CALGARY DEVELOPMENT - Media Article Repository [Archive]

atlas_inc

11-06-2006, 04:28 AM

FFWD Mag.

Boom gone bad?
Calgary’s supercharged economy is making life worse for many CalgariansLiving in Calgary is a surreal experience these days as the economic boom continues to accelerate like a Hummer roaring down a freeway. As Albertans we are in the middle of what feels like a vast sociological experiment — a super boom that Statistics Canada describes as "China-like" in proportion. In a September report Statistics Canada stated that Alberta is in the middle of the strongest period of economic growth ever recorded by any Canadian province. The economy has grown by an annual average of 12.7 per cent between 2002 and 2005 and our GDP has grown by 43 per cent in the same time period. That’s not far behind China — the world’s hottest economy — that is growing at an annual average rate of 14.8 per cent. Corporate profits in Alberta doubled to $53.1 billion from $23.5 billion between 2002 and 2005. Consumer spending is 17 per cent higher than in 2005 and is "on track for the best year of any province ever," says Statistics Canada. Average hourly wages in the province are the highest in Canada at $21, we have the lowest unemployment in North America and the province’s population has grown at a faster rate than any other province every year since 1996.
There’s no question the boom has been good for some Calgarians. However, an increasing number of people are in danger of being flattened by the city’s racing economic vehicle, and some have already been run over.

THE DARK SIDE
"This boom is just great for the people wanting to buy $1 million dollar houses and who don’t know what to do with all their stock options," says Gord Christie, executive secretary of the Calgary District Labour Council. "The boom is doing fabulous things for 20 per cent of our population, but for the other 80 per cent, the average, it’s sad. Eighty per cent of our population isn’t really and truly benefiting from our boom."
Calgary is rapidly becoming less affordable for people whose incomes are not keeping pace with cost of living increases. Housing prices increased by 49.6 per cent between August 2005 and August 2006. The average combined residential sale price of a home in Calgary in October was $374,269. Calgary’s inflation rate is currently running at 5.1 per cent, much higher than anywhere else in the country. According to the Mercer Human Resource Consulting 2006 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, Calgary is now the 71st most expensive city in the world, moving up 27 spots since 2005.
While some Calgarians and many corporations are getting rich, a surprising number of citizens are just scraping by. Almost one in four (36 per cent) of employed Calgarians made less than $15 an hour in the first six months of 2006. They will make less than $30,000 before taxes this year. Fourteen per cent of Calgarians made less than $10 an hour – less than $20,000 a year before taxes.
There’s also a growing income gap between rich and poor. In 2004, the most recent statistics available, the lowest 20 per cent of income earners made an average of $13,100 a year while the top 20 per cent made an average of $152,800. The homeless population increased by 32.3 per cent between 2004 and 2006 and is now a whopping 3,436 people. This winter the City of Calgary is scrambling to come up with more space for hundreds of homeless people because existing shelters are crammed to capacity.
"There are a lot of people who are continuing to fall behind and who are not benefiting from the economic boom," says Ramona Johnston, manager of Vibrant Communities Calgary. "We see a growing income gap with people who are well off making even more and people who are not doing so well doing about the same. Maybe they’re making a dollar or two more an hour but that doesn’t outweigh the dramatic increase in the cost of living," she says.
Johnston says there’s a "mental and emotional downside" to the boom for those not benefiting.
"People feel that they’re inadequate because they’re not fully experiencing the benefits of the boom. They are struggling and on this treadmill trying to keep up with their neighbours and the wealth that they see around them."
Johnston says the economic disparity is beginning to have "a real negative impact on our sense of community."
Affordable housing is fast becoming not just an issue for low-income Calgarians, but for the middle class as well. The rental vacancy rate is currently estimated at 0.6 per cent. According to the Calgary Mortgage Housing Company there were 919 fewer apartments in 2005 than 2004, and it predicts Calgary will continue to lose apartment buildings to condo conversions and few new apartment buildings will be built. Meanwhile, the high cost of condos and houses is making ownership impossible for many.
Carrie Neilson, chair of Homeless Awareness Calgary, says Calgary’s "supercharged market" is "quickly outpacing the capacity of the average middle class to participate."
"We’ve already closed out the poor. Now we’re squeezing out the middle class. So are we going to end up with this society of absolute haves and absolute have-nots with no middle class in between? That’s my fear," she says.
Activist Brian Pincott, who is a member of Calgary Housing Action Initiative, a grassroots group addressing the housing crisis in Calgary, agrees with Neilson.
"Suddenly what used to be a good, middle class income just doesn’t cut it anymore," he says. "It’s not just a homelessness issue or a housing issue for the people at the bottom end. When you start squeezing out people who are making $40,000 a year and they can’t find housing they can afford, we’ve got a problem."
Other negative aspects of the boom aren’t as easy to quantify but are causing concern.
"I think we’re losing civility and kindness," says Neilson.
She says as an increasing number of Calgarians move into "more and more isolated enclaves or designer communities" people are becoming less empathetic and compassionate towards the down and out.
Johnston says Calgarians are also feeling an increasing amount of pressure to keep up with the richer members of the community.
"When I look at my friends, my acquaintances, I see a growing need to have more material things and a bigger house, a bigger yard and more than one car," she says.
"People who five years ago would’ve considered themselves to be very well off now look at what people around them are earning, what they’re driving and the kinds of houses they’re living in. All of a sudden they feel quite poor. It’s extraordinary, because they’re not at all poor."
Pincott recalls a comment his real estate agent made when he moved to Calgary 10 years ago.
"She said, ‘I really hope we don’t get another boom because when Calgary is in a boom the first thing that goes out the window is civility and caring for each other.’ In our rush to make hay while the sun shines, to grab onto this boom, we do have a tendency to not think much about our fellow Calgarians. We have a tendency not to think long-term," says Pincott.
Dean Neu, co-director of the Centre for Public Interest Accounting at the University of Calgary, says it would be interesting to study what the boom is doing to Calgarians’ psyches.
"Do we become more individualistic? Do we have less of a sense of community because we’ve become greedy, figuring how much money we can extract because everyone is talking about how good the economy is?" he asks.
Neu says Calgarians are avidly watching house prices and economic growth like people monitor sports scores, giving no thought to the negative consequences of the boom.
"We close our eyes to the fact that some people are actually losing. There are winners and losers in a boom," he says.

THE ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE
Fast Forward interviewed random Calgarians in late October, receiving a wide range of opinions on the boom.
Joanne Nakaska, the manager of a retail store and lifelong Calgarian, is loving the boom and says it’s "just giving people more opportunities." Nakaska has had several headhunters try to recruit her to work for other companies. She says she and her husband have been profiting from real estate investments over the last year.
Rob Rothstein says Calgary’s boom is making it a much more interesting place with a strong film festival, folk festival and better restaurants and more bands coming to town. He’s also happy with the rate of downtown revitalization.
"The city is way more vibrant, less dead," he says.
Kevin Boyce, who works at 7-Eleven and as a bartender, says he’s finally making enough money to take a vacation for the first time in two years. He says the job market is ideal for anyone willing to work.
"I’ve met a lot of people who have just moved here and have gotten several job offers. It’s an employees’ market out there," he says."(The boom) is the best thing that’s happened in this province for 20 years."
He says the only problem is the lack of rental accommodation, adding his friend just had to move to Edmonton because he couldn’t find anything in Calgary.
But many others Fast Forward talked to were less enamoured with the boom.
John Kuchera, a lifelong Calgarian aged 53, says the boom is "making everything harder."
"Everything costs more. Roads are crowded. Customer service sucks," he says.
John and his wife Beth are thinking about moving to a cheaper place in Saskatchewan or British Columbia.
A 75-year-old senior, who wouldn’t give his name, says he’s concerned about increased property taxes, crime, drugs and traffic. He’s finding the higher cost of living a challenge.
"It’s starting to squeeze me a little bit," he says, adding he still has to work to get by. "I wouldn’t break even if I had to rely on the Canada Pension Plan. I’m still falling behind even though I’m still working."
Richard, a construction worker from Nova Scotia who’s been in Calgary five years, says affordable housing is the biggest problem. He currently has three friends sleeping in his living room because they can’t find anywhere to stay.
He’s unimpressed with the mentality of some Calgarians. If he’s wearing his work clothes in Calgary, he explains, even if he has $2,000 in his pocket, security guards will approach him at grocery stores or malls and ask him to leave because they think he’s "a bum."
"There’s an attitude of snobbiness in this city. Here there’s the stigma of ‘he has dirt on his hands,’" he says.
Richard’s friend Stuart is currently living on the street while working as often as he can at temporary labour jobs. He lived in his car for five years until it was stolen. He’s also disturbed by some of the treatment he receives.
"There are a lot of arrogant people, a lot of people walk around thinking they’re better than anyone else," he says.
Both men say they feel exploited because they’re getting paid less than $10 an hour by temporary labour companies.
"They’re abusing and taking advantage of the workers," says Stuart, who jokes such companies should be called "Slaves R Us."

OBJECTIVE HERESY
Questioning the positivity of Calgary’s boom is almost heretical. There’s so much hype around its wonders. However, Todd Hirsch, economist at the Canada West Foundation, is one of the growing number of people questioning whether Alberta’s voracious boom is good for the province.
"I think it’s too carried away now. I would like to see the economy cool off," says Hirsch.
Hirsch says Alberta is growing at "breakneck speed," making it very challenging to keep up with infrastructure needs such as new hospitals, schools, public transit and roads. He’s also concerned the boom is increasing urban sprawl.
"One of the dangers in a city like Calgary (is that planners) might just say we need more roads, more subdivisions and they don’t take time to properly plan smart growth. I don’t think they stop to consider we need higher density up rather than growing out," says Hirsch.
"We’re accustomed to saying a growing population is terrific. But at the same time it leads to some growing pains when you’re welcoming this number of new Albertans into the province every year."
Calgary’s footprint is currently 480 square kilometres. Land use ecologist Brad Stelfox predicts that Calgary could grow to be more than 2,000 square kilometres, meaning that in 50 years it would push up against Kananaskis Country if it continues its current rate of growth.
However, Hirsch says Calgary’s current situation is still preferable to a faltering economy.
"We would rather have this than what was happening in Calgary in 1982 with people walking away from their mortgage because there was no hope — plummeting real estate prices, massive unemployment, people leaving the province. You don’t want that," he says.
"We are facing some problems. There’s crunches and certainly there are people whose wages are not keeping up, but I think we’d still rather be here and hoping the economy will slow a little than being (in) a recession. A lot of people in Alberta are homeless but there’s a lot more who are enjoying some really prosperous times."

TURN DOWN THE SUCK
For Albertans who are hoping that the boom will slow down there may be hope on the horizon. In an August report on housing the TD Bank Financial Group said that "recent dramatic price gains" in Calgary are "unsustainable" and the market is vulnerable to price moderation or even a drop in prices. In a September provincial economic forecast report, the TD Bank Financial Group stated that the possibility of a bust in the economy has risen to 20 to 25 per cent and the peak of Alberta’s boom has passed.
"There is no doubt that many of the ingredients of an overheated economy appear to be in place in Wild Rose Country," says the report. Report authors predict "the mood of euphoria that is pervasive in Alberta will die down significantly." For the people currently feeling left out of the positive impact of the boom that’s likely good news.

Surrealplaces

11-06-2006, 10:47 PM

Calgary's economic outlook good for 2007
by Angela Anderson
Calgary Real Estate News| Vol. 24 No. 41 | October 12, 2006

Business and community leaders gathered Oct. 5 to hear Adam Legge, director of research and business information at Calgary Economic Development, and Don Drummond, senior vice president and chief economist at TD Bank Financial Group share their insight into the state of the local and national economy for the coming year at the 2007 Economic Outlook luncheon at the Westin Hotel in Calgary.

While 2007 is forecasted to be a strong year, it was dully noted that the booming growth of 2006 would not likely be equaled.

“Alberta’s economy is red hot at the moment,” said Drummond. “The interesting question is whether it will repeat the more traditional boom-to-bust cycle. TD Economics believes growth will slow but the bust will be avoided because of a number of positive economic and policy developments.”

Legge agreed, and in his presentation outlined the forecasted numbers relating to growth, the business sector, housing and immigration. And while he said they wouldn’t likely reach the same heights as in 2006, healthy growth shall still occur.

He explained that there are numerous external drivers that will impact the opportunities for economic growth in Calgary over the next year.

These include falling commodity prices in the U.S. and the overall U.S. economy performance.

“There is a generally widespread consensus that the U.S. economy is heading for, if not already into, a slowdown,” Legge said.

The main contributor to that includes a cooling down of the U.S. housing market.

While it’s slowing down, Legge said general thoughts are that the slowdown will likely rebound by the end of 2007.

Because the U.S. economy accounts for over 20% of the world economy, it impacts everywhere else, especially Canada.

In Calgary, key sectors are expected to continue to perform strongly, Legge said.

The energy sector will do well with major projects in the north, and energy prices are forecasted to remain elevated by the end of next year.

Construction will continue in both residential and non-residential markets, he noted.

And Calgary’s location should continue to drive the transportation and logistics sector.

While gross domestic product numbers will fall from 2006 from 6.6% to 3.9%, Legge assured that the latter is still very healthy growth, adding that 2006 was a record year for Calgary in many senses, so anything will likely appear less prosperous.

Inflation is estimated to grow by 2.7% for 2007, while it was 3.7% this year.

As for population growth, Legge said it would be difficult to bypass the 2006 numbers, as this year was a record year especially for net migration.

In total, the population of Calgary grew by nearly 36,000 people, with almost 26,000 net immigrants.

In 2007, it’s expected to be a total of around 20,000 with about 10,000 to 12,000 net immigrants.

“With healthy in-migration, continued low interest rates and wage gains, housing demand in Calgary should still be significant,” Legge said.

The Conference Board of Canada forecasts 15,000 housing starts in 2007, down from 17,500 forecasted in 2006, but that’s still within the upper range of the five-year historical.

Legge said that while the future remains bright, there are a few economic pressures that are causing economists to be cautious when forecasting the next year.

“The level of optimism about Calgary, both by the local community and by analysts of our economy, remains high into 2007,” he said. “Calgary will lead Canada in performance of urban economies in 2007 as forecasted by the Conference Board of Canada.

“While the outlook for Calgary is positive, the slower sustainable growth allows for more breathing room. However, we remain cautious due to the three pressure points.”

Those pressure points, Legge outlined during the conference — none of which “appear to be near resolution or mitigation in any significant way in 2007” — are labour shortages, office space shortages, and affordable housing.

Legge explained that while the unemployment rate is expected to increase slightly in 2007, labour shortages are not likely to improve significantly in the next year.

“Some may say that the claims that the sky is falling have come true, and while the sky is not falling, talk to any business person or HR person about their labour situations, and I’m sure that you’ll hear they’re experiencing difficulty in retention and attraction.

“Anybody who drives down Macleod Trail or walks through a mall and doesn’t see the labour shortage isn’t reading the signs,” he told luncheon attendees.

The Conference Board of Canada forecasts Calgary’s employment growth for 2007 to be by 1.9% overall, down from the 7% forecasted for 2006.

However, Legge assured that 1.9% is still a healthy level of growth.

The unemployment rate is predicted to rise up to 3.7%, slightly above the 2.4% forecasted for 2006.

While numerous office space projects are scheduled for completion in 2007-2008, and many more announced or underway, Legge said the demand remains strong with “few options, particularly in the downtown high quality contiguous segment.”

CED’s Office Market forecast, released in June 2006, estimated a need for an additional 5.4 million sq. ft. of office space to satisfy demand by 2010.

“At present, it does not appear that Calgary will reach this figure with all the new projects under construction,” Legge said, adding that it will likely take three to five years before the pressure is eased in this area.

The third pressure, and according to Legge, a critical point, is the issue of affordable housing.

“Entry level home prices are now a step above, making it difficult for first time homebuyers to get into the market,” he noted.

“The prices are unlikely to drop and with no new rental units scheduled in 2007 this ultimately becomes a competitive issue and a quality of life issue.”

Legge explained that the lack of affordable housing affects the City’s ability to attract new workers, and therefore makes it difficult to address the labour shortage.

However, even taking in account the pressure points, 2007 looks to be a very strong year for the City’s economy.

“Calgary will lead Canada’s major urban centres in 2007 from an economic performance perspective,” Legge said.

Angela Anderson is a Calgary Real Estate News reporter.

Surrealplaces

11-06-2006, 10:52 PM

Calgary's space race
by Angela Anderson
Misc | Vol. 24 No. 43 | October 26, 2006

While Alberta is currently experiencing the strongest period of economic growth ever registered by any province in the country—a growth of 43% over the last three years, making the province’s annual growth on par with China—the lack of space is leaving little choice for businesses wanting to move their offices to the city.

GVA Devencore Worldwide, a commercial real estate research firm with offices across the globe released its fall 2006 report analyzing and comparing the markets of each of Canada’s major cities, and is warning that the business community must prepare strategies for the long term.

While major players in the commercial development industry have addressed the market, with numerous projects on the go around the city, the space is getting snapped up fast by tenants, mainly before projects enter the market.

There are a number of large building projects nearing completion throughout the city by major developers Bentall, Opus Building Corp., Tonko Realty Advisors and Homburg-Centron, which will collectively bring approximately 1.7 million sq. ft. to the market by their completion dates, which range from mid-2007 to early 2008.

