Calgary heats up
Vancouver developers are moving into Calgary as the market continues to strengthen versus other markets in Western Canada.
While housing starts in the city are down from a year ago and the unemployment rate is up – thanks in part to strong in-migration – so are housing prices. The benchmark price last month was $400,600 for all housing types in the city, up from $371,400 a year ago, with condos checking in at $257,700 a unit.
Cressey Development Corp. and Grosvenor Americas are developing a 319-unit project on 5th Avenue SW at 10th Street.
Proximity to downtown offices and transit lines are key advantages of location.
“Alberta is attractive to Cressey due to its proximity and healthy economy,” said Hani Lammam, vice-president of Cressey.
“The ownership group has determined that market conditions now are supportive of a major condominium development of this scale.”
Similarly, Qualex-Landmark Group is developing a 274-unit tower on 10th Avenue SW at 8th Street in the city’s Beltline neighbourhood, which continues to shift from an industrial to residential precinct.
Meanwhile, Anthem Properties Group is moving toward completion of the first 626 units of Waterfront, a multiphase project that will have more than 1,000 units when it completes.
Steady in Vancouver
By the time this column appears, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver will have reported sales for March. However, Central 1 Credit Union doesn’t expect a dramatic surge in activity anytime soon.
Summarizing its latest report, Central 1 notes: “Coming off a 12-year low with sales of 64,400 homes in 2012, B.C.’s home sales this year will languish at around 64,200 units.” Opening the report itself, readers find compound negatives such as: “Mortgage rates that are already at near historical lows will not be a catalyst for a rebound. However, the signs don’t look good for a substantial rebound over the next two years.”
On the other hand, things look better by 2014 and 2015, when sales activity is forecast to rise 13% and 8%, respectively.
Central 1 projects a median resale price for Greater Vancouver of $474,000 this year, rising to $487,000 in 2015.
Tower proposed
Terminal Avenue is becoming a hot spot for office development outside the Vancouver core.
While work progresses on Onni Group’s mixed-use Central development at Main Street and Terminal Avenue, which includes 85,000 square feet of office space, and Rize Alliance Properties Ltd.’s award-winning Containers Terminal development rises to the east on Terminal at Scotia Street, brokers at Avison Young are marketing a site kitty-corner to Onni’s property with visions of a 14-storey office development.
A brochure for the property indicates that Vancouver architecture firm Dialog have approached city hall regarding a potential rezoning of the site for development of a 250,175-square-foot office tower.
The vision represents a densification of the site, which is occupied by single-story premises leased to Party Bazaar and Cloverdale Paint.
While these tenants provide ongoing cash flow at present, the marketing brochure notes, “Both leases include landlord cancellation provisions offering flexibility for redevelopment.”
Combined with development in the neighbouring Strathcona area, a January fire that destroyed the former Northwest Produce warehouse on Terminal at Carolina Street and potential demolition of the city’s historic viaducts, transformation is moving the False Creek Flats into a post-industrial era.
