PLANT CITY - Building permit activity in the city is rapidly closing in on $100 million for 2006 with no sign of a downturn.

Builders pulled permits for $11.6 million in construction in June, including a near $1 million expansion at the Atco Rubber plant and 32 homes for a total of $4.3 million. At the half-way mark in the year, city building permit activity stood at $97.3 million.

The one-year record is $75.9 million in 1999.

“We haven’t seen any let up,’’ said Jesse Carr, who is in charge of the city’s building department.

“People are still pulling permits like crazy.’’

Part of the boom was fueled by a $39 million permit for an overhaul of the city utility plant but even without it, building is continuing at a pace that outdistances any other year.

“We’re going to break all records,’’ Carr said this morning.

Part of the rush is in home-building as the city annexes more and more land. City officials say about 9,000 new houses have been proposed in the city of about 33,000 residents.

Building permit activity is considered a key indicator of economic health.

Contact Dave Nicholson at (813) 865-4432 or dnicholson@tampatrib.com