And Opus announced last week that they would begin construction of Opus Campus this spring, which will be one of Calgary’s largest suburban office developments—about 800,000 sq. ft., but that project will not be complete until 2010. Opus Campus will be located on Horton Rd. SW at the corner of Macleod Trail and Heritage Drive and will include three buildings of 12, 10 and six storeys.

The report by Devencore says that in the meantime, the projects under construction are being fully pre-leased within weeks of the commencement of their marketing periods.

Jacquelyn Laflanne, a leasing assistant from Opus confirmed that the Opus 8 project, scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2007, is sold out except for about 10,000 sq. ft., which is already completely pre-leased.

It’s the same story with the Centrium development by Tonko Realty Advisors, located downtown and totaling 225,000 sq. ft. According to the developer’s web site inventory, it is completely leased and scheduled for occupation early next year.

There are a number of other major projects being considered for the downtown core, however, it will still be some time before they have an impact on the current space shortage, the report notes.

In the second quarter of 2003, approximately 11.5% of commercial space in the city was available for lease or sublet and since then, vacancy rates have steadily, and dramatically, decreased.

Six months ago, office vacancy rates stood at 1%. Today, that number has dropped to 0.1%, meaning only 38,000 sq. ft. is currently available for lease or sublet.

Calgary has by far the lowest office space vacancy rate in the country and in North America.

This is compared with Ottawa’s vacancy rate of 3%, Vancouver’s vacancy rate of 4.2%, Toronto’s rate of 7.5% and Montreal’s rate of 8.9%.

The severe shortage of space is having an impact on companies trying to reduce cost and boost profitability, says the report by Devencore.

“Faced with five to ten year lease commitments, tenants need to ensure that their lease agreements are flexible and allow for future expansion,” the company said in its Spotlight on Vancouver and Calgary Markets, also in the Fall 2006 report.

However, the squeeze for space is not supporting that, and leaving companies scrambling to find space.

“For the time being, tenants seeking space in the Calgary area will find more extensive options in the outlying areas of the city, where some space still exists and rents are lower than those currently being demanded in the downtown district,” the report says.

Over the short term, Devencore warns tenants who wish to locate or expand in downtown Calgary will find their options extremely limited.

The report concludes, “Tenants and their real estate representatives will have to be very alert to any new opportunities and prepare strategies for the long term.”

—Angela Anderson is a Calgary Real Estate News reporter.

atlas_inc

12-03-2006, 09:05 PM

Sat, December 2, 2006
City takin' care of business
UPDATED: 2006-12-02 03:36:14 MST

Job market working overtime at just 2.8% unemployment

By IAN WILSON, BUSINESS EDITOR

Calgary's unemployment rate slipped below 3% last month -- the lowest level in the country -- as workers flooded into the province to find work.

The city's jobless rate dropped from 3.2% in October to 2.8% in November and Edmonton posted a 3.8% rate last month.

Alberta's unemployment figure edged up from the previous month, rising slightly to 3.1%, but the province's jobless rate was half the national level.

"Alberta continues to fuel employment growth in the country, accounting for 40 percent of the national increase so far this year," said Statistics Canada.

StatsCan's labour report said employment in the province has increased by 112,000 positions over the course of the year.

Canada's natural resource sector recorded the greatest rate of employment growth, up 11.8%, with Alberta and B.C. providing the biggest boost in that area.

Alberta has also driven the country's jump in construction jobs in 2006, as the province added 19,000 positions in that sector.

Across Canada, 22,400 new net positions were created and the unemployment rate came in at 6.3%.

"In contrast to previous months, November's gain was concentrated entirely in part-time positions which more than compensated for a decline in full-time employment," said David Tulk, economist with TD Bank Financial Group.

"The stellar performance of Canada's labour market has also enticed more people to enter the labour force in search of work."

Tulk said 2006 is expected to yield the labour market's best performance in three years with the anticipated addition of 300,000 new net jobs.

atlas_inc

12-03-2006, 09:09 PM

Highrises put city in the shade
Richard White For The Calgary Herald Saturday, December 02, 2006

Designing buildings and public spaces in winter cities like Calgary is very different from cities like Barcelona or Vancouver. In his 1995 book, Northern Cityscapes: Linking Design to Climate, Norman Pressman illustrates how too often, designers and architects have a perpetual state of summer in mind when they design public spaces (the spaces work well when it is warm outside, but expose people to chilling winds and cold shadows in the winter).

Calgary's Plus-15 system is our most obvious adaptation to winter.
It allows downtown workers and their clients to move from offices to hotels, retail shops and parkades without having to deal with the harsh winter climate. People who criticize the Plus 15 system for destroying the vitality of city streets don't appreciate how the Plus 15s add vitality by allowing people from the edges of downtown to get to places like Bankers Hall or Stephen Avenue when the weather is poor. It is common knowledge that when the weather is nice, people walk outside; when it isn't, they walk inside.

Nobody ever says Montreal's underground system destroys the street life on St. Catherine's Street. The creation of Calgary's Devonian Gardens in 1977, as a wonderful tropical oasis, is another adaptation in Calgary to our winter climate. It created a wonderful year-round park space for all Calgarians to enjoy. Our indoor water slides and our wonderful recreation centres are also examples of adapting to winter.

Not all adaptation needs to bring people inside. Calgary is fortunate to have plenty of sunshine in the winter that can turn a cold day into a very pleasant one. To do so, we design buildings that allow the sun to shine on our sidewalks, pathways or plazas in the winter months. While we have taken some steps to protect and capitalize on our sunshine, we can do better.

Building heights in the downtown are restricted to allow more light on the Bow River pathway, Stephen Avenue and Olympic Plaza. But there is pressure to allow for exemptions as the demand for more and taller office buildings increases. The sun along 8th Avenue in the winter will be less when Bankers Court, Penny Lane and the Homburg developments along 9th Avenue are completed. Bright sunshine currently warms up the skating rink at Olympic Plaza in the middle of winter, but what happens if tall buildings are built on the neighbouring blocks?

As Calgary builds more highrises, the amount of sun that will reach the sidewalks and public spaces of our city centre will be less and less. James Short Park -- already in shade most of the time due to the TransCanada PipeLines, Petro Canada and Sun Life towers -- will be totally engulfed in shade when Encana's new building is constructed. The courthouse park will be in shadow due to the new courthouse complex, Penny Lane and the proposed new ESSO tower.

Calgary needs to rethink if taller is better. Probably the best example of poor winter design is the First Canadian Centre. For some reason, the developer oriented the building to the northwest and not the southwest.
As a result, there is no plaza on the sunny southwest corner, while the northwest plaza is in shade almost year-round. Bankers Hall has a multi-million-dollar plaza on its southwest corner that is always empty because it is in shade all the time. What a waste.

The importance of sun can be seen along 17th or 11th avenues, where the majority of the shops are located on the north side of the street. Why? Because pedestrians love to walk in the winter sun. The Ship and Anchor patio is used year-round. Why? Because it gets sun in the winter.
We have to let the sun shine down on our urban sidewalks, plazas and parks. What we also need are more pocket parks and plazas -- small spaces that get lots of sun and need only 10 to 20 people to animate them.

The best example is the indentation next to the Roasterie on the east side of 10th Street N.W. It is full of people year-round. There are no special banners, benches, decorative bricks or other enhancements, just coffee and sunshine. Creating large parks and plazas becomes problematic in winter cities because they need hundreds, if not thousands, of people to make them animated. This just isn't going to happen for six months of the year.

For years, Calgary has given developers a density bonus (additional floors) if they build arcades (covered walks) like the one at The Bay on Stephen Avenue. In warmer climates, such areas work great and are often used as patio areas, allowing people to get out of the summer sun. In Calgary, they are always cold and gloomy places. They often become shelters for the homeless and panhandlers, and the pillars in the middle of the sidewalk make walking more difficult.

Why are we still giving a bonus for creating negative urban spaces? Even the planting of trees and types of trees needs to be carefully planned in a winter city. A row of large pine trees planted too close to the sidewalk can cast a shadow on the sidewalk or a pathway for several months in the winter, creating cold icy conditions that nobody wants to use. While a row of elms creates a canopy that is inviting to walk under, it still allows the sun to shine on the sidewalk in the winter.

The positioning of buildings, gaps between buildings, and building shapes must be taken into account to avoid the creation of wind tunnels. The Nexen building, placed at an angle to Calgary's predominately west winds, creates a wind tunnel that sometimes is so bad, the wind actually creates a whistling sound. Good design that is appropriate for Calgary's climate, and sensitive to the site, is critical to creating good urban places where people want to work, live and play. It doesn't require innovation, but it does require insight and investigation.

Richard White is the director of operations and communications at Riddell Kurczaba Architecture.

Some ideas for winter city design:
- Ensure sun shines on sidewalk and plaza areas;
- Avoid creating wind tunnels;
- Create more pocket parks and plazas;
- Avoid arcades;
- Plant trees carefully.

urbandaddy

12-12-2006, 06:36 AM

The proposed merger of Trammell Crow Co. and CB Richard Ellis Inc. has been given the green light by the Federal Trade Commission.

The combination of Dallas-based Trammell Crow (NYSE: TCC) and CB Richard Ellis (NYSE: CBG) in Los Angeles will create a company with about $4.4 billion in annual revenue and more than 10 percent of the commercial real estate market.

The $1.79 billion deal is set to close Dec. 20, provided Trammell Crow shareholders approve the merger during a Dec. 18 special meeting.

atlas_inc

12-23-2006, 06:56 PM

Boom and bust?: This time around, much is different
Kathy McCormick Calgary Herald Saturday, December 23, 2006

CREDIT: Leah Hennel, Calgary HeraldA condo tower under construction in downtown Calgary helps reshape the inner city."The Calgary housing market-- is it deja vu all over again?"
So asks a Toronto real estate research firm in its latest report.
The Clayton Housing Report is referring to the boom and bust that happened in this city in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Construction starts of multi-family housing are expected to reach 6,750 units this year -- the best performance since 1981.
But when the market soared to similar heights in the early '80s, it was followed by a bust that sent home equity spiralling downward.
By 1984, construction starts had plummeted to less than 2,000 units. "Can we expect a similar boom/ bust story in post 2007 Calgary?" asks the report.
The answer is there are several similarities with the '80s, but there is also much that is different.
As in the past, rising world oil prices have spurred energy sector investment; job seekers are flocking to Calgary; and housing affordability is becoming a concern.
But the Clayton report says Calgary is still considered relatively affordable and that as far as the economy goes, any adjustments to the price of oil are expected to be muted this time around.
Interest rates are also expected to stay in check and Calgary's economy is better positioned to weather any energy industry slowdown.
In the early 1980s, "affordability became so bad that many walked away from their homes (which they acquired with low down payments) which frightened lenders off for many years," says the report.
This year, housing prices in both the resale and new sectors rose dramatically as demand soared.
Many people turned to the condo market because they could no longer qualify for a single-family home mortgage, but even the multi-family sector spiralled upward.
Resale condos prices grew an average of 41 per cent compared to last year -- up to $259,600 by the end of 2006. "That compares to our last oil boom, where the largest price increase was 34 per cent in 1976," says Calvin Buss, president of Millennium Realty, which specializes in downtown condo developments as well as investment and recreational properties.
Investors and speculators jumped into the market, pushing demand even higher. Supply couldn't meet demand, so prices rose even more.
Add on factors such as the increasing costs of materials and labour shortages for homebuilders, as well as delays in getting approvals from the city, and the industry faced huge challenges this year, says Barry Chow, president of Resiance Corp.
"Both prices and construction costs were reaching such heights that there was no predictability and no stability in what we were trying to do," he says.
High-rise construction was especially susceptible because such projects take up to two years or more to build.
In a more traditional market, bankers would ask builders to pre-sell a certain percentage of the units before getting financing for construction.
But in this hectic market, prices for those pre-sales were almost impossible to forecast -- and prices rose so dramatically that, for some companies, their project was no longer viable.
Some builders pulled their developments off the market; some actually gave back deposits that people had put down in pre-sales, then re-priced units and put them up for sale later; and still others only released a small number of units at any one time in an effort to get a handle on costs.
Resiance was one developer affected by the price escalations. Earlier this year, its Midtown high-rise in the downtown core was closed, with deposits returned to customers.
"Our whole strategy was to re-price the units and not bring them on until a time that I could establish prices with some certainty," says Chow. "At this point, we continue to have progress, but I'm not prepared as yet to say that we are going ahead with the project."
The two-tower Midtown complex will have 650 units in total and sales are continuing, with most of the original buyers buying back in, he says. "Today, people are more sensitive to the fact that these are risky projects, but they are well-informed," says Chow.
"People are taking the time to ask the right questions and to make an educated decision. Going forward, it's a much more rational market."
Some builders have started construction without any pre-sales, says Naum Shteinbah, general manager of Streetside Developments, one of the larger multi-family builders in the city.
"We have stopped pre-selling because it has become risky," he says. "We now bring a building to the finishing stage, then sell."
So, will the market end up a bust, as happened in the early 1980s?
Not likely, say the experts.
"Several 'giant killers' of the mid 1970s/early 1980s boom -- like escalating interest rates and plunging oil prices -- are unlikely to come into play this time around," says the Clayton report.
The five-year mortgage rate averaged 6.67 per cent this year and it's expected to stay close to that or even lower next year, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Such rates compare to the early '80s when interest rates were in the high teens, even creeping into the 20 per cent range or more.
Employment growth this year will likely be in the range of 40,000 new jobs by the end of this year and CMHC predicts it will be 15,000 next year -- compared to 7,150 in 2005.
Net migration of people to Calgary will remain in the range of 26,000 this year and next, it says.
Oil prices will remain high, in part because of the emerging demand from China and Asia, which together accounted for almost half of the world's GDP growth from 2004 to 2006, says Benjamin Tal, senior economist with CIBC World Markets.
"Combining this with potential OPEC production cuts to sustain oil prices and there seems to be support for oil prices at least not declining in the next few years," says the Clayton report.
At the same time, there doesn't appear to be anything on the horizon that would kill the Alberta economy the way the Ottawa's hated National Energy Program did in the early '80s.
Other indicators of the current situation include the latest rental market report from CMHC.
While it mirrors the early 1980s in some respects, it's decidedly different, says the report.
Although October's vacancy rate of 0.5 per cent, which matches the record set in October 1997, compares to those of the latter 1970s, governments during that era introduced programs to stimulate housing starts in Calgary.
Among them was the federal Multiple Unit Residential Building (MURB) program, which provided a tax incentive for investment in rental housing.
The Alberta Family Home Purchase Program and the Alberta Rental Incentive Program were two other provincial incentive programs.
Hence, much of the multi-family starts were construction of rental units.
Because there are no such programs in place today, new rental unit development is not likely to take place in any large numbers, says the Clayton report. "There are no incentive programs that are artificially stimulating housing starts or bringing forward demand in the short-term, which should cushion any potential downside adjustment should the economy turn."
Meanwhile, housing prices have somewhat stabilized -- not going down, but remaining flat -- and that's a good thing, says Chow.
"Every builder has a genuine concern with the price of housing in Calgary," he says.
"Affordability is affecting a large segment of the population. Even so, you have to temper that with an understanding that for decades, Calgary housing has been underpriced."
The Clayton report agrees: "House price increases have been substantial over the past year, and have negatively impacted affordability. But in relative terms, affordability so far remains good, with the current ratio near the national average.
"House prices in Calgary have been low in relative terms compared to other major markets for many years and the increases this year were in part a 'catch-up.'"
That means the multi-family sector will continue to grow. Some builders have expanded their product lines to include condominiums.
Morrison Homes recently announced the addition of a new multi-family division called Vertical.
"Builders are starting to look toward multi-family row housing projects to bring in product at a lower price," says Al Morrison, president of Morrison Homes.

