By GLENN WOJCIAK

The Post staff writer

New construction in 2011 dropped significantly from 2010 according to a year-end report prepared by the Medina County Building Department.

The department tracks residential and commercial construction through the building permits it issues for the county's townships and villages. It also issues commercial building permits for the city of Wadsworth, but not Brunswick and Medina.

The estimated value of all building permits issued in the county during 2011 was $136 million. That's 35 percent lower than 2010 when the county calculated it issued permits for $208.9 worth of construction. The value of residential building permits issued last year was $65.8 million, a drop of 13 percent from 2010.

The value of commercial construction around the county last year was estimated at $70.2 million. That was 47 percent less than 2010, but 2010 was an unusual year for big projects. The biggest of those was the building permit issued for Wadsworth High School, which alone was valued at $72 million.

New home construction in 2011 also took a significant drop, however. The county issued permits for only 220 new homes in 2011, the lowest number in at least a decade. New home construction ticked upward slightly in 2010 when the county issued permits for 289 new homes. That was the first time in several years that the county building department issued more permits for single family homes than it did the previous year.

However, the 220 new home permits issued in 2011, was lower even than 2009, the previous low point for the past decade when 256 single family home permits were issued. The county issued as many as 750 single family home permits as recently as 2006.

The county issued 10 building permits for new homes in December, less than half the number it issued in December of 2009 and 2008.

Montville and Brunswick Hills townships were the locations of the most new home construction in 2011. The county issued 43 new home permits for Montville last year and 41 for Brunswick Hills. The county also issued 32 new home permits in the village of Seville last year and 20 in Hinckley Township.

The drop in commercial construction last year was not as disappointing by discounting the huge Wadsworth High project which was issued its building permit in 2010. Without that project, the county's $70.3 million worth of commercial construction in 2011 would have exceeded 2010 values and it was significantly higher than the $50.9 million in commercial projects the county issued permits for in 2009.

The county issued 153 commercial building permits in 2011. The county issued 47 of those for the city of Wadsworth, 29 in Montville Township, 18 in Medina Township and 15 in Sharon Township.

The county issued building permits for $2.1 million worth of commercial construction in December. The permits include a new storage building for Store With Us in Sharon Township estimated to cost $986,000. The county also issued a permit for a new addition at a Litchfield gas station and convenience store valued at $675,000.