A blitz of high-profile, high-dollar construction projects contributed to a significant increase in the number and value of building permits issued in the city of Dubuque last year.

In 2024, the city issued 1,861 building permits for projects totaling roughly $254.5 million in construction value. That’s an 8% increase in permits issued and a prodigious 69% increase in overall construction value from 2023 totals.

Mike Belmont, city of Dubuque assistant housing director, said the increase indicates burgeoning confidence within the construction industry and increasing interest in Dubuque from both local and national developers.

“When building permits are up, it indicates a kind of vibrancy in the community,” Belmont said. “People are excited. They’re moving in and starting new businesses, and I think we have a really strong outlook for those kinds of projects.”

City-issued building permits are required for a variety of private, public and commercial projects.

The majority of the building permits issued in 2024 were for residential remodels or smaller commercial renovations. The permits with the highest monetary values were issued to large-scale commercial projects.

The largest single permit issued in 2024 was for the construction of a new, seven-story boutique hotel at Q Casino + Resort. The construction value of that permit was $32.4 million, not including furnishings or other interior design needs.

Crews with Conlon Construction broke ground on the project in April, and the hotel is expected to open this fall. Dubbed “Key Hotel,” the facility will include 90 guest rooms as well as a rooftop restaurant and exclusive event space.

Q Casino + Resort President and CEO Alex Dixon anticipates the new hotel will be a beneficial addition to the resort’s facilities and will increase its ability to compete for customers in the regional tourism market.

“We want to be a consideration for people looking to travel for fun or business,” he said. “By having an elevated brand — both literally and figuratively with it being (a seven-story building) — that lets us compete to bring those people to Dubuque.”

Other considerable projects permitted in 2024 include public and private school improvements, municipal projects and multiple new housing developments.

Several of the projects revolve around area youth. Construction began last year on The Wanderwood Gardens, a children’s garden expected to open in 2026 adjacent to Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

The children’s garden will have 15 different elements, including an education center, interactive sculpture gardens, a water play area and a stage where volunteers will tell stories and children can also act out their own. The city-issued permit lists a total construction value of $8.9 million.

Project secretary-treasurer Andy Butler said work now is underway on the gardens’ hard surfaces and physical buildings. Once that is complete, plantings will bolster the ecological side of the project and really bring it to life.

“The really fun part is getting to see the buildings come up from the ground. You start to think about how it’s going to impact the kids, and you can’t help but get excited,” Butler said.

Across town, construction also began at St. Columbkille Elementary School as part of a $14 million renovation that will add roughly 19,000 square feet to the school’s footprint for new classrooms, cafeteria space and more.

Construction began in the summer of 2024, and project leaders anticipate completion by Aug. 1.

That timeline will allow for students to return to the building for the 2025-2026 school year, said St. Columbkille Catholic Church co-pastor the Rev. David Schatz. In the interim, those grade levels have been relocated to other Holy Family Catholic Schools facilities.

“It’s been great to see the flow of the space come together (as construction continues),” Schatz said. “It’s going to be a new school for the kids, but they’re going to feel like it’s very natural to use the space.”

Belmont noted the high number of multifamily residential projects in particular that received permits last year.

Union at the Marina received the necessary permits to construct 201 apartments in the area of Kerper Boulevard and Hawthorne Street with an overall construction value of nearly $31.74 million, and permits also were issued to smaller complexes along Bies Drive and Radford Road.

Belmont anticipates a continuation of that trend in 2025 and noted that the city is working with several residential and commercial developers on permits to begin projects during the upcoming construction season.

“The City Council put into effect some development incentives that I think are really taking hold,” Belmont said. “We’re seeing a lot of new (housing) units coming, so we’re excited about that.”