© The Calgary Herald 2006

Projects changing face of inner city
2006 was year of consolidation for Calgary
Richard White For The Calgary Herald Saturday, December 23, 2006

CREDIT: Grant Black, Calgary HeraldJohn Torode of Torode Residential Ltd. stands near a model of the arriVa condo complex.From an urban living perspective, this past year has been one of consolidation for both the city and private developers.
The City of Calgary planning department has focused on getting the Beltline plan approved and drafting the new Centre City plan.
Both of these documents will be catalyst for creative, new mixed-use urban development during the next 10 years.
The city has also been busy putting together its TIF policy (Tax Increment Financing) for East Village and implementing Phase Two of The Bridges in Bridgeland.
The Beltline Plan is notable as it encourages densification rather than discourages it.
Kudos to the Beltline Community Association and the business revitalization zones (BRZs) in the area who have championed this plan for the past several years.
Finally, after several years of negotiation, Canada Lands Co. received approval from the city for the development of Currie Barracks.
This ambitious project will create a self-sustaining, mixed-use work/live/play community in the inner city. It will have features never before seen in Calgary.
From the private developers' perspective, this year of consolidation has meant adapting to the new economic realities of construction costs in Calgary (with increases of one to 1.5 per cent per month).
This has resulted in some condo developers giving back to potential buyers deposits on their buildings, as well as looking at refinancing the projects.
There have even been some casualties, such as the planned 4th Street condo project, which has since been converted into an office building.
One of the most amazing developments of 2006 was the emergence of East Victoria Park as downtown's hottest place to live.
Who would have thought this could happen, even two or three years ago?
Kudos to Cove Properties and Torode for being the pioneers responsible for revitalization of this area with Arriva, Sasso, Vetro and now Nuera condos.
The new Keynote project also promises to add another dimension to the area.
It includes office, residential and retail components -- even an urban grocery store -- on one block.
Together with the groundbreaking of Stampede Park's expansion, East Victoria Park's revitalization is a reality. I thought I would never live to see this happen.
Other major new urban developments in 2006 include Anthem Properties' plans for a major condo development on the old Greyhound Bus Terminal site, linking Eau Claire and Chinatown along the Bow River.
This upscale development, along with the completion of phase two and approval of phase three of the Princeton condominiums, will help create the critical mass needed for the Eau Claire Market redevelopment to take place in the near future.
I have also been amazed at the infill housing development taking place in all inner city communities.
Altadore seems to have more in common with a new suburb than an established community, with construction activity on almost every block.
Montgomery is quickly becoming a hot spot to live due to its easy access to downtown, the new Children's Hospital, the Bow River, the university and Market Mall.
On a recent drive along Bowness Road through Montgomery, I counted 12 "for sale" signs. Watch for some interesting new projects in this undervalued community during the next couple of years.
Next year is shaping up to be a year of construction, with several major new projects ready to break ground.
I expect people driving to work from the east along Memorial Drive will soon see construction begin on phase two of The Bridges in late spring. It will include more than 700 condo units on five parcels of land near the LRT station.
Apex City Homes, Sandalwood Developments and Assured Developments are preparing plans for submission for mid-rise condos, each eight to 12 floors high.
I am very excited by the KAI Towers on the 1200 block of 11th Avenue by Homburg.
This Poon McKenzie design combines retail and townhouses in its ground-level podium -- the ground level with retail and townhouses -- two towers of 26 and 30 floors above.
It will be a wonderful addition to the emerging west Beltline community that surrounds the Midtown Co-op store. Think Stella, Nova and Vantage Pointe.
Union Square will also be in full construction mode on First Street S.W. along with the Haultain Park restoration.
Together with the recently completed Chocolate and the proposed Colours, the "First Street Strip" is well on its way to being transformed from an area of seedy bars to an upscale place to live, shop and dine.
Think Formans, O'Connors, Raw Bar and St. Germain.
In the downtown, I expect construction to begin on phase one of Anthem's 1,000 condo project on the Greyhound site -- and hopefully on Pointe of View's Riverfront Pointe Project next to the Harry Hayes Building in 2007.
Construction of the Churchill Estates across from the Shaw building will be completed in 2007 and, just around the corner, phase two of Five West will be nearing completion by the end of next year.
One of the projects I am looking forward to learning more about is Renoir's Lausanne (51 floors) and Monteux (46 floors) at the corner of 10th Ave and 14th Street S.W. along the railway tracks.
I hear a 15,000 square foot penthouse that takes up the entire 49th, 50th and 51st floors of the Lausanne is being proposed.
The views of downtown, the river valley and mountains should be amazing. It will be interesting to see if this project becomes a reality.
The big question is: "Will we see any construction in East Village in 2007?"
The optimist that I am says YES!
It may just be infrastructure work and some marketing of the new projects, but I predict 2007 will be the turning point for East Village and, in fact, for the entire east side of the Centre City, with significant new projects on both sides of the tracks (see sidebar).
From an infill perspective, watch for the northeast communities of Mountview, Regal Terrace, Renfrew, Highland Park and Greenview to emerge as hot, new inner-city communities.
These communities have easy access to downtown, Deerfoot Trail, the airport and northeast industrial parks, as well as amenities like the Calgary Zoo and Nose Creek Valley pathway, Elks and Fox Hollow golf courses, and the future new Science Centre.
What will be the big condo announcement for 2007?
Look for a major new multi-tower development to be proposed on the old Co-op land across from the Mustard Seed.
Torode should be announcing their plans for an innovative new mixed-use development on the parking lot around the Arts Hotel.
Probably the first and most creative project to be announced for 2007 is the office, hotel and condo project on the northwest corner of 9th Avenue at the base of the Calgary Tower, just a block off Stephen Avenue Walk.
Next year should, indeed, be one of mega condo construction.
Richard White is the director of operations and communications at Riddell Kurczaba Architecture
In Short:
New eastside projects in 2007:
- Keynote phase one.
- Arriva phase two.
- Nuera phase one.
- Riverfront Pointe phase one.
- The Bridges phase two.
This story features a factbox "In Short".

© The Calgary Herald 2006

Record breaker: Housing construction sets new highs in 2006
Marty Hope Calgary Herald Saturday, December 23, 2006

CREDIT: Dean Bicknell, Calgary HeraldFuelled by a strong economy, the migration of people to Calgary is boosting housing construction.Facing shortages of labour, land and materials, it would seem impossible Calgary builders would set construction records this year -- but it has happened, says a federal agency.
By the time the ledgers are closed for 2006, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says
there will be 17,250 construction starts of homes of all kinds, obliterating the previous high of 14,339 set in 2002.
It says another record of 10,500 starts will be set for single-family houses, up from 9,413 in 2002.
At the beginning of this year, CMHC had called for a total of 14,000 starts, including just over 8,700 single-family homes.
Such records will be achieved despite things like labour and land shortages affecting the housing industry, which forced builders to impose sales limits to try to maintain construction schedules.
But because house-hungry consumers found themselves with little to choose from on the resale market, even more pressure was placed on the new homes side.
"We deliberately slowed sales halfway through the year," says Bill Beattie, president of Beattie Homes. "We wanted to get within 60 days of construction starts with our sales."
Builders found themselves having to make adjustments to their internal systems and processes to deal with the new marketplace. Buyers were facing possession dates as far ahead as a year.
As 2006 winds to a close, president Ryan Ockey of the Cardel Group of Companies says it has been a year of unprecedented demand and cost hikes. "We saw construction times increase 50 per cent and we had to deal with serious shortages of serviced lots in most communities," he says.
Some developers were increasing land prices by 50 to 75 per cent, while construction costs were moving up as much as 30 per cent, says Ockey.
The industry was not only struggling to deal with unprecedented demand, maintain schedules and control construction costs, it was also working in an environment in which a record number of people were arriving in Calgary to grab their share of the tasty economic pie.
Strong oil and gas prices helped fuel the city's economy.
The industry has never seen a year that compares to 2006, says Don Davies, president of the Calgary Region Home Builders Association.
Population growth -- which helped keep demand high -- also drove up real estate and land costs at a time when the shortage of skilled tradespeople boosted labour costs, he says.
"We had unprecedented levels of sales and (construction) starts within an economy that analysts couldn't stop calling supercharged," says Davies. "We had what amounted to a perfect storm -- rising oil prices, a humming economy and record in-migration to the city and the province."
CMHC had called for an increase in migration due to elevated energy prices and massive levels of major construction projects going on around the city.
"Indeed, net migration was strong and, as it turned out, set a new record," says senior market analyst Lai Sing Louie of CMHC. "For the 12 months ended April 2006, net migration to the city doubled the previous year's performance, reaching a record of 25,794 people."
The influx of people boosted the labour force and resulted in healthy job creation.
CMHC has predicted employment growth will reach 6.6 per cent this year, including 45,000 new full-time jobs in various segments of the city's economy.
That, along with record growth in earnings, has provided an "additional thrust" for home ownership demand, says Louie.
While the industry had to deal with these factors during 2006, some of the issues facing the industry were a spillover from last year.
Heavy, constant rain in June and August 2005 threw construction
schedules out of whack, while the impact of builder capacity constraints pushed much of that year's activity ahead to this year.
A severe shortage of resale listings earlier this year also turned buyers' attention to the new home market, while a sharp decline in new home inventories provided further rationale for builders to ramp up production, says Louie.
"Meanwhile, record upward price pressures did not result in weaker demand, as introductory economic theory would indicate," he says. "Rather, demand increased in unison with the escalation in prices as buyers rushed to get into the market before prices advanced further."
CMHC predicts the average price of new single-family homes will reach $355,000 this year before vaulting another 37 per cent in 2007 to $487,500.
After struggling to boost its severely depleted inventory of homes earlier this year, the resale industry will also establish new records this year, including an estimated 32,500 sales.
The average selling price of detached homes will likely top $385,100 -- an increase of 39 per cent from 2005, while condos will fetch an average of $259,600, up 41 per cent from a year ago, says CMHC.
Don Campbell, author of 97 Tips for Canadian Real Estate Investors, says fundamentals in the local resale market "conspired to make the Calgary marketplace this year outperform even the most optimistic predictions" -- while at the same time handily besting all other major markets in the country.
"With an average sale price increasing by over 36 per cent, this market has made many a Calgarian wealthier than they imagined possible back in January," says Campbell.

© The Calgary Herald 2006

'Brilliant city' requires nurturing
Jim Dewald and Bev SandalackFor the Calgary Herald
Saturday, December 23, 2006

The Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts, led by outstanding Calgarian Colin Jackson, sees Calgary as a "brilliant city" -- a logical outcome of the centre's mission to be a place "where the creative spirit of all Calgarians will be enriched, engaged and delighted," as it states on its website.
In order to be a catalyst for celebrating that idea, the centre has organized events involving a wide spectrum of groups.
This includes its recent Raise A Joyful Noise event, in which different religious groups came together in music and dance so that Calgarians could gain a broader understanding of the many spiritual traditions that shape our community, and what links them together.
Brilliant city -- what a marvelously positive image for Calgary.
As Toronto Poet Laureate Pier Giorgio Di Cicco recently described to a Calgary audience (as part of a Brilliant City initiative): "These kinds of events advertise commonality and break down the silos of commerce and culture. Simply, creativity must be seen as a way of life, and the wonder and excitement of it stylize a city into a habitable and attractive place."
But in terms of its wider implications for Calgary as a whole, the concept of the "brilliant city" is not a fixed state of being that can be passively counted upon.
It needs nurturing, constant attention, hard work and dedication.
It demands our trust in, and passion for, brilliance in our people, the beauty of their spirit, and full celebration and respect of our traditions, rites and rituals.
While the place or setting of a city is physical and fixed, the notion of a brilliant city is more malleable, dynamic and ever-changing.
As such, it is a realization of what we call the programming and trends/fashion layers of the urban design pyramid.
The diagram at right illustrates how urban design can be adopted as a methodological approach to city planning.
The pyramid begins with an assessment of the unique physical characteristics of the land, followed by a focus on the public realm and the built form (such things as infrastructure, parks and buildings).
The physical dimensions of land, public realm and built form provide a platform for programming concepts such as the "brilliant city" that are products of, and influenced by, the prevailing ideology.
"Ideology" refers to a unified system of beliefs, attitudes and values that conform to the overall cultural setting.
The brilliant city concept is derived from a very positive ideology reflective of a belief in the inherent good nature of people.
This stands as a beacon that contrasts with the programming of most North American cities, which is based on a pessimistic, negative ideology fixated on rules and policing intended to address the negative elements of society.
In Calgary, as well, we are pre-occupied with the negative impacts of a segregated focus on crime, homelessness and so on at the expense of celebrating the spirit of all
Calgarians, including the less fortunate. As Toronto's second Poet Laureate, Di Cicco has extended his role beyond arts advocacy into the realm of "civic esthetic" -- a term that defines the building of a city by citizenship, civic ethic and urban psychology.
Di Cicco is a knowledgeable and passionate advocate for embracing a positive city spirit, infusing our urban environments with the key elements that make what American professor Richard Florida (author of the Rise of the Creative Class) calls "creative cities."
Florida argues that the most successful cities in North America are ones that appeal to creative people.
Among the many important points made during his visit to Calgary, Di Cicco noted that in North American cities, "mutuality and allowance are countermanded by surveillance, suspicion, distrust, privacy laws, protocol and excessive proceduralism.
"When this happens, we have a sanitized city, not a creative city."
Is this what we want -- a sanitized city? We know what we would prefer, but how do our civic leaders, planners and others engaged in celebrating the spirit of Calgary make sure that we do not become a sanitized city?
If our ideology is a pessimistic view of people -- that by nature, they are untrustworthy, unreliable, self-interested and opportunistic -- we will ultimately shift to a design model that is grounded in exclusive, protective, locked-down and walled environments.
We don't believe that this is what Calgary should be.
Conversely, if our ideological beliefs support the notion that people are inherently good-natured, trustworthy, reliable and caring, our urban designs will focus on open and inclusive environments, with places to gather such as public parks, squares, benches and gazebos.
In the end, the three-way link among ideological predispositions, physical design and city programming are inescapable.
So, we have to make a choice between positive or negative ideology, and then select the physical and programming components that make a match.
There is, unfortunately, one other outcome -- an outcome that recognizes that this linkage is not linear and not as simple as described.
As the physical environment is more permanent, it is possible for the ideology of programming to change and go out of sync with the ideology of physical design.
Indeed, Di Cicco argues that we are at the precipice of the false positive.
Renewed efforts to create urban designs that support the positive ideology are mismatched with aggressive programming that is grounded in the pessimistic ideology.
In the end, if this is allowed to continue, our precious public realm will be sanitized by both the rules and limitations of a restricted environment, and gentrification of exclusive neighbourhoods where closed doors, private yards and underground locked parking define our soul.
More is needed. We need more brilliant city initiatives, and more trust in the spirit and soul of our city and our people.
In Di Cicco's words, "physical construction may give the illusion of a dynamic city, an illusion that may stimulate citizens and create 'buzz' -- but the soul of citizenship is what makes a city stand head and shoulders above others."
Bev Sandalack, PhD, is co-ordinator of the Urban Design program in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, director of the Urban Design Lab and deputy chairwoman of the Calgary Urban Design Review Panel. Jim Dewald, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Strategy and Global Management at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, and a partner with Peters-Dewald Land Co.

© The Calgary Herald 2006

atlas_inc

01-08-2007, 04:15 PM

Downtown going up: Condo projects planned for inner city
Marty Hope and Kathy Mccormick Calgary Herald
Saturday, January 06, 2007

CREDIT: Ted Jacob, Calgary HeraldIrvin Wolftail of Supply Install Services works on a fourplex.Hang on, folks. The condominium ride might not be over yet.

There could be a massive injection of condos in the city core this year, says Calvin Buss, president and CEO of Millennium Realty. "A snapshot of 2007 has 100 new buildings being completed or proposed for the downtown, 38 of which are slated to be high-rise condominium towers featuring more than 10,000 units," he says. But Buss, who has been involved exclusively with the downtown real estate market for 29 years and has operated Millennium for 16, admits there's little likelihood of that much product coming to market that quickly. "Tell you what, though, if we were to get 4,000 units this year, 4,000 more in 2008 and another 2,000 the year after that, it would be a very active market," he says.

There are several developers, well-known to the Calgary marketplace, that are finalizing plans to break ground on projects this year, including Pointe of View, Apex Limited Partnership, Cove Properties and Qualex-Landmark. But there is also a major player from Toronto who is scooping up land in or close to the core with plans for major developments. Buss is currently working with Giffels Design Build of Toronto on several sites, including the old Co-op store site at Macleod Trail and 11th Avenue S.E. that could hold towers of 30, 41 and 75 storeys.

The company also has three other sites designated for development.
"Last year was one of the wildest rides Calgarians have ever seen, with condo prices up 46 per cent year over year compared to our last oil boom, when the largest annual price increase was 34 per cent in 1976," says Buss. But despite what's happening in other Canadian and American markets, there is no reason to worry about a real estate bubble bursting in Calgary, he says.

Overwhelming opinion shows a "very strong 10-year horizon" for Calgary because of its powerful economy that is stimulating migration of people and job growth in the city, he says. "Let's face it, if nobody is moving to Calgary, then demand for housing softens and so do prices -- one follows the other," says Buss. "But 2006 saw net unemployment drop to 3.6 per cent against a national average of 6.4 per cent and that supported in-migration, which was up more than 88 per cent -- and those numbers will remain healthy this year."

Paul Battistella of Battistella Developments also sees a strong year for condo development both downtown and in the Beltline area. It's partly because career condo residents who want to stay close to the core area are moving to Calgary from other cities, he says. Other factors include urban professionals who want to be close to their jobs and the condo lifestyle, as well as an increasing number of empty-nesters looking to the downtown and Beltline as second-home options, he says. "As to the number of units, I'd be guessing that there's around 1,500 under construction in some form," says Battistella, adding he has no idea how many others are being planned or considered for those same areas.

The following is a list of individual builder-developer sales projections for 2007, along with comparisons with last year:
Assured Developments
- 2006 sales projection: 230.
- 2006 sales: 200.
- 2007 sales projection: 200.

"We had projects delayed because of the approvals process, so getting to the construction stage was difficult," says Chris Wein, vice-president of sales and marketing. "As for this year, we will be continuing to progress with the second and third phases of Paintbrush Ridge at Three Sisters Mountain Village in Canmore, and we will move along with planning for two major projects in Calgary's inner-city."

Avalon Master Builder
- 2006 sales projection: 80.
- 2006 sales: 60.
- 2007 sales projection: 100.

