": "Open Government Licence - City of Victoria",
    "url": "https://opendata.victoria.ca/pages/open-data-licence"
  },
  "refresh_frequency": "Daily",
  "data_published": "2026-11-09",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-11-11T07:39:16Z",
  "attribution": "Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - City of Victoria."
}