The City of Humboldt is looking back at a down year for construction investment in 2016.

The year saw a slower-market figures across the Province, including here in Humboldt.

Jennifer Brooks is the Director of Community Development for the City of Humboldt.

She explains the downturn.

"2016 wasn't a really strong year for Humboldt for our building permits and evaluations. It is indicative of a larger Provincial economic downturn that really just hit our region, meaning that folks were a little more cautious, and looking to take a 'wait and see' approach as the markets were down."

Brooks describes some of the results.

"We were pleased to see a range of projects that still moved forward in the community. We had a number of commercial, industrial, as well as residential renovations and enhancements that were done. The number of permits was slightly up, however the value was down, we had just under $5 Million in 2016, which was down almost $10 Million from 2015."

Brooks says there is no need to panic, as 2017 looks bright.

"We're optimistic, there's some strength in some of the larger urban centres within the Province and we're already seeing some inquiries and encouraging signs of development that'll happen in 2017."

Hear from Jennifer Brooks as she spoke with Clark Stork here: