The total value of building permits issued countywide in 2011 notched its first tick upward following four years of declining totals, records for Spokane County and the cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley show.

The permit valuations for last year in the three jurisdictions totaled $548 million, up 4.3 percent from $525.3 million a year earlier.

The total values in the three jurisdictions were buoyed somewhat by major apartment complexes with a combined value of $99.7 million, up from $60.3 million a year earlier (see above story).

The largest increase in total permit valuations in the three jurisdictions was in Spokane County, which issued permits valued at a total of $245.8 million in 2011, up from $185.8 million in 2010.

The county also issued permits for the largest single project in the three jurisdictions—the $42.7 million Caterpillar Logistics Services plant currently under construction at 9610 W. Hallett, on the West Plains.

In the city of Spokane, though, the total value of permits fell to $236.8 million in 2011, down from $252 million the previous year.

In 2010, however, the city's values included $84 million in permits for the county's wastewater treatment plant, says Sean Shields, the city's permit coordinator.

"So if you take that out, we would have been up in 2011," Shields says.

The largest project permitted by the city last year was the $29 million first phase of the Ferris High School modernization project at 3020 E. 27th, on the South Hill.

For this year, projects valued at more than $50 million are under plan review by the city so far. Another $70 million are in the pipeline, a figure that's based on predevelopment proposals and other conversations with developers and contractors, Shields says.

"We've got a lower number of permits in the system currently than we would like, but knowing already about $120 million in projects is a good thing," he says.

Early expectations for this year are that permit valuations will be around $250 million, Shields says, noting that annual totals for the city alone have averaged $254 million since 1995.

"We're not expecting great numbers or a full rebound yet," he says.

In Spokane Valley, permit valuations totaled $65.4 million in 2011, down from $86.5 million a year earlier.

The largest project permitted in Spokane Valley in 2011 was for the $11.6 million Walmart supercenter outlet under construction at 5025 E. Sprague.

The overall combined value of permits for single-family homes declined 5.2 percent to $131.1 million for 683 residential units, which compared with $138.2 million for 802 homes in 2010. The 2011 single family home permit valuation, though was 17 percent higher than in 2009.