Company president Christine Scott-Nyuli says 2006 was a year in which salespeople weren't needed. But that will change this year because of added competition, she says. "There's going to be a need for a show home again and for salespeople," she says. "Everyone has to be on the ball to achieve what they forecast."
Hawthorne Homes
- 2006 sales projection: 125.
- 2006 sales: 100.
- 2007 sales projection: 200.

"Last year, like most others in the industry, we had production problems related to shortages of skilled workers with our trades and suppliers," says general manager Ian Nash. The doubling of sales for 2007 will result from the the start of construction of 231 units under the Mosaic name in Aspen Hills, he says.
Resiance Corp.
- 2006 sales projection: 500.
- 2006 sales: 500.
- 2007 sales projection: 400.
"For us, 2007 will not be anything close to the number of sales we had in 2005 and 2006 -- and we don't want a repeat of last year," says executive vice-president Barry Chow. "We look at 2007 as actually being a year when we buckle down and get construction and deliveries under our belt." Resiance continues to sell its Gateway Midtown project, which was repriced and brought back to the market after being temporarily postponed.
Streetside Development Corp.
- 2006 sales projection: 288.
- 2006 sales: 161.
- 2007 sales projection: N/A

"In 2006, we had to hold off selling about 100 units ... we weren't comfortable selling too far ahead because construction costs rose so fast," says general manager Naum Shteinbah. For this year, the company will continue to control sales, although prices won't jump as far and as fast as they did last year, he says.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

01-28-2007, 05:33 PM

Feeling the pinch: No new rental buildings despite low vacancy rate

Marty Hope and Kathy McCormick, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, January 27, 2007

About 71 people per day are expected to move to Calgary this year --and for some of them, it will mean the start of a frustrating search for rental accommodation, says a federal agency.

Potential tenants not only face a second straight year of overall vacancy rates below one per cent, there is no new rental housing planned at a time when 26,000 people are expected to migrate to Calgary this year, says Lai Sing Louie of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

"There just isn't any new market rent projects being started or completed -- and besides, the rental universe continues to shrink," he says.

Construction started on 148 rental unit starts last year, but 88 were destined for the seniors' market and the other 60 were for social housing.

In the past two years, the number of rental units dropped by 2,000, says CMHC. By the end of last year, the total was 40,333.

"The decline in the rental stock can mostly be attributed to the continuation of conversion of units from rental tenure to condominium," says Louie.

Last year, the number of condo conversions totalled 946. That pace is expected to continue this year as property owners capitalize on their rental investment.

Besides low vacancy rates, potential tenants have also faced rising rents.

But that situation might just stimulate some rental construction, says Gerry Baxter, executive director of the Calgary Apartment Association.

"Previously, investors have not seen any reason to construct new rental property because the economics of doing so just weren't there," he says, adding he has heard of a couple of companies who are "closely examining" the feasibility of construction.

"However, the fact remains that the high cost of construction will most likely result in very high rents to justify the cost of building," he says.

Partially offsetting the loss to condo conversions is investors renting out condos, says Louie.

Of the 26,689 apartments purchased, nearly 18 per cent were being rented out, says CMHC.

But renting a condo doesn't come cheap. The average rent for a two-bedroom condo is $1,257 per month, more than 31 per cent higher than the average for a two-bedroom unit in a rental building, says CMHC.

Rents will likely be going up this year in response to the strong demand and low inventory, says Louie.

Baxter agrees. "Because these are new or completely renovated to near new condition, they usually command much higher rents than conventional apartments.

Abed Itani, president of Intergulf-Cidex, is developing the comprehensive high-rise and townhouse project called Westgate Park at bow Trail and 33rd Street S.W.

While less than a dozen suites in the 149 apartment condos in his Brava tower have found their way to the sublease market, moving them to the rental market makes good economic sense, he says.

"Those people are smart," says Itani. "If they bought two years ago, the value of that purchase has gone up 50 per cent or more and they are letting rent rates pay the mortgage."

He has heard reports that rent for suites in Brava is running between $1,700 and $2,500 a month, depending on the size of the unit and its location in the building. Those renting out the suites have plans to some day move into the units, themselves, or have purchased for their children to live in, he says.

"I'm not surprised so many condos are being rented out," says Itani. "It just makes good economic sense."

During the past two years, Calgary's vacancy rate has tightened dramatically, falling from a 10-year high of 4.4 per cent in 2003 to equal a record low of 0.5 per cent in 2006, says Louie.

While the rate will likely go up marginally this year, it will remain below one per cent, he says. "As a result, the period of high vacancy rates which caused landlords to provide incentives and keep rents flat is long behind us."

Part of the increase in rents is simply catch-up, says Louie. "The increased operating and maintenance costs that landlords were absorbing in the past are to some extent being recouped this year."

Largely because of the period when there was little in the way of rent hikes in Calgary, the percentage gap between house prices and rents is extremely wide.

Between 2003 and 2006, house prices soared by 71 per cent while rent rates gained only 19 per cent, says a report from Toronto-based Clayton Research.

In Edmonton, the numbers were 61 and 12, respectively.

"While pronounced rent increases would normally be met with resistance from tenants, increases in average rents in Calgary and Edmonton in the past few years pale in comparison to increases in house prices," says the report.

By the end of last year, the average rent for all bedroom types -- from bachelor pads to suites with three or more bedrooms -- in Calgary was $851, says CMHC.

But the federal agency expects the average to climb another $60 this year.

Rising home prices also mean more Calgary renters will be delaying the dream of home ownership in 2007, putting further pressure on vacancy rates, says Louie.

"Last year, we saw condo prices go up even faster than single-family homes," he says. "Moreover, the high cost of housing will keep some potential first-time homebuyers in the rental market as the spread between monthly payments between renting and owning increased in 2006 -- and is expected to widen again in 2007."

The average price of resale condos hit $261,009 last year, an increase of nearly 42 per cent compared to 2005.

That's expected to climb about nine per cent to reach an average of $286,500 by the end of this year, says CMHC.

The average price for single-family resale homes, which increased 39.2 per cent last year, is expected to grow a further 9.5 per cent this year.

"Those apartments vacated by new home buyers will likely be filled in a very short period of time," says Louie. "The average rental apartment vacancy rate in 2007 will be low, somewhere around 0.5 per cent."

That rate remains largely unchanged from last year, and with net migration expected to be slighter ahead of last year's total of 25,794, people will be looking for somewhere to live. Net migration refers to the inflow of people minus the outflows.

"Demand for rental accommodation will remain vigorous due to continued arrival of people from other parts of Canada and foreign countries," says Louie.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

01-28-2007, 05:34 PM

Gridlock a peril to prosperity
Transit upgrades could help thriving cities be more efficient

Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, January 27, 2007

A soon-to-be-released Conference Board of Canada report on the importance of cities in this country's prosperity stresses four cornerstones for success: "a strong knowledge economy; connective physical infrastructure linking people, goods and ideas; environmentally sound growth; and socially cohesive communities."

The issue of transportation connects at least the first three cornerstones. And it's clear that gridlock is an increasing cost.

"Traffic congestion, a major problem in many urban areas, results in time lost and increased energy use, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and accident risk," the report says. "It harms the competitiveness of urban centres and the national economy by delaying the movement of goods and people and increasing transportation costs."

Investment in public transit and inter-city rail travel would certainly strengthen Canadian cities' economy, infrastructure and environment.

Public transit systems in urban centres "are struggling to attract riders," the report finds, but this is not the case in Alberta. Ridership on buses and LRTs in Calgary and Edmonton increased 10 and 5.5 per cent respectively in 2006.

Calgary is not struggling to attract transit riders, but to meet the demand. With the popularity of public transit apparent in this province, all levels of government should provide more funding to this service. To alleviate overcrowding, Calgary Transit is providing an additional 40 LRT cars and 43 buses this year, and plans to hire up to 130 more drivers and mechanics. But, as the city spreads ever outward, additional transit service will be required in newly developed areas in Calgary. "People are interested in more convenient and environmentally friendly transportation alternatives to cars, but inter-city travel in Canada has long been underfunded and underdeveloped," the report says. "High-speed services in the Calgary-Edmonton and Windsor-Quebec City corridors must be part of an improved national passenger rail system."

In a September 2005 editorial, the Herald questioned the economic viability of a high-speed train between Calgary and Edmonton. However, in light of the Conference Board's findings and continued growth of the two cities, the province should take a hard look at the feasibility of inter-city rail travel.

As opposed to a widened Queen Elizabeth II Highway, a high-speed rail service would ease problems associated with traffic congestion. A high-speed train reduces the level of traffic on the highway, and consequently, accident risk. It takes less time to travel to each city, thereby increasing the movement of people and goods, which is important in stimulating the economy. And like the C-Train, which supports wind-powered electrical generation, it is environmentally friendly.

The Conference Board report recommends improvement to everything from education to research and development, housing to immigrant settlement.

But it is in transportation that lies the greatest strengthening of Canada's major cities.
© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

02-01-2007, 04:53 PM

Ottawa plans military unit for Calgary
Troops to deliver crisis response in 14 major cities

David Pugliese, Sarah McGinnis, CanWest News Service; Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, February 01, 2007

The Harper government plans to boost military presence across the country with new units in 14 cities -- including Calgary -- as well as to shift 5,000 regular-force personnel to training and front-line missions, from support and desk jobs.

Before 2016, the army would establish "territorial response battalions" in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Niagara-Windsor, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, N.B., Halifax and St. John's, N.L. The units would react to domestic emergencies such as natural disasters or a terrorist attack.

The details are outlined in the Conservative government's Canada First Defence Strategy, which was leaked to the Ottawa Citizen. No date has been set for the strategy to be released publicly. The report outlines the direction the military would follow over the next 15 years.

During the election, the Conservatives promised to create territorial battalions -- each unit to be 100 regular troops and 400 or more reservists -- but the strategy paper does not contain details on the size of the units.

Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute president Bob Millar is intrigued by the idea that could see a battalion of full-time soldiers posted in Calgary again.

"It means (the government is) taking seriously the idea of both man-made and natural threats that are going to be present in the near future in Canada. It could be ice storms or terrorist opportunities. They're obviously getting ready for that kind of untoward event," Millar said.

CFB Calgary was once a major base for the Canadian Armed Forces, housing military personnel and offices, and acting as a staging area for troop deployments.

But in 1998, Calgary fell victim to military reorganization. The base was officially decommissioned and full-time personnel were transferred to CFB Edmonton, leaving mostly reservists in the city.

Restoring some full-time troops to Calgary would mean that armed forces personnel are on hand to respond immediately to local natural disasters or terrorist threats, said Millar.

"It only bodes well with (the military) connecting with Canadians by letting taxpayers see where their money is going," he said.

But the plan could fail if there isn't enough work for full-time soldiers or if they aren't equipped properly, Millar said.

Canadians for Military Preparedness spokeswoman Corrie Adolph was thrilled by the proposal.

"There's a lot at stake with global affairs and with terrorism," said Adolph, who is the mother of a Calgary Highlander. "This is an opportunity for every Canadian to have a sense there is a military presence here to protect us."

In addition to territorial battalions, Harper's defence strategy calls for the regular force "footprint" to be increased across the country.

The plan calls for the regular forces to increase to 70,000 by 2011 and then to 75,000 by 2016. The reserves would be increased in size to 30,000 over the next five years and then to 35,000 "over the long-term."

But there would also be shifts in military personnel to better support training of new recruits, as well as bolster front-line units.

The regular force currently has about 63,800 members. The reserve force is around 24,000, according to Defence Department figures.

According to the strategy, the army reserves would undergo a fundamental transformation to be able to respond more effectively to domestic emergencies in both rural and urban areas.

Liberal Senator Colin Kenny, chairman of the Senate's national security and defence committee, said the Conservative plan falls short because it takes too long to increase the size of the regular and reserve forces. "If they said last year that their increase would take until 2016, they would have been laughed out of" Parliament, Kenny said.

University of Calgary defence analyst Rob Huebert said the government has no choice but to stretch out the increase in numbers of Canadian Forces personnel over a nine-year period. That's because previous cuts to the military and the ongoing war in Afghanistan are limiting the number of skilled personnel available to train new recruits.

"There's no shortage of volunteers," he said. "It's just that the system is not set up to deal with them."

smcginnis@theherald.canwest.com
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Towns delay decision on amalgamation

A decision about whether the towns of Turner Valley and Black Diamond will move toward amalgamation has been put off.
...
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^(could use the rest of this story *winK wink*)

City studying ways to improve tax system
Calgarians log on to check house values

As homeowners flood the city's website to check out the value of their properties in a booming economy, a city council advisory group continues to study whether market value assessment is the best system for Calgary.
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^(this one too)

Calgary's airport straining to expand
Transborder travel shows fastest gain

Tamara Gignac, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, February 01, 2007

More than eleven million passengers passed through Calgary International Airport in 2006 -- and the traffic is putting the squeeze on the facility's already straining infrastructure.

A combination of booming economic times, a healthy airline industry and higher overall demand saw a record number of business and leisure travellers flying in and out of Canada's fastest-growing airport. The terminal has doubled in size since 1992 but still faces a crunch during peak periods, especially when it comes to customs, security and parking.

And with a number of new carriers adding Calgary to their list of destinations -- British Airways and U.S. low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines among them -- the airport is gearing up for renovations it says will help ease congestion.

For a second straight year, the rate of growth in transborder traffic outpaced domestic numbers as the airport recorded 2.2 million passengers going to and from the U.S. -- an increase of about 15 per cent. Air Canada launched several new U.S. destinations in 2006, while WestJet and other carriers have added transborder links from the city.

Domestic travel rose about 10 per cent to 8.1 million passengers, while international traffic was up eight per cent for a total of 897,540 travellers.

If the airport's rapid growth continues at the same pace -- 43 per cent in four years -- by next year it is expected to eclipse Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in size to be the country's third largest aviation facility.

"Our growth has not only exceeded our wildest forecasts, it shows no sign of slowing down or going into the negative," said Garth Atkinson, chief executive of the Calgary Airport Authority.

"It means we're going to keep on building and adding capacity where we need to. Our approach is to make incremental, sequential, cost-effective additions to the facility, which it was designed to accommodate."

Unlike airports in Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg -- forced to gut existing infrastructure and rebuild from scratch -- the Calgary airport plans to "add pieces as it needs to, a more convenient and ultimately less expensive option for passengers, said Atkinson.

Construction is to begin in the next three years on a multi-floor extension to concourse B/C, used to connect passengers to U.S. cities, Europe, Mexico and Caribbean holiday destinations.

It is the largest single project ever undertaken inside the terminal, and is part of a 10-year plan to overhaul the airport. Future upgrades include a $300-million north-south runway, thousands of extra parking stalls and an expansion of the airport's air cargo and freight facilities.

"Going forward, our international transborder activity is probably going to grow faster than domestic. It's already constrained at certain times of the day so it will be our biggest push in the next five to seven years," said Atkinson.

The airport said it has no immediate plans to cover the costs of upgrades and renovations by way of increased terminal and landing fees -- an expense typically passed on to consumers through higher fares.

"We're maintaining our low fee status and for the second year in a row there will be no increase to the airlines," Atkinson said.

Since assuming responsibility for the facility in 1992, the Calgary Airport Authority estimates it has spent $800 million on expansion projects.

tgignac@theherald.canwest.com
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Alberta housing hotter than ever

Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, February 01, 2007

Alberta led the country in 2006 in the rate of growth for sales in the resale housing market, average sale price and total dollar volume of sales through MLS, says a national report released on Wednesday.

The Alberta numbers were staggering.

The Canadian Real Estate Association report said total dollar volume of sales in the province rose by 47.3 per cent from the previous year to $21.2 billion compared with $14.4 billion in 2005. The number of sales increased by 12.6 per cent to 74,189 units compared with 65,866 the previous year. And the average sale price jumped by 30.8 per cent to $285,497 from the $218,266 in 2005.

All were Alberta records.

"I'm not surprised. This is just one additional indicator of inventory of many that confirm that Alberta is the strongest economy in the entire country," said Richard Corriveau, regional economist for the Prairies and Territories for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in Calgary.

"We have never seen that level of price growth at 30 per cent. It's more than doubled the highest rate of price growth ever in Alberta's history . . . So at 30 per cent we've blown that out of the water."

Corrieveau said the previous record for price growth was established in 2005 at 12 per cent.

On a national level, the overall dollar volume rose by 11.1 per cent to $133.9 billion from the previous year. Total sales dropped slightly -- 483,609 in 2006 compared with 483,789 in 2005. The average sale price increased by 11.1 per cent as well to $276,974 from $249,201 the year before.

"The housing market is forecast to remain tighter in Western Canada than for other areas in Canada," said CREA's chief economist Gregory Klump. "Price increases this year are forecast to be smaller on a national basis, but will remain biggest in western markets."

Corriveau said the CMHC is forecasting sales in the province to dip slightly this year to 69,000, but the average price will increase by about 12 per cent to $320,000 "with some upside."

"We're still quite bullish on price growth. If buyers are waiting for prices to decline, I think they'll be shooting themselves in the foot because we expect them to continue to rise and quite strongly," he said.

Nationally, the number of sales fell shy of setting a fifth consecutive annual record, according to CREA.

Activity surpassed all previous annual records in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

"Seasonally adjusted sales activity in the fourth quarter of 2006 rose by 1.3 per cent compared with the previous quarter to reach 199,769 units -- the sixth highest level on record," said the report. "The quarterly increase was driven by a rise in activity in Alberta and Ontario. Gains in those provinces more than offset fewer transactions in British Columbia.

