Humboldt seeks funding for $35 million arena expansion

Lara Fominoff
Western Investor

Tribute centre, second ice surface and community uses are planned

An artist’s rendering shows the proposed expansion to the Elgar Petersen Arena.Submitted

Plans for a $35 million expansion to the civic arena in Humboldt are a step closer to reality.

Humboldt city council voted May 5 to submit an application to the federal and provincial Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) for the project, intended as a tribute centre to the Humboldt Broncos hockey team.

In April 2018, the team was involved in a fatal bus crash near Tisdale on its way to an SJHL playoff game in Nipawin. Sixteen people on the bus died and 13 others were hurt.

City manager Joe Day says the city is hoping to get 70 per cent of the cost of the new tribute centre covered.

“The facility itself is right in the $34 million to $35 million (range) … ICIP can provide up to 73 per cent of funding, so that ends up being right around $25 million that we’re applying for,” he said.

The plan right now is to build onto the existing Elgar Petersen Arena, which Day said is 40 years old and needs a lot of work itself. Last April, the city released a concept plan or vision for a tribute centre to see if there was any support.

“Over the last year or so, we’ve been completing some cases for support going out to some of the industries and that sort of thing to see if they’d be willing to donate or contribute to it. But (we’re) also doing some feasibility studies to ensure that the size, the scale (and) the scope all makes sense from a financial perspective,” Day said.

The addition would include a tribute gallery that would display some of the mementos and stories of the 2018 Broncos, including inspirations that have come out of the tragedy. There are also plans for a second ice arena and community use spaces.

Day said it would take around four months to find out whether the city gets the financial green light. After that, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“We’re going to be moving out, talking to some of our local stakeholders as well as other stakeholders to ensure that we keep moving forward with the design of the facility so that it really — as best as it can — serve so many different groups within the community,” he added.

Day said they’re also working with the Bronco Memorial Committee and several families.

Originally launched in 2016, a total of $33 billion in federal dollars is available through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. Saskatchewan communities will receive $896 million under a 10-year 

agreement signed with the province in 2018.

 

 

© 2022 Western Investor

Real estate association says higher interest rates pushing B.C. home sales back toward normal

The Canadian Press
CBC Radio

 April numbers from the B.C. Real Estate Association show a decreases in home sales of 34.9 per cent from the record high set in April last year. (Ben Nelms/CBC News)

The British Columbia Real Estate Association says the sharp increase in mortgage rates is pushing the province’s home sales down “a path to normalizing,” although it estimates a balanced market is at least a year away.

The association has released the B.C. home sales figures for April, showing 8,939 properties changed hands last month, a decrease of 34.9 per cent from the record high set in April last year.

However, prices continue to climb, averaging $1.065 million in April, a 12.9 per cent increase over the same period in 2021.

Association chief economist Brendon Ogmundson says fewer homes are listed for sale, meaning market conditions remain tight, but listings are “starting to accumulate” in some markets.

The April report shows the number of sales to active listings still remains far above 20 per cent in all B.C. regions, putting continued upward pressure on prices.

The association says provincial active listings were 7.5 per cent lower in April than in the same month last year, but Ogmundson predicts the trend will reverse as demand fades.

“Canadian mortgages have sharply increased, surpassing four per cent for the first time in a decade,” said Ogmundson.

“With interest rates rising, demand across B.C. is now on a path to normalizing,” he said in the statement released Thursday.

 

©2022 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved.

Higher interest rates put B.C. housing demand ‘on a path to normalizing’: BCREA

Michelle McNally
Livabl

Although a lack of supply is keeping market conditions tight, home sales in British Columbia trended lower during April thanks to rising interest rates, a sign that demand is starting to normalize.

New data released by the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) shows that B.C. logged a total of 8,939 residential sales over the province’s MLS systems in April. This marks 34.9 per cent decrease from the provincial sales record set in April 2021, when 13,736 homes were bought and sold.

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Between the province’s real estate boards, the majority of April’s transactions were counted in Greater Vancouver, where 3,281 sales took place. However, compared to the same month last year when 5,010 sales were recorded, transactions decreased 34.5 per cent year-over-year. Powell River reported the least amount of homes sold in April, where just 31 properties exchanged hands, 38 per cent less than 50 property sales a year ago.

Year-to-date, B.C. has recorded 35,618 transactions across the province. This is a notable 24.2 per cent decline from 2021, when 46,961 sales had been logged at this point in the year.

