The rebuilding of Joplin appears to be gaining momentum. The city issued almost twice as many building permits in July as it did in June — and set an all-time record for the value of building permits issued in one month. The value of building permits in June and July has exceeded the value of building permits in all of 2010 by almost a third.
City officials say 1,570 building permits were almost $52 million last month. About half of the permits were for demolition projects. Sixty were for new homes.