"Actual activity in the fourth quarter of 2006 surpassed all previous quarterly records in Manitoba and New Brunswick. It also posted the highest level for the fourth quarter period nationally and in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec."

MLS residential new listings also set a record, posting an increase of 5.8 per cent over the previous record set in 2005. New listings eclipsed previous annual records in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

"The resale housing market became more balanced in 2006 due to an increase in new listings, but it was still a seller's market -- particularly in western provinces," said CREA's report.

"In keeping with that trend, prices rose fastest in all provinces west of Ontario."

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

atlas_inc

02-01-2007, 04:54 PM

Condo prices to reach new heights
Report predicts steady increases for several years
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Strong demand will drive steady price increases in the Calgary and Edmonton condominium real estate markets through the rest of the decade, says a national report released Tuesday. Genworth Financial Canada's Metropolitan Condominium Outlook report forecasts Calgary condo price growth to average 12.3 per cent in 2007 then 4.5 per cent annually through to 2010. The report says Edmonton will average 18.3 per cent this year and 4.1 per cent annually to 2010. The average price of a Calgary condo is forecast to rise from $262,456 in 2006 to $335,885 in 2010 while in Edmonton the average price of a condo is forecast to increase from $180,367 in 2006 to $240,875.

Looking at the future, the report says Calgary will be just behind Vancouver ($349,409 in 2010) in the country for average condo prices.
The report doesn't surprise Calgary Real Estate Board president Ron Stanners, who earlier this month released the board's 2007 forecast, saying condo prices in the city will rise by nine per cent this year and total sales will increase by three per cent. "One of the things is affordability," said Stanners of the growing interest in the condo market here, "but it's also a lifestyle thing. There's a lot of young people who prefer to buy a condo. There's a lot of first-time buyers that are actually looking for condos. They're not interested in the single family. Their lifestyle is such that they're not going there.

"There's always, of course, empty-nesters and seniors that are moving that way as well because of lifestyle. I think (the report's) numbers are fairly accurate. The difference between nine and 12 is not that much." Stanners predicted the condo market will become an increasing choice of housing for people in Calgary in the next few years as more become empty-nesters and seniors who "just don't want to look after the house anymore, cut the grass and shovel the walk." "It's becoming an accepted lifestyle," said Stanners. "If we go back a few years, you're sort of buying a condo because you can't afford a house whereas people today are saying 'No, no, this is what I want. This is the lifestyle I want. It suits my life.' "

Lai Sing Louie, senior market analyst at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. in Calgary, said the agency is forecasting average price growth in Calgary's condo market to be about 10 per cent this year. "There's just a strong demand for housing here in Calgary," said Louie. "Looking at the month of January -- it hasn't gone through completely -- but there's a tremendous demand right now for housing in Calgary. It may even go to a record high for January. That's how strong it is. The month's not over, yet, but it's way up. It's around 2,300 sales now. That's high. . . . At first we thought the prices would back it off a bit, but it isn't happening. "With condos, for someone looking for a place, lots of first-time buyers are not going to be able to move into a single-detached home, so the whole flow of people moving from the rental market or first-time buyers is really at the condo market now."

Total residential combined sales (single family, condo and mobile home) for January 2006 was 2,408. According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, the average sale price of a Calgary single-family home rose by 38.29 per cent in 2006 from the previous year's average of $278,393. The average sale price of a Calgary condo rose by 41.91 per cent in 2006 from 2005's average of $183,714. In its 2007 forecast, the real estate board said Calgarians in the market to buy a new home this year will increasingly turn to condominiums as an alternative to single-family homes. The organization said the single-family average sale price will hit $411,948 this year, while the average sale price for condos in 2007 will rise to $284,175.

The latest statistics from CREB show the average sale price of a single-family home in December was $396,870, while the average sale price of a condo was $281,459 in the month. Last year, condos represented 27.42 per cent of residential sales in Calgary and that number, according to the real estate board, is expected to increase to 30.85 per cent this year. The Genworth report reviewed new and resale condo markets in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver based on data from the Conference Board of Canada. New condo prices were not included. The study looked at all existing condominium types in Calgary and Edmonton while surveying only condominium apartments in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. In percentage terms, Edmonton is forecast to have the strongest growth in condo prices from 2006 to 2010 with prices rising 33.5 per cent followed by Calgary (28 per cent), Vancouver (20.8 per cent), Montreal (17.8 per cent), Toronto (16.8 per cent) and Ottawa (16.5 per cent).

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

02-03-2007, 10:29 PM

Homebuyers set record despite surging prices
40 $1M-plus homes sold in January
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Saturday, February 03, 2007

Calgarians are buying resale homes in record numbers, indicating the pace of activity in the residential real estate market isn't slowing in 2007 despite a continued escalation in average sale prices. An indication of how strong the market remains is the fact that a staggering 40 homes sold for more than $1 million in January, said Ron Stanners, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board. The overall number of homes sold in January was a record for the month, according to data released Friday by the board, while the average residential combined (single family, condo and mobile home) sale price jumped by 29.83 per cent from a year ago to $375,646. The average sale price of a single-family home in January was $419,324 -- a 29.92 per cent increase from January 2006.

"Sales are good and strong," said Stanners, adding that rising average prices are not deterring people from buying homes in Calgary at a record pace.
"We don't see any indication of it yet that's for sure." The number of sales in the luxury home market during the month "just astounded me -- absolutely astounded me," said Stanners, explaining that in January 2006, 24 luxury homes sold in the Calgary real estate market. "Last year, between $700,000 and $900,000, we sold 20 (single-family homes) and this year we sold 45. That's quite a jump," said Stanners. "People are still buying. Sales are up, but listings are up even more which really adds stability and I think it speaks to that we're not going to go into that hyper-drive market that we had last year. At least there's no indication that that's going to happen, yet."

January combined residential sales totalled 2,631, a 9.63 per cent increase over January 2006 when sales were recorded at 2,400, and a 30.57 per cent increase from December 2006 when the sales were 2,015. The breakdown of the January 2007 combined sales was 1,787 single-family residences, 834 condominium, and 10 mobile homes. January 2006 sales in the same categories were 1,762; 624; and 14, respectively. Lai Sing Louie, senior market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in Calgary, said the January numbers were "pretty strong." "There's a tremendous demand for housing in Calgary. I think that's the biggest sign," said Louie. "We thought they would pull back a little bit here in January because of the rise in price, but that doesn't seem to be the case." January 2007 saw 4,010 new listings coming to the market, an increase of 34.56 per cent from January 2006 when the new listings were 2,980.

The average combined residential sale price for January 2007 was a 3.87 per cent increase over the December 2006 average price of $361,640. The average sale price in January 2006 was $289,328. "When we go back last year a few months ago, we hit a high of $374,067 (in October)," said Louie, adding that average prices then moved down a bit with more supply hitting the market. "But now this year this is the highest average that we have on record. . . . That's incredible that the market has come back so quickly. We thought that this supply would hold prices down until maybe the second quarter before they (prices) would start to move. But this is already at a new record high on a monthly average."

The following is a comparison of single-family, condominium, and mobile home average sale prices for the month of January 2007 over 2006: single-family $419,324 / $322,764; condominium $285,918 / $200,668; mobile home $53,710 / $32,778. Condominium sales in January maintained a steady pace with 834 condominiums changing hands. This is a 33.65 per cent increase over January 2006 when the condominium sales were 624 and a 40.64 per cent increase over last month's sales of 593. The average price of a condominium in January 2007 was $285,918, an increase of 42.48 per cent from the same period last year when the average price was $200,668, and a 1.58 per cent increase over December's average price of $281,459. The combined residential median price for January 2007 was $337,000 -- up 32.16 per cent from January 2006 when the median price was $255,000 and up 0.90 per cent from last month's median of $334,000.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

Towers on the rise
Kathy McCormick Calgary Herald Saturday, February 03, 2007

Thirty-five new office buildings in Calgary, either proposed or already under construction, represent 44 per cent of the commercial construction in Canada, says a realtor.

Of these, "11 will be downtown and 24 are being built in the suburban area," says Ron Stanners of the Calgary Real Estate Board.
The result: "(Office) rents will increase by as much as 20 per cent as supply diminishes and demand remains high," he says.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Resale value soars to third in Canada
Marty Hope Calgary Herald Saturday, February 03, 2007

At more than $11 billion, the value of resale home transactions in Calgary was the third highest in the country in 2006, says a national report. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) pegged the dollar volume of Calgary's record-setting 33,027 sales at $11.45 billion -- an increase of more than 44 per cent from 2005. With nearly 85,000 sales, Toronto totalled $29.9 billion, up less than four per cent from the previous year.
Vancouver was second on the list with a final volume of almost $18.6 billion, up 3.5 per cent from 2005.

But Calgary led the country in terms of the percentage increase in the average selling price, closing the year at $346,675 -- up a whopping 38 per cent from the year before. Edmonton had the second-highest jump with a 29.4 per cent hike to $250,915. But overall, the rate of price increase declined, including markets in Western Canada, says CREA chief economist Gregory Klump.

He expects the trend to continue through 2007, but will continue to be largest in the West. He expects the same scenario for sales. "One market that stands out is Calgary, where a spike in sales activity late in 2006 caused the resale housing market to tighten dramatically," he says. "If sales activity in Calgary gains further momentum, price increases there may again heat up unless new listings pick up additional steam.

For the first month of 2007, the Calgary Real Estate Board has reported nearly 2,500 sales at an average price of more than $374,000. "Sales are up from January of last year, but we anticipated that," says board president Ron Stanners. "But at the same time, we have a greater inventory than we had then, which is helping to maintain a more stable market."

At the national level, the total dollar volume closed in on the $100-billion mark in 2006, finishing the year at $98.95 billion -- up 10.5 per cent from the previous year. The national average price hit $294,270, an increase of 10.6 per cent compared to 2005. Although the average price and dollar volume topped that of 2005, it wasn't the case for sales. Across Canada, there were 336,271 sales, which was slightly below the record total of 336,513 in 2005. Strong gains in sales activity in Calgary and Edmonton helped to offset fewer transactions in Vancouver, says Klump.

Canadian resale housing in 2006:
Dollar volume % change Sales % change Average price % change
- Calgary $11.45 billion 44.6 33,027 4.6 $346,67 38.2
- Edmonton $5.52 billion 52.6 21,984 18.0 $250,915 29.4
- Vancouver $18.6 billion 3.5 36,479 13.6 $509,876 19.8
- Ottawa $3.6 billion 9.2 14,003 5.3 $257,481 3.7
- Toronto $29.89 billion 3.8 84,842 -1.0 $352,388 4.8
This story features a factbox "Canadian resale housing in 2006".; Also See: American expert to speak to realtors, I4

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

02-07-2007, 05:30 PM

Alberta, B.C. give boost to building permit data
Without the two, increase would have been 1%
Geoffrey Scotton Calgary Herald Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Frenzied construction in Alberta, and to a lesser extent in neighbouring British Columbia, pushed the value of planned new building in Canada in 2006 deep into record territory, as national building permit values soared by nine per cent to more than $66.2 billion. Statistics Canada said Tuesday that with permits of $5.4 billion in 2006, the growth in permit value in the Calgary region eclipsed all other major Canadian cities with an expansion of almost 40 per cent, while Alberta's stunning economic boom boosted 2006 permit values ahead more than 36 per cent to nearly $13 billion. B.C. experienced 13.2 per cent growth to $11.5 billion in permits, with particular growth on the non-residential side.

Local observers don't expect the pace in Calgary and across Alberta to slow much as 2007 unfolds. "The key here is that the vacancy rates are still low, so you can only expect further building activity," said Patrick Walters, manager of corporate economics for the City of Calgary. "The conditions are right for construction in '07. Whether we'll have the record performances of last year is a question, but the conditions are right." While the federal agency noted there were records set in every province except Prince Edward Island and Ontario in 2006, StatsCan emphasized that it was Alberta, in particular, and the West generally that fuelled the record performances seen at the national level in 2006.

"If Alberta and British Columbia were excluded, the overall value of permits would have increased just one per cent instead of nine per cent," StatsCan said in its report, which focused on results for December and all of 2006. "These two provinces showed the biggest gains for both residential and non-residential components." Alberta's performance on the non-residential side led the country, with permit values up 38.5 per cent to a record $5.7 billion and unprecedented results in each of the industrial, commercial and institutional components. National non-residential permits hit a record $25.2 billion.

"The provincial government is running very healthy surpluses, and some of that money gets recycled . . . in payments for infrastructure," said Walters. "In terms of the private sector, very healthy resource prices become recycled through drilling activity and the building of non-residential space." Ottawa-based StatsCan noted that much of the record overall values for building permits can be attributed to soaring housing prices -- and Alberta was front and centre in that phenomenon, as well. In Calgary, new home prices in November were 50 per cent higher than a year before and Edmonton's were 43 per cent higher. In contrast, across Canada last year the actual number of new single-family homes permitted in 2006 fell to a five year low of 119,140, a decline of 2.2 per cent from 2005. "Even so, the value of single-family permits jumped 6.3 per cent to $26.7 billion in the wake of higher prices, especially in Alberta," said StatsCan.

The remarkable strength in Alberta's construction sector was also apparent in December, when permit values in Wild Rose Country continued to rise while declines were seen nationally -- down 7.8 per cent to $5.8 billion -- and in six of the ten provinces. Alberta's permit value jumped 5.5 per cent from November to a record $1.4 billion, thanks to a flurry of industrial and commercial projects, while B.C.'s dropped from a record high in November to their lowest level in eight months, with declines across the board.

gscotton@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

02-09-2007, 06:48 PM

Stampede hits the jackpot with new super casino

Published: Friday, February 09, 2007

Listening to Steve Allan, chairman of the board and president of the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede, address a packed audience at the chamber on Monday, I realized that I had not seen the plans for the new Stampede Casino. Yet I knew work had commenced on it as cars are being re-routed around an orange fence to the north parking area outside the Round Up Centre.

Actually, the construction activity you see is to the west of the casino site to build an access under 3rd Street S.E. to the underground parking structure that will hold a minimum of 300 vehicles.

The casino has been designed by S2 Architecture as the biggest in the city with the largest high-limit room. I visited with partner in charge Robert Spaetgens and principal architect James McLaughlin who took me on a tour through the detailed plans for the 95,000 square foot building.

The main floor footprint is 72,000 square feet of which 27,000 square feet will be the main gaming floor for tables and slots. There's also a large dedicated poker room that has its own access allowing for different operating hours, but the casino is not just a gambling operation. It has been designed as a first-class entertainment centre that includes a multi-purpose theatre.

Food and beverage venues will include a diner, cafe, Asian restaurant, sports bar, a huge Las Vegas influenced circular bar in the middle of the gaming floor, and a high-end steakhouse grill with large wine wall and harvest table.

The ground-floor plans also show VIP lounges, security and video monitor rooms, separate rooms for the volunteers that must be in attendance every opening day, and staff facilities that house 400 lockers.

Up on the second floor are housed the mechanical rooms and administration offices and a Plus-15 link to the proposed hotel areas that will be built facing onto Olympic Way. Currently, the Stampede is negotiating with a development company around the site economics that could see both a Hyatt Place Hotel and a Hyatt longer stay suite hotel built there.

The southwest side of the casino will almost abut the new addition to the Round Up Centre with just a narrow service street separating the two buildings; it can also be reached via a Plus-15 walkway.

The entire building naturally is designed with a western -- but contemporary up-beat -- theme and the building frontage along 12th Avenue will do much to glamorize that area of Victoria Park.

The whole promenade all the way from Macleod Trail to the Elbow River will be upgraded while the covered entranceway features a public plaza setting and VIP/taxi drop-off and a dedicated parkade entrance for valet parking.

atlas_inc

02-10-2007, 09:39 PM

$1B bid to revive factory district
Homes, offices, shops to be built in Stampede's shadow
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Saturday, February 10, 2007

CREDIT: Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald Dan Van Leeuwen, President Torode Commercial

A billion-dollar mixed-used redevelopment will redefine the face of a southeast Calgary neighbourhood adjacent to the Stampede grounds. Torode Commercial Ltd. plans to build 3.2 million square feet of commercial, retail and residential development on the Ramsay site, at Spiller Road and 24th Avenue S.E. "Ramsay is a fantastic community," said Torode's president, Dan Van Leeuwen. "It's got a very interesting blend of demographics. It's a very artistic community. It's very close to the downtown," he said, adding construction costs today are pegged at about $1.1 billion. "We also picked this because of its location (near) the downtown core from a walking, cycling, transportation and even driving perspective. "We saw this as a sort of overlooked piece of the near-city. It's rare to get a piece of property this size."

The huge development, which will be unveiled today at a public open house at the site, will include up to 2,000 housing units of various types, 650,000 square feet of office space, 275,000 square feet of retail and an 80,000-square-foot boutique hotel. The phased-in project is expected to start construction in 2008, pending city approvals, and take five to seven years to complete. Van Leeuwen told the Herald on Friday the 8.4-hectare Ramsay Exchange site will comprise a number of buildings -- with three main nodes where there will be office buildings. The office towers will be between 11 and 14 storeys high.