“Canadian mortgages have sharply increased, surpassing four per cent for the first time in a decade. With interest rates rising, demand across B.C. is now on a path to normalizing,” said BCREA’s chief economist, Brendon Ogmundson, in the market report. “However, given existing levels of supply, market conditions remain tight.”

B.C. home prices keep rising as active listings drop

On an annual basis, active B.C. listings trended downward in April, but the cost of a home continued to rise.

According to BCREA, a total of 23,345 listings were active provincewide in April, a 7.5 per cent decrease compared to the 25,243 active listings in the previous year. The majority of April’s active listings could be found in Greater Vancouver, where 9,176 homes were available for sale last month.

BCREA noted in its report that although listings were lower, the number of homes on the market are starting to accumulate in some areas as demand dissipates.

“However, it will likely take a year or more for the supply of listings to return to balanced market levels,” the report noted.

In April, the average MLS residential price in B.C. was $1.065 million, up 12.9 per cent from $943,765 in April 2021. Greater Vancouver recorded the highest average residential price in April at $1.340 million, 10.7 per cent higher than last year’s average of $1.211 million. Compared to the other real estate boards, the average home price grew the most in Powell River, where prices jumped 52 per cent from $553,385 to $841,387 in one year.

Last month, $9.5 billion in total sales dollar volume was recorded, down 26.5 per cent from $12.9 billion in April 2021. On a year-to-date basis, residential sales dollar volume in B.C. has dropped 10.7 per cent from $43.02 billion to $38.4 billion.

 

© 2020 BuzzBuzzHome Corp.

Spring has sprung, but Canadian home sales on ice after Bank of Canada forces rate hikes

National Post Staff
The Vancouver Sun

Dramatic drops from Vancouver to Halifax in April after increase in mortgage rates

Sales across much of Canada have slowed dramatically after the Bank of Canadas interest-rate hike forced banks to also move theirs up. Photo by Postmedia, file

Real estate markets saw steep declines on both coasts in April, with Vancouver sales down 34.1 per cent and Halifax off 25.5 per cent. The country’s most populous real estate region, Toronto, outdid both with a posted 41 per cent drop in sales.

The interest rate increases forced through by the Bank of Canada in its effort to slow the country’s booming real estate scene also hit southern Ontario, where the traditionally hot Toronto-area housing market felt the brisk wind of regulation.

The number of sales in April 2022 plunged 41.2 per cent from April 2021, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, but prices rose 15 per cent to $1,254,436 — which was slightly off the average selling price of $1,300,082 in March 2022.

GTA realtors reported 8,008 homes sold through MLS in April 2022 – a 27 per cent decrease compared to March 2022.

“Based on the trends observed in the April housing market, it certainly appears that the Bank of Canada is achieving its goal of slowing consumer spending as it fights high inflation,” Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) President Kevin Crigger said in a statement.

“Negotiated mortgage rates rose sharply over the past four weeks, prompting some buyers to delay their purchase. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see the balance the Bank of Canada strikes between combatting inflation versus stunting economic growth and related government revenues as we continue to recover from and pay for pandemic–related programs,” he said.

The country’s most populous housing market “continued its adjustment to higher borrowing costs,” TRREB noted. “As has been the case with previous rate-tightening cycles, some homebuyers have moved to the sidelines to determine how they will reposition themselves in the marketplace.”

Toronto’s real-estate rival, Vancouver, also experienced a dramatic slump in sales after home sales last month fell 34.1 per cent from the same time last year. April 2022 recorded just 3,232 sales compared with April 2021’s 4,908 sales.

But Daniel John, chairman of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, does not appear to despair. He sees it as a return to more normal levels.

“Over the last two months, we’ve seen home sales ease down from the record-breaking pace of the last year,” he said in a statement upon release of the results. “While (one month is) still a small sample size, the return to a more traditional pace of home sales that we’ve experienced so far this spring provides hopeful homebuyers more time to make decisions, secure financing and perform other due diligence such as home inspections.”

Price growth, too, has slowed. The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all Metro Vancouver residential properties — single-family, townhouse and condominium —  hit $1,374,500, an 18.9 per cent increase over April 2021 but just a one per cent increase compared to March 2022.

 

John attributed the slowdown to increased interest rates and a new five per cent levy on empty homes — typically aimed at foreign purchasers who park their money in the region without living there.

 

Halifax Harbour entrance with McNabs Island and  lighthouse at right and Halifax in the background. Photo by Postmedia, file

In another recently volatile market, the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors said the number of homes sold in Halifax totalled 1,350 units in April 2022, a sharp decrease of 25.5 per cent from the record set in April 2021 — but still the second-highest level for the month in its history.

