Lawrence builders started construction projects valued at more than $19 million during July, up 76 percent from the same period a year ago.

At $19.01 million, July marked the third-straight strong month of construction activity in the city, down about 6 percent from $20.34 million in June and up from $12.62 million in May.

Last July’s total was $10.8 million.

For the year, Lawrence builders have started projects valued at $82.24 million, according to a new city report. That is down about 13 percent from $94.86 million worth of projects started during the same period a year ago. But this year’s total was well above 2000, when there were $70.83 million in construction starts through July.

A new apartment complex and several large commercial construction projects led the way this July. A $2.75 million parking garage at 1631 Crescent Road was the largest project. It was closely followed by a $2.74 million, 71-unit apartment complex at 700 Comet Lane. Work also began on a $2.59 million industrial building in East Hills Business Park that Douglas County Development Inc. is building in an attempt to lure new companies to the area.

Other large projects started in July:

l A $597,000 expansion of Dale Willey Automotive at 2840 Iowa. Greg Maurer, general manager of the dealership, said the company was adding 8,000 square feet to its building, allowing the showroom to double in size and for the service department to add more service bays. Maurer estimated the expansion would allow the company to add four new sales people and three new service technicians.

l A $150,000 remodeling of the Wal-Mart store at 3300 Iowa. Assistant Store Manager Danny Bibbs said the company was replacing much of the store’s flooring, bathrooms and shelving, and it also was reconfiguring some checkout aisles.

“It’s basically just a total face lift,” Bibbs said. “We would like for customers to come in and say, ‘Wow, this looks like a brand-new store.'”

Bibbs said the work would be complete by Oct. 15, when the company plans on having a grand reopening at the store. The store, however, will remain open during the remodeling.

In single-family construction, builders in July started 27 new homes. That number is down from 32 started in June, and it is slightly below the 28 started in July 2001. For the year, single-family construction continues to be on its slowest pace since 1990. Builders have started 178 new homes in 2002 compared to 186 through July 2001.