"It is an old industrial site (home to Plains Fabrication and F&D Scene Changes) so we figured it was a good plan for us to convert it into something more compatible with the current uses in the community. Ramsay has got a great history . . . ," said Van Leeuwen. "We're not chewing up more greenfield land to convert a large piece of property into something a little more dense and compatible with what's going on here." Adam Legge, director of research and business information at Calgary Economic Development, said it's exciting to see a project of this scale east of the Stampede and into the Ramsay area. "What that signifies is you're starting to see when a city gets to be our size and so much demand and so much activity, you're starting to see these sites that have typically been under-utilized and in previously less desirable areas all of a sudden becoming ripe for redevelopment because they're so close to the inner city," said Legge. "You've got a really, really dynamic area there. "That whole east side (of downtown Calgary) in 10, 15, 20 years is going to be such a dynamic, vibrant place. Torode has really become very much a visionary for redevelopment in the east side . . . . It signifies you have a developer in the community that sees vision and opportunity in an underdeveloped and prime location and the potential for significant development based on the resurgence in the area."

The residential component of the project will be a mix between townhomes, loft and high-rise condos and some rental units as well. "We're just going in for our land-use so there's still quite a bit of planning that needs to be done," said Van Leeuwen. "The site's primarily residential. "We have been in discussions with the community about three high-rise condominium towers that will take advantage of the views mainly and those may be as high as 32 to 36 storeys. The plan is still somewhat in fluctuation and those are just proposals at the moment."

Van Leeuwen said the developer has had a pre-application meeting with the City of Calgary over the project. "We are preparing to continue with the land-use process after our open house . . . That may get us to a (Calgary Planning Commission) hearing in late spring, early summer at which point we're hoping to get into city council late summer or early fall," said Van Leeuwen. "And then we'll start the (development permit) process . . . Given the size and scale of the process, it's going to be phased over several years. I would expect us to be going in for (development permit) and working through the process in early 2008. I doubt very much we'd see much construction going on here until the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009."

The project will incorporate some of the site's heritage including the preservation of the Dominion Bridge Building (1926). Eileen Stan, development manager for Torode Commercial, said the project "fits in well with the city's larger agenda of developing socially, economical, environmentally-responsible communities. "Due to its location, the type of community . . . and the fact that we can re-use an industrial site that's in the inner city I think is a big advantage to what we're trying to do here."
She added that the site is close to existing transit and a proposed new transit line for the southeast.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

City needs more staff to track boom
Calgary Herald Saturday, February 10, 2007

Calgary's booming growth has drawn so many new residents, the city clerk's office is still searching for more workers to count them. This year's deadline to hire people to conduct the annual three-week survey was supposed to be Friday, but an extension was granted because another 150 to 200 counters are still needed to tally the additional census districts.

"It's the economy out there," said city returning officer Barb Clifford. "Last year, the city grew so much, we have close to 1,000 census districts now."

The annual census survey starts April 1. Clifford said interested applicants should contact the city's election services office at 221-3850.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Council OK's downtown water, sewer levy
Calgary Herald Saturday, February 10, 2007

City council has approved a levy to make improvements to water and sewer lines for any new project built downtown or in the Beltline. But the decision on whether to charge the levies for transit buses, fire stations and public parks has been put off until April, when an administrative report on the issue is expected. Aldermen asked for the delay to deal with concerns raised by developers who build in the inner city.

The utilities levy amounts to $1,823 for each metre of property -- or $27,000 for a 15-metre lot -- along the street. In addition, the city wants to charge a levy of between $50 and $1,500 for police stations, libraries and public parks -- similar to the community infrastructure levy that added between $2,500 and $3,500 to every new home built in the suburbs -- to pay for nearly $100 million in projects. The so-called community infrastructure levy would add $78,000 for a 15-metre lot.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Jobless rate near all-time low
Province's January rate holds at 3.3%
Geoffrey Scotton The Canadian Press Saturday, February 10, 2007

Alberta's economic brawn was front and centre in January as 23,000 people decided to look for work that month in Wild Rose Country -- and Canada's strongest economy found jobs for even more, 24,000. The difference was small enough that Statistics Canada reported Friday the provincial unemployment rate was left unchanged from December at 3.3 per cent, but that figure is close to an all-time low, and by far the lowest jobless rate of any province in Canada. "You can get a job pretty quickly right now in Alberta," commented Vincent Ferrao, a senior analyst with the federal agency's labour market survey group.

In the last 12 months Alberta has created more than 121,700 jobs, or 30 per cent of the national total. The latest results pushed the employment rate in this province -- the proportion of those of working age who are working -- to a record 71.5 per cent. It's the highest of any province, ever. "This is a remarkable performance by Alberta," said Ali Abdelrahman, senor economist with Employment, Immigration and Industry Alberta in Edmonton.

He noted that while Alberta accounted for 30 per cent of Canada's new jobs over the past year, it has just 10 per cent of the country's population. In the past year Alberta has enjoyed employment growth of 6.5 per cent, more than double the national result of 2.4 per cent. "It's very strong employment growth," said StatsCan's assistant chief statistician, Phil Smith, from Ottawa. That growth and ongoing tightness in the labour market pushed the average hourly wage here ahead 4.1 per cent in January from January 2006 versus 2.2 per cent nationally. In 2006, the Alberta average hourly wage rose an average 6.9 per cent, more than doubling the national result of 3.3 per cent.

Calgary's unemployment rate was also unchanged in January but that's where any ordinariness ends. At 2.6 per cent, Calgary's jobless rate in January was the lowest among Canadians cities, as it has been for months, and is down sharply from the 4.4 per cent recorded in January, 2006. Since January 2006 the Calgary economy has produced 54,000 jobs for a growth rate of 8.7 per cent. "Usually if the unemployment rate is less than three per cent it's a clear indication of a skills shortage. So, Calgary is in a real skills shortage problem," said Abdelrahman.

Nationally, the Canadian economy stunned experts by cranking out as many as seven times the number of new jobs expected in the first month of 2007, with payrolls across Canada swelling by a remarkable 89,000 people. Nonetheless, an even larger surge of people entering the labour force and looking for a job caused the national unemployment rate to be nudged up to 6.2 per cent from the 6.1 per cent rate seen in December 2006. The bulk of the new jobs came in British Columbia and in Alberta and in the areas of information, culture and recreation; professional, scientific and technical; accommodation and food services and in natural resources.
In Alberta, manufacturing was a strong performer, running counter to the bleak manufacturing results nationally that reflect manufacturing weakness in Central Canada including Ontario, where 13,000 manufacturing jobs were lost.

The national unemployment rate remains close to the 31-year low record of 6.1 it hit during several months last year. The national employment rate hit a record high of 63.4 per cent and new standards were set, along with Alberta, in B.C., Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

UNEMPLOYMENT
The national unemployment rate was 6.2 per cent in January. Here's what happened provincially (previous month in brackets):
- Alberta 3.3 (3.3)
- Saskatchewan 4.1 (4.0)
- British Columbia 4.3 (5.2)
- Manitoba 4.6 (4.1)
- Ontario 6.4 (6.1)
- Quebec 7.7 (7.5)
- Nova Scotia 7.8 (7.3)
- New Brunswick 8.1 (8.5)
- Prince Edward Island 10.7 (12.4)
- Newfoundland 15.4 (13.8)

gscotton@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Brookfield nets 'premier' downtown site
Buys $45M interest in Herald block
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Saturday, February 10, 2007

CREDIT: Ted Rhodes, Calgary Herald

Brookfield Properties has acquired 100 per cent interest in the downtown Herald block for $45 million.One of North America's largest commercial real estate companies has purchased half a block in the heart of the city -- including the old Calgary Herald building -- calling it "one of Calgary's premier downtown development sites." Brookfield Properties has acquired 100 per cent interest in the Herald block for $45 million and the company says the property is nearly 66,000 square feet in area with development density for about 1.1 million square feet of office space. The site contains four small buildings totalling 130,000 square feet of rentable area as well as underground parking and a small surface parking lot.

Tom Farley, President & COO of Canadian commercial operations for Brookfield, told the Herald on Friday the company hasn't decided what it will do with the site at 7th Avenue and 1st Street S.W. Brookfield owns about eight million square feet of office buildings in Calgary, including Fifth Avenue Place, the Petro-Canada Centre and Bankers Hall. "By acquiring the Herald block, it allows us some flexibility going forward to respond to our tenants' needs and to provide space for tenants that are not already in Brookfield's buildings," said Farley.

"We're in the process of evaluating the site in terms of the type of buildings that we will put up, the uses that we'll put in place and we also have the flexibility of holding onto the site . . . and wait. Or it gives us the flexibility as well if we want to respond immediately to some of our tenants' expansion requirements, we're able to do that. So it gives us optimum flexibility for additional density in our Calgary portfolio." Farley said the company is "extremely excited" about the site's location. "As us Canadian real estate people say, it's right at centre ice," he said. "When you can control half of a block at that location, proximity to the light rail transit and centre of the business district, we think it's a wonderful site with excellent opportunities."

Adam Legge, director of research and business information at Calgary Economic Development, said the purchase of the property by Brookfield in the heart of downtown Calgary is an indication of the city's economic strength. "It's a building that's really underdeveloped for the potential in the downtown core and in a prime location with shopping and office," said Legge of the old Calgary Herald building. "(With) the crunch on office space (with a vacancy rate of less than one per cent downtown) right now people are just looking for ways in which they can find some redevelopment opportunities and rents are getting to the point where it can make economic sense. . . . A really prime corner for redevelopment and a building that's really not maximized to its full potential and they can put in something really big and significant in there."

Legge said there is continued demand from business for additional space and companies are looking for options. "And rents are at a point where you can make some returns on new development," said Legge. "You're just seeing the outcome and the result of the city's economy still forging ahead. When that happens, you just need to start to put some shovels in the ground and get some new buildings up. It's as simple as that." Brookfield Properties owns, develops and manages premier office properties and its portfolio is comprised of interests in 116 properties totalling 76 million square feet in the downtown cores of New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa.

Meanwhile, EnCana on Friday officially announced the sale of the proposed The Bow office tower project assets -- including the 59-storey building -- to a wholly-owned subsidiary of H&R Real Estate Investment Trust.
As part of the transaction, EnCana, as a tenant, has signed a 25-year tenant lease agreement with H&R REIT for 100 per cent of the office tower at an initial rental rate of approximately $36 per square foot and has received about $70 million, which largely represents EnCana's investment to date in the project. EnCana said the project's completion is scheduled for 2011 and it has been previously pegged at about $1 billion to build.

EnCana transferred ownership of The Bow project's property on portions of both the north and south blocks between 5th and 7th Avenues between Centre and 1st Street S.E. This sale also includes the development plans for the approximately 1.9-million-square-foot building on the north block and the 200,000 square foot development on the south block with H&R assuming all design and building contracts.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Smart move: Investors buy inner-city condo
Kathy McCormick Calgary Herald Saturday, February 10, 2007

CREDIT: Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald
Condo buyers Heath and Helen Kenyon near a model of the Xenex on 12th project.

Resale condos are expected to rise in value more than single-family homes this year, says the buyer of an inner-city condo. "If people come to Calgary now, they're often looking at moving closer to the downtown core -- and that means condos," says Heath Kenyon. Along with his wife, Helen, he recently bought a one-bedroom unit in the new Xenex on Twelfth project. The 18-story tower is being undertaken by Bucci Developments in the Beltline area. "At the moment, condo market values are going up faster than (single-family homes) -- and from what I've seen and heard, that will continue for the next two to three years, so I think condos are the way to go," says Kenyon.

Resale condos sold at an average price of $260,711 last year. That's expected to rise nine per cent to $284,175 this year, says the Calgary Real Estate Board. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. expects an even steeper increase to $286,500. By contrast, single-family resale homes averaged $384,998 last year. Depending on who you talk to, they're expected to climb at least seven per cent to an average of $412,000 to $421,500 this year -- although both CREB's and CMHC's estimates could be low. "The average is almost there already," says Lai Sing Louie, senior market analyst for CMHC. Single-family resale home averaged $419,324 in January.

"If that holds, and it looks like it's getting stronger, our forecast of a 10 per cent overall hike in resale single-family housing for the year could be conservative," he says. "But it's early, so we'll see." At any rate, condos will remain a big part of the market because they are generally lower priced, he says. "There's a lot of demand for the more affordable product -- and that builds confidence in investors as well, as they see that there's a good chance condos will go up as fast, or faster, than single-family homes," says Louie.

Kenyon agrees. "We could have bought a single-family home somewhere in a new neighbourhood or out of town somewhere, but we think condos are the way to go," he says. He and his wife already own another condo in McKenzie Towne and live in their own single-family house in Tuscany.
They're not alone in buying condos for investment, says Louie, adding that's a good thing. About 18 per cent of condo buyers are renting out their units, he says. "If that wasn't happening, renters would need to find other places to live and that would tighten up the 0.5 per cent vacancy rate even more."

Some buyers in Xenex are astute investors, says Fred Bucci, president of Bucci Developments. "Most who buy as an investment are here for the long term and plan to rent the units and hold them," he says. "They believe, as I do, that Calgary housing is still a good price." The Vancouver developer knows prices. After all, he's been building high-rise condos and communities since 1953, expanding into the Calgary market a decade ago.
"I still believe Calgary prices, in a North American context, are very reasonable," says Bucci. "In Vancouver, for example, we're now at $800 to $1,000 a square foot for condos, while here it's below $500 now. San Francisco is $1,000 and New York is $3,500."

But prices remain a concern of his. He had to take Xenex off the market for a while, readjusting prices to keep the project viable as labour and supply costs increased rapidly last year. "One issue that I'm still concerned about is the cost of construction, which continues even today," says Bucci. Even so, "we have taken a leap of faith" with the re-marketing of Xenex," says the developer. "We have said to our buyers that there will be no further price adjustments and now we are taking the risk -- and if we're wrong, we will absorb it. We have committed to the price even though we haven't got all of our costs in 100 per cent." The company's commitment has resonated well with buyers, he says. Nearly 65 per cent of the 150 units in the tower (the penthouses have yet to be released) are sold, says Brenda Kelly, who heads up marketing for Bucci.
Construction has already started on the building, which will be on the northeast corner of 7th Street and 12th Avenue S.W., where the majority of the units have views of downtown or surrounding neighbourhoods.
Things like the higher security and lower maintenance compared to single-family homes is another reason people have gravitated to condo living, says Kenyon.

He and his wife may end up living in the condo they recently purchased, instead of keeping it as an investment. The couple are both age 40. "We don't have children and our jobs are such that we could live anywhere," he says. "We like the location and the whole idea of Xenex, and the layout is far more attractive than a lot of other ones we were looking at." The modern, clean lines of the building include panoramic windows in suites to capture views, public art on the corner of the street, and aluminum rails with glass panels on balconies. Inside, most units have nine-foot ceilings, woodgrain laminate wrap cupboards and stainless steel appliances.
Heated, underground parking, assigned storage lockers that includes bike storage, and video camera surveillance are some of the other features.
Condos range from studio units to three bedrooms, as well as townhouses and penthouses.

Prices start at $229,788 to $657,788, not including penthouses or GST.
Meanwhile, says Bucci, "we will continue to explore the Calgary market for opportunities, and we're in a big subdivision in Edmonton and have assets in Red Deer. We're here to stay in Alberta." Xenex on 12th is located on the Northeast corner of 12th Avenue and 7th Street S.W. However, the presentation centre is at 1226 8th St. Open daily from noon to 6 p.m.
Visit the website at www.xenexon12th.com.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Calgary has its own 'big urbanism' trend
Richard White For The Calgary Herald Saturday, February 10, 2007

Each December, the New York Times magazine publishes its annual Year In Ideas edition. It characterizes a year through the new or big ideas that occurred during that year. One of the "big ideas" that caught my attention on the list for 2006 was "big urbanism." I am not convinced this is truly a new or big idea, but rather, like most things, is just a recycled idea.
In the 1960s and '70s, "urban renewal" was the buzzword of city developers and planners across North America.

The term referred to mega projects that linked several blocks in tired, older areas of a city centre. In Calgary, our urban renewal projects created a legacy of "east-end concrete bunkers." The convention centre, Glenbow Museum, Calgary Board of Education building, Workers Compensation Board building, Palliser Square and Bow Valley College (Alberta Vocational College at that time) were built during this time.

The New York Times' "Big Urbanism" article highlighted the current wave of massive urban development projects taking place across the United States -- such as the 8.8-hectare, Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn worth $4.2 billion US, or the $3.6 billion plans for the revitalization of downtown Yonkers, N.Y. As well, Denver, Colo., continues to implement its cultural district master plan. It includes the now-completed Michael Graves post-modern addition to its central library, as well as the new wing of the Denver Art Museum. Designed by Daniel Libeskind, the project cost $110-million US. Denver's plan has been the catalyst for the construction of thousands of new condos in the city's cultural district.

In Los Angeles, the Grand Avenue plan -- which is to cost more than $1 billion US -- is currently being implemented. It will involve 3.6 million square feet of new development, including the new Frank Gehry Theatre and a 6.4-hectare park. The big urbanism article talks of a "new confidence amongst designers, developers and public officials for re-shaping the cities we live in." It concludes with a comment that Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is contributing to the new-found money, leading in turn to new optimism in the public sector. Sound familiar?
Big urbanism also caught my attention when I was surfing the Internet. I found an article documenting skyscraper development in other cities and what they will look like in 2012.