A rapid influx of people from other provinces has seen prices skyrocket along the length and breadth of Nova Scotia. The average price in Halifax-Dartmouth reached $603,386 in April, a gain of one per cent from March.

Montreal home sales dropped by 17 per cent from last year, making it the slowest April since 2017. The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers recorded 5,124 homes sold in the Montreal area last month, down from 6,164 in April 2021.

The board says median prices for single-family homes in the Montreal metropolitan area rose 16 per cent to $580,000 in April 2022, and condo prices rose 15 per cent year-over-year to $410,000.

Moving west again, a different picture appears in Calgary. The benchmark price there reached $526,700 in April, up 17 per cent from the same month last year, the Calgary Real Estate Board reported. That figure was also up two per cent on a month-over-month basis, and as the Financial Post noted, it showed that higher interest rates had yet to bite into demand as the province’s economy rebounds.

CREB did note, though, that buyers were slowing their purchases of semi-detached and row-house segments in April, but sales levels remained historically strong.

A total of 3,401 homes exchanged hands last month, marking a six per cent boost year-over-year and a record high for the month of April. But that rate of sales had cooled slightly from March.

The Canadian Real Estate Association declined to comment ahead of its April results, which are due out on May 16.

 

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Housing shortcomings linked to undercounted demand, lack of construction capacity: CIBC

Michelle McNally
Livabl

Interest rates are climbing higher, but some economists argue that an adjustment to rates won’t make much of an impact in the housing market without dealing with Canada’s chronic supply issue.

In a new In Focus article with CIBC Capital Markets, Benjamin Tal, managing director and deputy chief economist, and Katherine Judge, director and senior economist, explained why higher rates will not necessarily cure the ailing housing market. Already, higher borrowing costs have caused a reaction in the marketplace, but this will not cure housing affordability challenges. Instead, a market slowdown may just ease symptoms or “worsen the supply-demand mismatch in the market.”

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“[Entering] a more relaxed housing environment should not ease the urgency in which the chronic lack of housing supply in the Canadian market is dealt with,” said the In Focus report. “After years of fighting supply issues using demand tools, governments at all levels finally recognize that over time, the housing affordability crisis will worsen without adequate supply policies.”

So what’s at the root of the supply issue? Tal and Judge pointed to inaccurate methodologies used to form housing policies and the industry’s lack of capacity to meet provincial and federal housing goals as part of the problem.

Comparing Canadian housing to other countries too simplistic

When it comes to judging how Canada’s housing market is doing, comparing its performance to other countries could be too simplistic of an approach.

To paint the picture of Canada’s housing supply challenges on an international scale, a comparison is usually made between the housing stock and the population using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) database. This method was used for the 2022 Federal budget by comparing Canada to fellow counties. However, this juxtaposition can be over simplified since it can be diluted by differences in household formation and demographics.

“Furthermore, taking housing stock as a share of the population doesn’t account for differences in demographics or cultural preferences that shape household sizes or formation rates,” said the CIBC economists. “Nor does it account for the different propensity to rent, as countries with higher shares of renters generally have more abundant housing supply.”

Even comparing the Canadian housing market to the United States can still be inaccurate. As Judge and Tal point out, both countries have similar housing stock by OECD standards, but this doesn’t explain why Canadian home prices have risen twice as quickly compared to the U.S. over the past 20 years.

“These shortcomings of international comparisons suggest that it’s more informative to look at Canada’s housing market in isolation to determine what’s behind the market’s imbalance,” said the report.

Undercounting of households leads to inadequate picture of demand

When it comes to gauging housing demand, Tal and Judge explained that household formation is the key variable to measure, but these numbers tend to be inaccurate.

Household formation data is gathered by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) by translating population growth into the number of households using the quality of households created from a given number of people. However, information is being lost in that translation, which is resulting in a “gross underestimate of the real number of households in Canada, and thus demand for housing.”

“And if demand is undercounted, then of course the supply released by municipalities to meet that demand will be inadequate,” explained the report.

For example, Statistics Canada’s Demographic Division counts all expired non-permanent resident visa holders as having left the country 30 days after their visas’ expiration. However, during the pandemic, non-permanent residents with expired visas were allowed to stay in the country through extensions, meaning those individuals are not included in any official statistics, but still need housing. In another case, Tal and Judge stated that CMHC calculations assume the same headship rate for new immigrants, non-permanent residents and long-term residents.

