‘It’s a good, good sign’ Growth on display with building permit numbers

An eyeball test alone is currently showing Brandon’s continued growth.

And 2025 year-end building permit numbers are backing that up. 

“Brandon might not have the official numbers to say that it’s booming, but I think it is,” said Brandon Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer Paul Clarke. “It’s a good, good sign.”

While multi-family home permits are down a tick from 2024, Clarke said single family home numbers are up. 

Part of the slight dip in 2025 on multi-family homes is because of the two massive apartment complexes in Aspen Ridge, just south of the Brandon Golf Course, and in Chestnut Ridge on the east side of town. Although construction on many of those projects began in 2025, the permits were actually issued in 2024. 

While apartment buildings gobbled up much of the permit numbers in 2024, Clarke said there are a number of four-plexes and town homes being built where those permits were issued in 2025.

“It’s a little more variety,” he said in regards to four-plexes and town homes. “So there’s a variety of multi-family options. It’s a good way for a young family to start out as renters and then move up to a town house and then eventually they’ll get to a single-family home.”

Although the multi-family numbers have seen a recent jump, it’s been a long time coming. Several City Council meetings over the last several years have been contested by single-family home owners who are in proximity of a proposed apartment complex, or four-plex, or town home.

“I think there’s going to be a lot more of that,” Clarke said of multi-home construction. “And I think the City Council appreciates that, too. They want to see a variety of housing units available whether they be rental or single family or four-plexes.”

River Park, a mixed-use development with both residential and commercial lots available on Brandon’s west side along Holly Boulevard, is just beginning to see rooftops. It will include a new Fareway Grocery Store, a potential convenience store along with multi-family and single family homes. VanBuskirk Construction is currently developing the area, and sold many of the single-family home lots off to KN Construction.

“Between Aspen Ridge and River Park, that’s where all the push is. I think 2026 is very optimistic,” Clarke said. “Certainly, there will be more houses and town homes to build in Aspen Ridge. And then River Park, that’s just going to blow up. You’re going to continue to see a lot of new rooftops.”

Interest rate numbers are also encouraging for 2026. At the start of 2025, forecasters at Consumer Affairs said they predicted a 30-year fixed home rate would creep into the 7 percent range at some point over the next 12 months. It did, but according to Forbes, the current rate for the same loan is 6.15 percent.

“And that’s really good,” said Michael Gross, a realtor at Michael Gross Realty Group/Hegg Realty. “I’d take 6.15 percent in a second.”

Along with residential growth, Brandon also saw a bump in commercial building permits in 2025. Fareway joins a Jersey Mike’s location at the corner of Sioux and Holly. Kwik Star is planning a second location in the circle at Brandon 90 Plaza. The Plaza is also welcoming a new Les Schwab Tire Center, which Clarke said should open around April.

“Commercially, we’re opening some doors and getting some national name brands,” he said.

Clarke said a national chain restaurant is also close to making an announcement of their intentions to build a new store along Splitrock Boulevard, on the empty lot in front of Celebrate Community Church.

The Brandon Valley School District also helped with 2025 numbers with the addition to the Middle School, along with the new Burkman Valley Elementary near the intersection of Chestnut and Redwood boulevards.

Hidden Valley Golf Course also recently raised their decades-old club house, and are building a new club house, which also helped with 2025 numbers.

Spartan Emergency Response, a full-line manufacturer of fire vehicles, also invested $20 million in a new building and an addition on their current structure located on Seventh Avenue.