The article identified the world's big urbanism cities by how many new skyscrapers (defined as 500 feet, or about 50 floors) will be built in each city between 1999 and 2012. In the United Arab Emirates near Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf city of Dubai was ranked No. 1. It is expected to grow to 90 skyscrapers by 2012, up from six skyscrapers in 1999. Second on the list was Miami. As the Florida city evolves into a new banking and financial hub, it is expected to grow to 71 towers by 2012, up from five in 1999.

Third was Las Vegas, which had only two skyscrapers in 1999, but is predicted to have 27 by 2012. London was fourth, growing from two to 24, while Tel Aviv was fifth, increasing from two to 16 towers during the same period. Not to be left out, Alberta's two major cities both have big urbanism projects of their own.

Edmonton has the Century Park project (the new name for the old Heritage Mall site in south Edmonton). Westbank Project Corp. and Procura Urban Development Properties plan to convert the 17-hectare site (the size of Calgary's Prince's Island) from a shopping mall and parking lot to an urban village. The project is to include 2,800 residential units, 200,000 square feet of offices (the size of a 15-floor office building), and 160,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space (about the size of Calgary's Eaton Centre). It will also feature 35,000 square feet of indoor recreational facilities, a new LRT station and about seven hectares of open space -- all to be built over the next 10 years.

Not to be outdone, Calgary has three new big urbanism projects: Quarry Park, East Village and Currie Barracks. Quarry Park is an 125-hectare development by one of Calgary's premier developers, Remington Development Corp. Located on the site of an old quarry just east of Deerfoot Trail near IKEA, it will be converted into a work/live/play community. It will include about 1.7 million square feet of campus-style office and retail space (three and four floors high). Other features include 2,300 housing units, a 20-hectare natural area and six hectares of recreational space.

Remington Development is committed to the use of best practices in creating new urban communities, including pedestrian-friendly streets.
Meanwhile, plans are also in the works for the East Village area, which includes Fort Calgary, that involves the billion-dollar redevelopment of the 45-hectare area, which is located in downtown's east side. It will include housing for as many as 10,000 people, as well as office and retail space to be determined by the market. It may also include a new post-secondary campus involving the University of Calgary and the already-started Bow Valley College renovation and expansion.

Calgary's largest big urbanism project is the federal government's Canada Lands redevelopment of the former Canadian Forces Base just off Crowchild Trail. Phase One was the incredibly successful, 64-hectare Garrison Woods project, which involved 70,000 square feet of retail, 1,600 residential units, two private schools and nearly five hectares of parkland.
Phase Two is the 29-hectare Garrison Green project, with 1,000 housing units and about three hectares of parks and open space. Currie Barracks is the name of the final 80-hectare phase. It will include about 200,000 square feet of retail, 300,000 square feet of office (180,000 square feet in heritage buildings to be preserved), up to 3,200 housing units, and about nine hectares of park and open space. This development will incorporate several mixed-use projects (main floor retail with office and residential above), with a density of nine to 16 units per acre (with one acre equal to about 0.4 hectares, and Garrison Woods about 10 units per acre). It will also include many sustainable development practices, such as storm water management and green roofs (ones that are partially or wholly covered with vegetation).

It will create a new self-sustaining work, live and play community in Calgary's inner city. These are interesting times -- not only in Calgary, but around the world. Cities have hopefully learned from the many failed big urbanism projects of the '60s and '70s. This time around, here's hoping politicians, planners, architects and developers heed the words of Jane Jacobs, the guru of creating urban villages, who said: "Gradual change is better than cataclysmic development. If change comes too quickly, it will generate buildings of the same scale, design and use which will generate little real diversity in the present and in the future."

Richard White is the director of operations and communications at Riddell Kurczaba Architecture

Skyscraper Construction Around the World*
City Skyscrapers in 1999 Skyscrapers in 2012
- Dubai 2 90
- Miami 5 71
- Las Vegas 2 27
- London 2 24
- Tel Aviv 2 16
- Calgary 8 13
- Edmonton 0 0

*Buildings more than 500-feet tall
Source for Calgary and Edmonton information: skyscraper.com; source for other cities: Wire magazine
This story features a factbox "Skyscraper Construction Around the World".

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Condo price pace reflects 'new reality'
Resale unit increase outstrips used homes
Marty Hope Calgary Herald Saturday, February 10, 2007

Although still considered an affordable option for homebuyers, the average selling price of resale condos is climbing faster than that of single-family houses, says the Calgary Real Estate Board. Used condos fetched about $285,918 in January, up more than 42 per cent from the same month a year ago, it says. But resale single-family homes averaged $419,324, up less than 30 per cent.

"I think more than anything, the price of single-family homes is driving more people into the condo market," says board president Ron Stanners. "A lot of people have faced the new realization that they can't afford a detached home, it's just the new reality." In terms of the median price, used condos sold for $265,000 last month -- an increase of just under 49 per cent. The median is the middle number of all sale prices. It is considered to be a truer read of the marketplace than average prices.
The median price for single-family homes was $373,000, up less than 29 per cent compared to a year ago.

But while the price gap narrowed in January, demand for resale condos remained strong, says Stanners. "Condo sales were way up -- 33 per cent above where they were a year ago," he said following the release of January's activity report. Sales of detached or single-family homes climbed less than two per cent. For the month, 834 condos changed hands compared to 624 a year ago. Single-family homes totalled 1,787 -- 25 more than were sold in the same month last year.

Besides affordability compared to single-family homes, condos are popular for another reason, says Stanners. Many people want the condo lifestyle freedom from considerations like yardwork or home security. "They want to be able to lock and leave," says Stanners. The most active price category last month was for condos selling between $300,000 and $350,000, accounting for 18.6 per cent of January sales. In terms of single-family homes, the most active category was from $400,000 to $500,000, which made up nearly 24 per cent of all detached sales.
"The $400,000-plus range has become the new entry level price, particularly in the northwest and southwest," says Stanners.

While retaining a small percentage of total sales, the high end of the market continues to be strong. During January, 95 homes were sold at $700,000 or more, up from 44 a year ago. Forty homes sold for more than $1 million last month, up from 24 in January 2006, says Stanners.
While sales activity turned in a strong performance, potential buyers continue to have a good selection of homes to choose from. The number of new listings in January reached 4,010, up from less than 3,000 a year ago -- and the highest total since September of last year. With the increased choice, it's taking longer for consumers to buy a home. Condos and single-family homes were on the market about 40 days before selling, about a week longer than it took a year ago, says the board.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

02-14-2007, 05:16 PM

Meltdown in office real estate feared
Report warns 'reckoning' approaching
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Wednesday, February 14, 2007

CREDIT: Dean Bicknell, Calgary Herald Randy Magnussen, head of Bentall Real Estate Services in Western Canada, at the official groundbreaking for the company's Jamieson Place office tower project on 4th Avenue and 2nd Street S.W.A national firm is warning that the Calgary office market is at risk of overheating given supply/demand issues and the resultant spike in rental rates.

The Barnicke Report -- Global Views, by J.J. Barnicke Limited, also says increasing construction costs in Alberta are becoming a concern and could put a damper on future capital projects. The report comes one day after Statistics Canada released a report showing the rise in Calgary construction costs led the nation in 2006, soaring by almost 19 per cent from the previous year. Also on Tuesday another report by RealNet Canada Inc., said a record number of commercial real estate transactions in 2006 represented $3.5 billion in business investment in the Calgary market with the sales volume increasing by 34 per cent from the previous year.

"Renewals at $45 per square foot (in Calgary) on an 'as is' basis are not sustainable," wrote Joseph Barnicke, chairman of J.J. Barnicke, in the Global Views report. "The day of reckoning will come in 2008-09 when three to four million square feet of new office supply comes on stream and is occupied from existing properties in the market . . . With the significant amount of supply coming on stream in Calgary, the market should prove very interesting. "Only the foolhardy would venture to make future projections on rents."

Randy Magnussen, senior vice-president and general manager, western region, for Bentall Capital, said the company currently has six buildings under various stages of development in Calgary totaling 2.5 million square feet. "Construction costs in the last probably 18 months have been going up about 1.5 per cent per month or about 18 per cent on an annualized basis," said Magnussen on Tuesday at the official ground breaking for the company's Jamieson Place 38-storey, 890,000 square foot, $300-million office tower at the corner of 4th Avenue and 2nd Street S.W. The building is already 56 per cent leased and is scheduled for completion in late 2009.
"One of the things that's allowed us as well as other developers to continue with the development programs of course is the fact that rental rates have increased at a similar rate . . . My belief is that construction costs will continue to increase but not at the same rate."

"What results in whether or not construction will continue is supply and demand. If the demand is still there, rental rates will probably increase to cover off the additional costs in construction," said Magnussen. Statistics Canada reported that Calgary had the largest increase in non-residential building construction costs of 18.8 per cent in the past year followed by Edmonton (16.6 per cent), Vancouver (12.9 per cent), Toronto (6.8 per cent), Ottawa and Gatineau, Que. (6.4 per cent), Halifax (4.9 per cent) and Montreal (3.2 per cent). Calgary led the country with a 5.9 per cent increase from the third quarter followed by Edmonton (5.5 per cent) and Vancouver (four per cent).

RealNet Canada on Tuesday said the desire to own, whether as an investment or as a place to operate a business, reached new heights in Calgary in 2006. The largest ticket item, office properties, was the biggest contributor to the total volume with $975 million in sales over 50 transactions or 28 per cent of the annual total. Industrial and apartment sales saw the sharpest increases in sales levels of 104 per cent and 192 per cent respectively. RealNet Canada's Q4 2006 Calgary Statistics Report for property sales with a minimum sale price of $1 million said, "insatiable investor appetite" set a new benchmark high for sales.

"Calgary has led the way in terms of economic growth in Canada in 2006, so the high levels of interest in commercial real estate in the city is hardly surprising," said George Carras, president of RealNet Canada. Joseph Barnicke wrote in the Global Views report, "the pessimists who believed 2006 might have troubled times missed out once again. 2006 will go down as one of the best in the past decade, and there is nothing on the horizon that would suggest 2007 will not be another good year for the commercial real estate industry." "There are, however, two key ingredients in our economic assumption that could be troubling," he wrote. "There is the over supply of dollars for investment in real estate and construction costs are escalating, in some areas up 30 per cent. These two factors are bound to have some effect on real estate investment. If construction costs rise to a point where market rents cannot justify building, there will be added pressure on existing properties as demand for investment property continues to outpace supply in all asset classes. Supply of available investment property in Canada is limited."

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

Calgary's Commercial Real Estate Market in Focus
Asset Type - 2005 Volume - 2006 Volume - % Change
Office - $1,078.9M - $975.2M - -9%
Retail - $404.7M - $584.1M - 44%
industrial - $223.9M - $456 - 104%
Apartment - $186.5M - $555.2M - 192%
Hotel - $49.3M - $66.9M - 41%
I.C.I.* Land - $352.1M - $394M - 12%
RES. Land - $308.5M - $457.5M - 48%
Total - $2,603.9M - $3,488.8M - 34%
* Industrial Commercial Institutional
Source: RealNet Canada Inc.
This story features a factbox "Calgary's Commercial Real Estate Market in Focus".

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

02-18-2007, 11:42 PM

Landlords can name their price
Paula Arab Calgary Herald Sunday, February 18, 2007

Landlord Alnoor Kassam would have us believe that jacking up rent by an astronomical amount to get his tenants out quickly was a "morally" wrenching decision. Hogwash. It was a decision he made -- and then reversed under public pressure -- because, in the end, it came down to business. This is more than a moral dilemma. It's an unlevel playing field for tenants, who are the buyers of the service. A free market usually means business that's in the interests of both buyers and sellers, not a predatory climate that places one at the mercy of the other.

There are clear rules of engagement, as set out for the rental market by provincial legislation. In this case, the Alberta Residential Tenancies Act ensures both buyer and seller know where they stand. Yet under this law, Kassam was perfectly within his legal right to double and triple the rent. Heck, he could have raised it by 8,000 per cent had he wanted to. The sky's the limit, legally, as long as he gives three months' notice. That doesn't offer much legal protection for the tenant.

I'm sure Ron Brunt feels that way. He was told his $650 apartment would go up to $2,500 as of May 1. By all means, let the market dictate the price, but it doesn't take an Einstein to figure out the new amount is well above market rates. Yes, the apartment is in the high-brow Mount Royal neighbourhood, but it's only 450 square feet. If $2,500 is the market rate for this broom closet, why did the aspiring politician estimate he could only get $2,200 to $3,000 a month after renovating the units into larger, luxury executive suites? And furnished, no less. This incident illustrates a bigger problem -- the lack of tenants' rights in Alberta.

The provincial landlord and tenant act offers some protections for renters, such as requiring landlords to give 90 days eviction notice. Measures to enforce the law are inadequate, and landlords know it. I heard one story recently about a Calgary couple given just one month's notice to vacate their apartment. It was illegal, but did they have the money to take the landlord to court? Not likely, since a significant segment of the population is struggling financially in Calgary. Move out? Good luck finding another place in a city with a 0.5-per-cent vacancy rate. They moved to B.C. Calgary city council, although concerned about the housing crisis, doesn't even operate a landlord and tenant advisory board -- something allowed and encouraged under the provincial legislation. Edmonton, Red Deer and Fort McMurray, on the other hand, have such services.

Without taking sides, an advisory board offers tenants access to a place where their concerns under the act may be addressed and a resolution mediated. Some will note how tough landlords had it a few years ago, when tenants in Calgary called all the shots. Sure, being a landlord is a tough job, full of headaches. It takes someone who's prepared for the long haul, not looking to turn a quick buck, because this business typically reaps the most benefits only after equity builds. But the choice for landlords -- in a renters' market -- is to find a more profitable business, not be homeless.

At a minimum, Alberta needs to put a lid on the amount by which landlords can increase rent. This is very different than putting a ceiling on how much they can charge, typically what's meant by the fearful phrase "rent control." In Ontario, landlords and tenants can negotiate the price, but once the renter is in, the increase is limited to once a year and linked to the consumer price index. Over the past 20 years, economists have concluded such regulation has not adversely affected the rental market because the increases have been lower than the allowable guidelines. The principles of supply and demand in the open market don't translate cleanly when you're talking about housing. In the Middle Eastern souk, if a barter doesn't like the price of spices or a pound of coffee, he can walk away. It's not so easy to do so when the item in question is the roof over your head. In a tight market, renters have no choice but to accept the conditions set by sometimes greedy landlords. That's why the legislation must do a better job of protecting them.

parab@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

It's up to the city to get ball rolling
Alnoor Kassam For the Calgary Herald Sunday, February 18, 2007

Welcome to Calgary, a city of seemingly endless opportunity. With this opportunity comes challenges. One major challenge is the cost of living, especially housing, which is increasing at rates thousands of Calgarians cannot keep up with. I cannot undo the situation that results in a higher cost of living for all Calgarians. I can, and will, commit to working with the residents in my building to ensure they are able to find affordable solutions to their housing needs. But this situation is not unique.

In one year, property values have increased more than 30 per cent. Over the course of five years, inner-city property values have skyrocketed, resulting in huge cost increases for tenants, landlords and property owners. Property values increase. Property taxes increase. Rents increase. What hasn't changed is the absolute lack of vision from our civic, provincial and federal governments. To date, our low-income housing strategy has been to warehouse people in short-term drop-in centres.

Non-profit societies strain under the pressure to keep up with demand. The current administration has allowed our low-income housing strategy to languish without proper funding or vision. This forces the Mustard Seed, Calgary Drop-In Centre, Inn From the Cold and dozens of other agencies to try to fill the gap. A gap created by a lack of foresight, policy and vision. It is time to change. No longer should the working poor fill our Drop-In Centre. Families should not have to rely on Inn From the Cold. And the Mustard Seed shouldn't have to operate temporary facilities in neighbourhoods where they aren't wanted.

Starting now, a campaign should be waged to provide vision, leadership and drive to establish long-term transitional housing. A commitment must be made to provide homes to the poor. It starts by providing options to homeowners to allow for secondary suites in their homes. This provides a valuable income stream to property owners, lower rents to tenants and increased density in established neighbourhoods. The City of Calgary has turned a blind eye to the housing shortage and forces small landowners to evict tenants in secondary suites.

It is time for a new vision of managing secondary suites that provides safety for tenants while easing the burden of the current housing shortage. The next step is to commit to building low-income housing. Immediately. In the downtown core, the City of Calgary spends more time and resources governing parking stalls than low-income housing. Civic policy dictates that any builder must provide parking stalls to service their building. Yet, residential developers have no requirement to build low-income options into their developments.

Should developers be setting the housing agenda for our city? When can we expect our civic leaders to stand up and demand construction of low-income housing? The cost need not be borne by developers alone. The province should match the investment of private entrepreneurs. Ministers have long been talking of P-3s as a solution to school construction woes -- why not housing? Policy needs to be developed to encourage construction of low-income housing options.

If the mayor can jump-start construction on a billion dollars worth of roads and interchanges, surely he can jump-start construction on several hundred units of low-income housing. It is simply a matter of priority -- housing or roads? People or cars? It is time our mayor put people before roads.