By Tal and Judge’s guess, current housing demand is undercounted by 500,000 households.

Industry faces limitations to meet promises for housing

By undercounting the demand for housing, the Canadian supply issue “is real and needs attention.” While there is no lack of ideas to create housing, not enough attention is being paid to the fact that the industry’s means to reach higher housing targets is limited, Tal and Judge explained.

One prong of the issue is the increase in the average time for construction completions.

“It takes twice as long to complete both low-rise and high-rise units today than it did two decades ago. And a lack of labour supply is a major cause of those delays,” said the report. “While large developers are usually able to secure their own labour pool, that’s not the case for mid-sized and small operators that account for 30 to 40 per cent of activity.”

Large-scale infrastructure projects have increased competition for labourers, a challenge that has been heightened thanks to shortages caused by COVID-19. Employment in the construction industry didn’t reach pre-pandemic levels until January 2022, much slower than residential investment, which recovered by Q3-2020. Meanwhile, few of the 400,000 new immigrants that arrived last year worked in construction. 

 

Higher costs to build, supply chain disruptions and higher fuel prices have also contributed to construction costs during the pandemic. Since 2015, the cost of construction in Toronto has jumped 46 per cent while the price of a new condo unit has increased 42 per cent.

“That narrowing in profit margins is starting to impact supply by making developers think twice before committing to projects. Higher interest rates will add to development costs, while at the same time it will work to reduce demand,” said the economists.

“Without a dramatic reduction in the cost of construction, look for overall new supply to soften notably in the near future,” they added.

© 2020 BuzzBuzzHome Corp.

Is Saskatchewan set to weather the coming rates storm?

Fergal McAlinden
other

The province’s housing market appears well positioned to ride out impending rate increases

 As housing markets across Canada contend with the rising interest rate environment, Saskatchewan registered a 16.8% year-over-year decline in home sales in April – although activity in the province remains strong in historical terms.

New figures released by the Saskatchewan Realtors Association (SRA) revealed that 1,547 properties were sold across the province in April, a total that was still 24.3% above the 10-year average spread despite the significant drop compared with the same month last year.

That moderation was perhaps unsurprising, with the country’s hottest markets in Toronto and Vancouver having witnessed even more pronounced declines in housing activity last month amid rate hikes by the Bank of Canada and major lenders.

The Saskatoon region saw year-over-year sales drop by 14% in April, compared with 41% for Toronto and 34% in Vancouver.

Would-be homebuyers and current homeowners in Saskatchewan may be less vulnerable to imminent rate hikes because the province is much more affordable than scorching markets like British Columbia and Ontario, according to a prominent Regina-based mortgage broker.

“In the last few weeks, I feel like I may have had fewer purchase transactions or preapprovals coming through, but in talking to real estate agents I don’t feel there’s been a real cooling as of yet,” Kent Bittner, a broker with Axiom Mortgage Solutions.

“Our fire was not burning as strong as the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) or Greater Vancouver Area (GVA). Our average home price is just slightly over $300,000, so the reality is [if] rates go up for a homebuyer that’s purchasing in the $300,000-400,000 range, it sure makes a difference in one’s budget, but I don’t think it changes their buying decisions.”

Read next: Toronto home sales plummet 27% in April

Bittner, who was recently named Regional Broker of the Year – Prairies at the 2022 Canadian Mortgage Awards, said that Saskatchewan’s status as one of the most affordable provinces in Canada meant activity would remain robust, even despite a looming Bank of Canada rate hike in June and inventory issues across the province.

“There’s limited supply, just like many areas of the country… but I don’t [foresee] the forthcoming rate increase in June changing our market in a big way, [whereas] the headlines might be different in a couple of areas of the country.”

New listings across Saskatchewan in April were down 18% compared with last year’s level, while inventories were 20% lower than last April and more than 30% down in comparison with long-term trends. The months of supply remaining in the market, a key measure of inventory, remained under four months.

The increase in out-of-province buyers that’s been prevalent elsewhere in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic has also been apparent in Saskatchewan, Bittner said, both in terms of owner-occupied properties and investor activity, although he said it wasn’t necessarily a “huge driver” in the province’s housing market.

Prospects for new entrants to the market still appear rosier in Saskatchewan than elsewhere in the country, with the province having proven largely immune to the skyrocketing home price appreciation of more prominent markets.

Read next: Is Canada’s urban exodus on the wane?

