What's happening: The city issued 136 building permits in June covering $11.6 million in construction and renovation work, according to the city's monthly permit activity report. That closes the first half of 2026 at 732 permits and $55,005,860.24 in permitted construction, with the city collecting over $2.5 million in fees.
Behind the numbers: The first quarter ran cooler than the second. January, February and March combined for 329 permits and $20.3 million. April, May and June combined for 403 permits and $34.7 million, a jump of more than 70% in construction value from only a quarter more permits. One month explains most of that gap. April alone brought in $14.3 million, more than February and March combined.
The context: Big single projects are driving the swings, not a rising tide of small ones. February had 99 permits and no project over $650,000. April had only 35 more permits issued than March but three projects over $1.4 million. Underneath those swings, the same patterns held every month.
Sewer lateral repairs and replacements appeared on every month's permit report, 95 in all. Roughly one in five cite a city notice to repair. The rest are voluntary full replacements or spot repairs, homeowners getting ahead of a failure rather than reacting to one. Hardiman Construction/Trenchless Titan and Pipe Spy Marin handled the largest share of that work. Heat pump conversions and solar and battery installations ran at a similarly steady clip all six months, a shift already underway before the year began.
Why it matters: Two of the year's more consequential permits sit on Sunnyside Avenue. The former downtown post office at 55 Sunnyside, vacant for six years after the post office moved to Lomita Drive in 1982, was permitted in May for conversion into Wonderhouse, a family coworking space, at $1,798,346.
A few doors down, 20 Sunnyside Avenue drew its building permit in April for five two-story townhouses behind the existing office building, a project developer Steve Geiszler first brought to the Planning Commission in January 2024 and won approval a year later.
Downtown, the former bank at 60 Throckmorton Avenue drew a $2.3 million tenant improvement permit in January. The City Council approved the building's conversion in November 2023 after denying an appeal over parking and valet plans. The Planning Commission amended the approval in December 2024, dropping the original restaurant and roof deck in favor of retail, a gallery, coworking space and private offices.
The biggest permits of the first half:
A remodel on Cypress Avenue, $3.9 million, issued January.
A new two-story residence with attached garage and ADU on Buena Vista Avenue, $2,688,900, issued April.
60 Throckmorton Avenue, $2,297,000, commercial tenant improvement, issued January.
100 Coleridge Drive, $1,994,000, multi unit sewer lateral replacement, paid in April.
55 Sunnyside Avenue, $1,798,346, Wonderhouse conversion, issued May.
A remodel and addition on Myrtle Avenue, $1,776,747, issued June.
A remodel and second story addition on Hilarita Avenue, $1,755,000, issued May.
A remodel on Wildomar Street, $1,638,665, issued June.
An addition to the main house and new attached ADU on Sycamore Avenue, $1.3 million, issued March.
20 Sunnyside Avenue, $1.3 million, lot split and construction of five townhouses, issued April.
📋 A note on this story: We report on permits that are part of the city's public building record and that raise questions relevant to the broader community. In cases where the direct impact of a decision affects only a small number of residents, we omit the property address and the names of private residents involved.
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Little League 14s force winner-take-all title game; 10s and 11s tournament runs end
What happened: Mill Valley's 14s clawed back from the brink of elimination this week, winning two straight games to force a decisive sectional final, while the 10s and 11s saw their tournament runs end.
The 14s' backs were against the wall after Sunday's 15-5 loss to North/South Oakland, their first loss of the tournament. One more loss would have ended their season, so the 14s had to win Monday just to keep playing, and did, beating Woodland 16-1. Mill Valley broke the game open with eight runs in the first inning and added more in each of the next three innings.
That win over Woodland set up a rematch with North/South Oakland, and this time the tournament format meant Mill Valley had to beat them twice to take the sectional title. The 14s took the first step yesterday, beating Oakland 12-1 to even the season series and force a decisive Game 2.
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