Record year of growth for New Brunswick town

Riverview, N.B., building permits reached $137 million in 2024.

The town’s slogan is “A Great Place to Grow” and last year Riverview, N.B., certainly grew.

Building permits in Riverview reached $137M in value in 2024, the highest recorded year ever for permit numbers and value.

That’s four times what the value was in 2023.

One of the things driving the growth is the tremendous need for housing in the region.

From single unit dwellings to apartments, duplexes to townhouses, and accessory dwelling units and beyond, 444 new housing units in total were permitted in Riverview last year.

“We’re the fifth largest community in New Brunswick. We’re bigger than four cities in New Brunswick and we’ve still been able to maintain that small town feel,” said Riverview Mayor Andrew LeBlanc. “So, growth is possible and feeling like a small town is possible and we can do those two things at the same time. I think we’ve done it quite well.”

LeBlanc said growing the tax base is incredibly important for the long-term viability of the town.

“We really have two choices. We can grow the tax base and invite more people into town to help build the values that we love in Riverview, or we can increase the tax rate and have residents pay more money and in the economic climate, no one wants to do that,” said LeBlanc.

There were 180 permits issued in 2024 compared to 145 the year before.

Riverview’s residential vacancy rate was one per cent as of October, an increase from 0.7 per cent in 2023.

Seeing the town grow is incredibly satisfying for LeBlanc.

“Oh absolutely. The diversity we’re seeing in town is really exciting. Both culturally and otherwise, I think it’s great. We’re seeing an increase in seniors who want to retire in Riverview which is fantastic,” he said.

There’s currently around 22,000 people living in the family-oriented town.

“I think when you talk to residents the number one thing that they express that they’re concerned about is maintaining the small town feel that Riverview has and I think it’s a real testament to the values that our residents have to the people in this town,” said LeBlanc.

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