While Bittner said changes to the mortgage qualifying rate could be in the cards in the coming months, he indicated Saskatchewan’s relatively modest home price growth had contributed to a healthy market with few instances of frenzied bidding wars typical in other parts of the country.

“We’ve had a strong market since April 2020, but our strong market means maybe 8-10% year-over-year price increases,” he said. “So [it’s] definitely a different magnitude. It’s been manageable.

“In the last four months, we’ve seen more multiple-offer scenarios and more of our clients in competing situations than in previous years, but the result is often properties going $5,000-$15,000 over list, not $100,000 or $200,000. It’s different multiples.”

In fact, even despite recent price growth in Saskatchewan’s housing market, single-family home property values have only recently returned to around the level they reached at the beginning of the last decade, according to Bittner.

“Some of the current price levels are just getting back to where we were at our previous peak, say in 2010,” he said. “It’s interesting how we had a drop-off and then – not huge numbers percentage-wise in our market – but this last little run is still just getting us up to certain price points, just getting us up to where we were over a decade ago.”

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Calgary home sales hit record level for second straight month

Frank O’Brien
Western Investor

April transactions were up 6 per cent, prices rise 2 per cent year-over-year

Calgary’s condo apartment benchmark price is up 8 per cent year over year to $262,700. | Western Investor
Following an all- time record high month for sales in March, Calgary housing sales have set record high for the month of April, reports the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB).
“Sales remain exceptionally strong and are likely being limited due to supply choice in the market,” said CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.
New listings trended down relative to last month and levels recorded last year. With the sales-to-new listings ratio remaining above 74 per cent, there was not much of a shift in overall inventory levels.
With 4,850 units in inventory levels are far lower than what was recorded in April since 2014. What has changed in the market is the composition of the inventory levels. Detached houses comprise a smaller share of the inventory, especially for properties priced below $500,000.
Overall, the Calgary market has seen the months of supply remain below two months since November of last year, placing significant upward pressure on prices. The benchmark price in April reached $526,700, which is nearly 2 per cent higher than March 2022 and 17 per cent higher than April of last year. 
For the first time since spring of 2020, year-over-year detached sales slowed, to 1,815 sales. A decline in sales occurred for homes priced under $600,000. This pullback in sales for lower priced homes was likely related to supply declines. Inventories in the detached sector have not been this low for the month of April in nearly 15 years. 
This continues to place upward pressure on prices. The detached-house benchmark price rose to $628,900 in April, 19 per cent higher than last year. 
Apartment condominium sales eased relative to last month’s record highs. But, with 642 sales this month, activity improved by over 46 per cent compared to last year. reaching a record high for April.
The condo apartment benchmark price, at $262,700, currently sits 8 per cent higher than levels recorded at this time last year, CREB reports.

© 2022 Western Investor

City of Vancouver approved over 8,800 new homes in 2021

Michelle McNally
Livabl

Last year, the City of Vancouver approved thousands of new housing units, the most approvals since the city’s 10-year housing strategy was implemented in 2017.
Recent information published by the City shows that over 8,800 homes were given the green light in 2021.
For the second consecutive year, over half of all Vancouver housing approvals were purpose-built-rentals or for social housing in 2021, according to the City, which is a “major milestone,” considering that 50 per cent of current residents and 75 per cent of new households are renters.
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The Housing Vancouver Strategy, which was adopted in 2017 to address the region’s housing crisis, aims to build 72,000 new homes across Vancouver over the next 10 years between 2018 and 2027. Purpose-built rentals and condo units make up the majority of the City’s housing decade-long target, which account for 20,000 and 30,000 units of the 72,000 total. To date, the City says it has achieved 52 per cent of its housing objective.
“Vancouver is experiencing a high demand for housing, fuelled by job recovery, higher migration to BC, and students returning to in-class learning,” said Theresa O’Donnell, Vancouver’s general manager of planning, urban design and sustainability in a press release. “Encouraging the development of new rental housing is critical to ensuring there are a variety of housing options to meet the diverse needs of people who live and work in Vancouver.”
Last year, 1,344 new social and supportive housing units were approved, marking the second-highest quantity of approvals since 2010. The number of social and supportive housing approvals surpassed 2021’s annual approval target of 1,200 units. So far, 7,128 units in this category have been approved to date, 59 per cent of the City’s 12,000-unit goal for the next decade.
Another 2,956 units of new purpose-built market rental housing was given the thumbs up in 2021, including 176 new below-market rental units. This was well above the City’s 2,000-unit objective for 2021 and marks the 43 per cent completion mark for the 10-year target. Of the total rental approvals over the past five years, the City says that 600 units have been approved as below-market rental housing, which meets 15 per cent of the 10-year goal of 4,000 units for this housing type.
In 2021, 3,779 condo units were approved by the City, more than the 2021 target of 3,000 suites for the year. A total of 17,498 condos have been approved up to the five-year mark of the Housing Vancouver Strategy.
Nearly 300 laneway homes were given the stamp of approval in 2021. While 61 per cent of the City’s 10-year benchmark of 4,000 laneway homes has been approved so far, last year’s approvals were only 75 per cent of the 400-unit goal for 2021. Similarly, 456 townhomes and coach houses were approved last year, but this fell short of the 600-home target for 2021, according to the City of Vancouver.
In addition to approvals, about 1,700 new homes were completed in 2021, comprising 689 new purpose-built rental housing units and 1,669 social housing residences.
“While the City is making significant progress toward enabling new housing supply, much work is needed to address the current housing need, future demand, and long-standing backlog in delivery of non-market and rental housing,” said O’Donnell.

