PermitExplorer is now live for Decatur.
If you have ever wondered what is being built, repaired, demolished, upgraded, or permitted around town, the new PermitExplorer app gives you a searchable way to explore local building permit records.
You can try it here:
PermitExplorer is built as a companion to Decatur Development Update. The newsletter will continue to provide monthly context and analysis, while the app gives readers a way to search permit activity directly.
What You Can Search
The first version includes Decatur building permit records from recent city permit files.
You can search by address, contractor, owner, applicant, permit number, project type, permit value, and date range.
You can also browse project categories such as roofing, electrical, plumbing, solar, demolition, commercial building, residential building, and more.
Why I Built This
I have spent more than 20 years building websites and marketing systems for clients. PermitExplorer started as something different: a project I wanted to build for myself.
At first, I was just experimenting with local permit data. I wanted to see what could be learned from the records if they were cleaned up, organized, and made easier to search.
The more I worked with it, the more useful it became.
Public permit records can answer practical local questions, but they are not always easy to use. They can be spread across files, formatted inconsistently, and hard to scan if you are trying to answer something simple:
What is happening at this address?
Who is doing this type of work around town?
How much permit activity happened last month?
Which contractors are showing up often in the records?
Where are there signs of repair, reuse, demolition, or reinvestment?
PermitExplorer is meant to make that information easier to explore without turning readers into spreadsheet researchers.
A Local Project, Not a National Directory
PermitExplorer is starting with Decatur because this is a local project tied to Decatur Development Update.
It is not a mass-market directory pulling thin business profiles for every city in the country. The app is built around local permit records, local context, and the questions Decatur readers, property owners, real estate professionals, contractors, and local businesses may have.
Contractor Pages
PermitExplorer also includes contractor profile pages based on public permit records.
These pages show permit activity connected to contractors in the available data. Contractors can claim a listing if they want to update their public profile with more accurate contact details, service information, or business information.
A Note About Public Records
PermitExplorer is based on publicly available permit records. That means the app reflects what appears in the source data, including occasional formatting issues, missing fields, name variations, or records that may need review.
The goal is to make the data easier to search and understand while still treating the original public records as the source.
If you spot something that looks incorrect or needs review, you can contact me here:
What Comes Next
This is the first public version of the app.
Next, I plan to keep improving the data, add new Decatur permit records as they become available, clean up contractor name variations, improve contractor profiles, and build better ways to connect the app with Decatur Development Update.
For now, the best way to explore it is to search an address, click a contractor, or browse a project type.
Thanks for following along as PermitExplorer takes shape.
Jason Ferguson
PermitExplorer / Decatur Development Update
Will you please share this newsletter with a friend or colleague?