Saskatoon finalizing options for a downtown event district

Peter Mitham
Western Investor

Plans call for relocating SaskTel Centre downtown, helping support growth in the city’s core
An advisory committee is finalizing options for relocating SaskTel Centre to downtown Saskatoon from its current location on the city’s northern edge.Instagram
Saskatoon city council hopes to receive a shortlist of options for a new downtown entertainment and event district by the end of June.
An advisory committee chaired by councillors Cynthia Block and Troy Davies is reviewing options for the venture, which would create a zone similar to the Ice district in downtown Edmonton.
The hub of the Ice district is Rogers Place, which replaced the Northlands Coliseum in 2016 and moved the Edmonton Oilers’ home closer to downtown. It has been credited with adding vibrancy to the city’s core and helping it stage a quick recovery from pandemic restrictions.
Saskatoon entertains a similar vision for SaskTel Centre, a 15,200-seat sports complex built in 1988 on the northern edge of the city beyond John G. Diefenbaker International Airport.
Centre management commissioned a report in 2018 in partnership with TCU Place, a 104,000-square-foot convention and arts centre in the downtown core that recommended relocating the aging sports complex and rebuilding it in a more central location.
“When you put amenities where people are, they are more highly used, but also the amenities and opportunities around them are also better utilized – whether that’s housing, whether that’s restaurants or shopping,” said Block, whose ward includes in the downtown core. “Council made the decision, when it comes time to consider replacing SaskTel Centre’s existing location, it will be downtown.”
Six potential locations were identified, and the advisory committee aims to have a short-list for council to consider by the end of June.
“You need to build a district. It’s not about one thing. It’s about a place where people want to be, it has to be a place where everyone sees themselves included, not just event-goers,” Block said. “Every site had to be evaluated to find out if the mechanics could actually even work. … It needs to have a certain amount of space it needs to have access to public transit, it needs to have parking options.”
A vision for the project was sketched out with the help of former Vancouver co-director of planning Larry Beasley, who facilitated workshops and created enthusiasm around how a downtown entertainment district could create excitement and opportunities for the city.
“It was very insightful about understanding the mechanisms that help a city grow, attracting the right kind of investment,” said Block. “We’re getting closer in that regard and also figuring out a grander scheme on a district.”
Work on the initiative was delayed by COVID-19, but Block expects the process to pick up speed once the shortlist of potential locations is identified.
“It’s been three years at least our community has been waiting to find out what are those options,” she said.
The final decision lies with city council. The schedule calls for a preferred site being selected later this year, followed by development of a district master plan by the end of 2023. A funding plan would follow, as well as permitting processes and ultimately construction.

© 2022 Western Investor

International giant opens Toronto office as it targets Canada real estate

Fergal McAlinden
other

The company has made a significant appointment to help propel its Canadian growth
Blackstone Inc., the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has opened an office in Toronto as the company seeks to expand its footprint in Canadian real estate.
In a statement released on Monday, the company said it has appointed Janice Lin as head of its real estate business in Canada, with the former chief investment officer at Revera to “help drive Blackstone Real Estate’s Canadian footprint as it continues to invest across all asset classes, with a focus on its long-term presence in the country.”
According to Bloomberg, Blackstone’s Canadian real estate assets consist of about 450 properties valued at a total of around $14 billion. Logistics holdings account for the majority of those assets. The company invests capital on behalf of pension funds, large institutions and individual investors.

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