Alnoor Kassam is a hotelier who is converting some of his holdings into long-stay hotels and apartments. He is also a declared candidate for mayor in this fall's municipal elections.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

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CITYBEAT - CITY OF CALGARY PRESS RELEASE
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Calls came in to 9-1-1 Dispatch at approximately 12:20 this afternoon for reports of falling construction debris in the vicinity of 1st Street and 2nd Avenue SW.

When fire crews arrived, there were a number of sheets of plywood which had blown off of a 45-storey highrise building under construction. Westerly gusts had displaced construction materials which had not previously been secured on the roof of the highrise. The situation was made much more dangerous by the fact that there were Chinese New Year's celebrations being held in the streets below with an approximate attendance of 1000 people. The incident commander stated "It was very fortunate that no one was injured by the falling plywood."

Fire crews quickly attempted to clear the area below to protect bystanders from further danger while other crews scrambled to the top of the building under construction to stack and secure the remaining loose materials. The Calgary Fire Department's High Angle Rescue Team was brought to the
incident and remained on standby while the incident was controlled.

An estimated 10-15 sheets of plywood (4' x 8') landed on the ground below, some of them striking an Ellis Don construction trailer at the base of the site.

Over twenty firefighters and 6 fire apparatus were dispatched to the site. Construction crews subsequently arrived on scene and followed up on securing the building materials.

Foreign workers flock to Alberta
Experts fear many don't know rights

Kelly Cryderman, Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, February 18, 2007

As the number of temporary foreign workers coming to the province hits record levels, staff who provide services to immigrants fear many have inflated expectations and a lack of awareness of their rights.

In the first six months of 2006, Alberta welcomed 6,500 temporary foreign workers -- a 40 per cent increase from the level recorded during the same period in 2005, which was a record year, according to recent data from the federal department of Citizenship and Immigration.

"The number of foreign workers, the whole program has really taken off in Canada and it's really taken off in Alberta," said Randy Gurlock, an area director for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

But advocates for immigrants say many of these workers come to Canada without much English, unaware of their labour rights, scared of speaking to employers about health issues, and with false hopes about their temporary job easily leading to a permanent life here.

These issues have always existed for some, but with the swell of workers flocking to Alberta's hot economy, and more of them unskilled, the number of problems is growing.

"The person wants to stay. The economy needs them to stay. But they come on a temporary permit," said Dale Taylor, executive director of the Centre for Newcomers, a Calgary service centre for immigrants.

"When they're coming for less-skilled jobs, they have no financial elbow room. So they're dependent on that one employer. And his obligations are clear, but (workers) don't know what (those) obligations are. They don't know about employment standards," Taylor said.

The people who try to help new immigrants with the problems they encounter after coming to Canada are also increasingly being visited by temporary foreign workers.

Last week, the Alberta Settlement Conference brought government officials and immigration agencies together in Calgary.

Canada's temporary foreign worker program allows newcomers to work for a limited period if employers demonstrate they can't find suitable Canadian or permanent residents to fill the job. It also has to be shown that the entry of these workers will not have a negative effect on the labour market.

The modern form of the employer-driven program has existed since 1976 to meet labour shortages. As of late, more unskilled workers have started flowing to Canada to fill the demand -- many of them are now headed for the service sector.

"All the people I dealt with, they have the hope they're going to stay," said Veena Chandra, executive director of the Central Alberta Refugee Effort Committee in Red Deer. "They are supporting their families back at home. They have big dreams and they want to live in Canada, and work here."

She said many live in constant fear of being kicked out. Her organization dealt with one worker who hid the fact he had diabetes to secure work in Canada. Keeping his condition secret even when he went to work at a Red Deer plant resulted in the worsening of his condition, and having his foot amputated. He was sent back to El Salvador.

Chandra also said some recruiters take high fees for setting up the paperwork, or make promises about the process of permanent residency being easier than it is.

Chandra added that some of the workers don't even know their recruiter's last name.

With Ottawa emphasizing that only some temporary foreign workers will become permanent residents, Chandra said she wants to make sure they are told exactly what they're getting into before they leave their home countries.

Sean Laidley, business development manager for Mexi-Can Labour Force Inc., said his business does not charge the workers for setting them up with employers. They also guard against employers charging workers for services the companies are legally obligated to provide -- such as a round-trip flight.

But recruiters in foreign countries often take money from vulnerable workers, he said. "It's an area that is a huge concern."

Part of the problem, say those in the immigration community, is there is no designated government funding for programs that would help temporary foreign workers adjust to a new country or know their rights.

Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said temporary foreign workers often adjust better to Canada than immigrants because their jobs exist and their skills are recognized.

However, he said it would be reasonable for Ottawa to include temporary foreign workers in some of the immigrant services funding it provides.

Rob Bray, family and children services manager at Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, said the tight labour market is helping temporary foreign workers, as it is others.

"If your employer is abusing you. . . you can probably get another job."

kcryderman@theherald.canwest.com
=========================================================

Development leaving room for ranching

In what is likely a first in Alberta, a developer in a rural area is proposing a development that integrates ranching, conservation and residential ideas.

...
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Mayor on trade mission

Mayor Dave Bronconnier is taking part in a trade mission to China, Saudi Arabia and Dubai this week. The mayor has estimated the cost of the trip, to be paid for from his office budget, at between $12,000 and $15,000.

...
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Power failure briefly shuts down airport

TRANSPORT * The Calgary International Airport was temporarily shutdown Saturday evening after an electrical failure knocked out its airfield lights.

Public gets peek at CBE complex plan

Plans to turn the Dr. Carl Safran School site into a complex encompassing the Calgary Board of Education's headquarters, a conference centre and green space moved one step closer to reality Thursday after the public was given a chance to view the proposal.

atlas_inc

03-02-2007, 08:31 PM

Average condo cost hits $304,000 in February
Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, March 02, 2007

For the first time ever, the average sale price of a Calgary condominium has cracked the $300,000 barrier — an astonishing more than 40 per cent growth from one year ago. Figures released Friday by the Calgary Real Estate Board also show that the single-family market in the city continues to be very strong with the average sale price now more than $435,000. “With February statistics now on record, it is clear that our strong balanced market is going to continue,” said CREB President Ron Stanners. “With sales nine per cent above February 2006 numbers, it would appear that we are heading into a stronger market than last year. Our saving grace is that we have almost twice as many residential listings at the end of February this year as compared to February 2006. This should keep our market balanced, but anticipate prices moving up through March.” CREB says February combined residential sales were 3,348, a 9.66 per cent increase over February 2006 when sales were 3,053 and a 27.25 per cent increase from January 2007 when the sales were 2,631. The breakdown of the February combined sales was 2,319 single-family residences, 1,011 condominium, and 18 mobile homes. February 2006 sales in the same categories were 2,152; 895; and six, respectively. February saw 3,731 new listings coming to the market, an increase of 15.62 per cent from February 2006 when the new listings were 3,227 and a decrease of 6.96 per cent from last month’s 4,010 new listings. The average combined residential sale price for February was $393,307, a 29.14 per cent increase over February 2006 when the average price was $304,550 and a 4.7 percent increase over the January average price of $375,646. Broken out, the following is a comparison of single-family, condominium, and mobile home average sale prices for the month of February 2007 over 2006: single-family $435,802 / $342,412; condominium $301,777 / $215,301; mobile home $59,556 / $37,417. The single-family price rose by 27.27 per cent from a year ago while the condo price rose by a staggering 40.16 per cent from a year ago. Condominium sales in February maintained a steady pace with 1,011 condominiums changing hands. This is a 12.96 per cent increase over February 2006 when the condominium sales were 895 and a 21.22 per cent increase over last month’s sales of 834. The residential combined median pricefor February was $363,000, up 35.45 per cent from February 2006 when it was $268,000 and up 7.72 per cent from last month’s median of $337,000.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

atlas_inc

03-06-2007, 03:51 PM

Company wants to set up work camp near Calgary
Last Updated: Monday, March 5, 2007 | 10:21 AM MT
CBC News
An Alberta cement company desperate to draw workers to Calgary wants to set up a temporary work camp.

Workers from Eastern Canada don't want to come to Calgary once they learn about how much it costs to live in the city, said Al Schuster, a vice-president at Lehigh Inland Cement, a western Canadian supplier.

Despite negative perceptions about work camps, he said his company believes setting one up in or near Calgary will help solve its labour problems.

Last summer, the company couldn't hire enough mechanics, so some trucks sat idle.

"I would think you'll always get pushback on a camp in an area because everyone perceives it to be a bunch of transient people," he said.

Schuster said his company will offer a modern work camp that fits in with its neighbours and improves the reputation of these kinds of camps.

Company looks to Rocky View
Calgary has seen vacancy rates fall to 0.5 per cent and the average price of a home rise to $391,000 at the end of February compared with $304,000 a year earlier.

Lehigh Inland applied to set up a camp on its gravel pit land in the southeast, but the City of Calgary rejected the application. Schuster said Lehigh now is looking to the neighbouring municipality of Rocky View so it will be ready for the summer demand.

"There is a location down south of where we are that really has already a structured facility and had been permitted for trailers, I believe."

Grant Neufeld, spokesman for the Calgary Housing Action Initiative, said the fact employers are even talking about work camps in Calgary shows they are desperate.

"I'd say it's better than having people out on the street, but not that much better. It's not a great condition for people to be living under."

atlas_inc

03-06-2007, 04:14 PM

Demand for office space moves to the suburbs
Market has 'normalized' in the core
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Mike Gigliuk, Alberta director of research with CB Richard Ellis, says there isn't the same frenzy in the downtown office space market that there was last year.Calgary's downtown office market, which was often described as frenzied in 2006, has now "normalized" with a softening in demand, according to one of the country's largest commercial real estate firms.
At the same time, though, the demand for suburban market space is strong and growing. Mike Gigliuk, director of research, Alberta, for CB Richard Ellis, said currently "there isn't the same frenzy in the market that there was in 2006."

The downtown office vacancy rate plunged to 0.5 per cent by the end of the year with average asking net lease rates up 61 per cent compared to a year ago, reaching $35.56 per square foot. We're back to more of a normalization of the market in terms of demand," said Gigliuk. "We're back to our average demand scenario. We're starting to see some full floors come available (in existing product) and we haven't seen that for about a year now. "There's a bit of a softening in demand. There's some space being taken up in the new developments. In one instance, it's as a result of an engineering firm moving out of the downtown core and their space hasn't been backfilled. Whereas last year, their space would have never come to the market. It would have been backfilled immediately." Gigliuk said that in the suburban office market there is strong demand and "strong demand for good quality product."

"In the new developments, we're still seeing lots of activity in those," said Gigliuk. According to CB Richard Ellis, the suburban office vacancy rate finished the year at 1.9 per cent. "The little bit of oil and gas that does occupy the suburbs, that demand is flattening but that's being taken up by the finance and engineering companies. So there's really no break in the situation with the suburban market whereas in the downtown we're seeing a bit of a levelling off. Not a drop. Just a normalization. Normal or average demand in the downtown." The levelling off of demand in the downtown market is a result of the "softer energy prices, especially on the gas side," a trend that began in late 2006.

Despite the change in the downtown market, he said "We're still nowhere near a balanced market. We're still too tight." "Right now there's a dichotomy in the demand picture in both the downtown and in the suburban market. Downtown levelling off, the suburban market still staying very strong," said Gigliuk. A Calgary office market report by The Staubach Company called Calgary the "tightest office market in North America." "Tenants are being faced with higher rental rates, longer lease terms, and limited negotiating power," said the report. "As demand remains strong, landlords continue to raise their quoted rental rates, yet, continue to receive multiple offers on vacant pockets of space by tenants needing to address their immediate space demands."

According to CB Richard Ellis, in the downtown, 11 office developments are either underway or pending commencement and seven of them are already 100 per cent pre-leased. These developments will add over 5.5 million square feet to the downtown market by 2011. The existing downtown inventory is about 32 million square feet. Four of the 11 projects are expected to be completed this year, representing just over 1.5 million square feet. In the suburban market, there is just over three million square feet under construction in an existing suburban inventory of about 14 million square feet, which includes the Beltline area.

The Staubach Company real estate report also says: "Expect that some of the proposed new office tower developments will not begin construction in 2007. Given the uncertainty of fluctuating commodity prices, rising construction costs, labour shortages and some major tenants putting their growth plans on hold, landlords will be careful to calculate the feasibility of their projects before proceeding with construction."

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Mayors say transit needs federal infusion
Shortfall puts squeeze on commuters
Peter Rakobowchuk and Kim Guttormson The Canadian Press and Calgary Herald Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Canada's mayors say public transit needs millions of dollars just to keep operating, and they're calling on Ottawa to create and fund a national strategy to prevent riders from being squeezed like sardines. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities and big city mayors said Monday they need $2 billion annually from the federal government to maintain and expand public transit systems. "It only makes sense. Large centres just can't keep building roads," Mayor Dave Bronconnier said. "Expanding the light-rail transit system is where our city wants to go. "I think it's time for the Government of Canada to make significant investments in the area of public transit."

With a transit system running over capacity, packed buses and C-trains often leaving passengers waiting, Calgary has plans to expand its service.
But building two new legs of the LRT -- one west and one into the southeast -- would cost more than $1 billion. Ald. Joe Ceci said he often hears complaints from riders who can't get on a bus or train. And with the city encouraging people to take transit, it's failing on the promise that the service will be there, he said.

The mayor of Toronto agrees. "I think perhaps the national and provincial governments are a little bit behind the people . . . the people are ready," Toronto Mayor David Miller said at a Montreal news conference on the issue. He added there needs to be "a legislated, permanent fund to meet the needs" of transit in the cities. Bronconnier pointed out that Canada is the only G-8 country without a national approach to public transit.
The mayors also said they need such a strategy to help deal with climate change and maintain a healthy economy. "The environmental impact of public transit is extremely important," Miller said. "And the truth is that Canada's major cities cannot expand their systems. In fact, we don't have the money to keep them going."

The mayors say one city bus can carry as many passengers as 50 cars, and pollutes 18 times less. Bronconnier said the city's well-used LRT means there are 110,000 fewer vehicles on the road. A spokeswoman for federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said the Conservative government is already working on a plan. Natalie Sarafian, the minister's press secretary, said that after consultations were held with all levels of government last summer, it was announced in the last economic update that a comprehensive infrastructure plan would be developed. "This infrastructure plan would include long-term, predictable funding," she said in an interview from Ottawa.

Meanwhile, Ottawa is poised to chip in $1 billion in funding for Toronto-area transit. Government sources say Ottawa will announce the money today to extend Toronto's subway north to Vaughan and improve transit in bedroom cities such as Mississauga and Brampton.

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com

atlas_inc

03-07-2007, 04:08 PM

Commercial permits soar by 30%
Residential values fall off in early 2007
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Wednesday, March 07, 2007

CREDIT: Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald Gary Klassen, director of development and building approvals for the City of Calgary, says a flattening in residential building permit values was expected.

A booming non-residential sector pushed building permit values in the city to nearly $300 million in February -- soaring overall by almost 30 per cent compared to a year ago. The jump in value comes despite a decrease in the residential sector during the month. And year-to-date, the value of building permits exceeds last year's number, which eventually turned out to be a record year. "What we have seen is a flattening of the residential numbers," said Gary Klassen, the city's director of development and building approvals.

"The value is about $165 million this year compared to $200 million (in February 2006), and the number of residential units is also down." According to City of Calgary data released Tuesday, the value of residential permits issued in February decreased by 17.5 per cent and the total number of residential units in February decreased from 1,377 in 2006 to 822 in 2007. "We have anticipated that there would be lower numbers of residential units into the end of last year and at the beginning of this year and we feel that there will be increases in the number of units as it moves into the new year, but likely overall we will still see a slightly overall less number on the residential as we go through 2007," said Klassen.

"We feel that the industry over this past year -- with record numbers of residential units -- have managed to do a better job on the supply side for new residences in the city. It's possible that the higher costs of new residential units has also curbed the demand a little bit." Adam Legge, director of research and business information at Calgary Economic Development, said there is no surprise that the residential sector cooled off in February. "(Last year) was such a strong year for both economic growth, population growth and housing demand," said Legge. "A dip off of last year's numbers is not surprising. We expected a slowdown and what you're seeing is the housing market coming more into a balance and some of the intensity of demand from 2006 is off. With some of those numbers, it does fall in line to be on track for a slower housing start year in 2007, which we predicted."

In the first two months of this year, total building permit value in the city is $568 million compared to $509 million for the first two months of 2006.
The non-residential building permit value in February was $122.4 million compared to $94.3 million in February 2006. "Overall, development continues to be at a very rapid rate in the city of Calgary," said Klassen. Permit applications for several significant construction projects were received in February, including renovations to the Richmond Road Diagnostic & Treatment Centre ($35 million), construction of the London at Heritage Station Parkade ($18.4 million) and Alliance University College ($17.6 million).

The city says building permits are a barometer of intentions in the construction industry and are not actual construction starts. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada also on Tuesday released total value of building permits for the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area which showed that they rose by over 50 per cent in January compared to a year ago. The federal agency said the value of building permits in the Calgary CMA in January was $435.5 million compared to $287.4 million in January 2006. That represented a 51.6 per cent year-over-year hike. However, the value dropped on a monthly basis -- 8.2 per cent from December which was $474.5 million.

The Calgary CMA encompasses the city, Airdrie, the Municipal District of Rocky View, Chestermere, Cochrane, Irricana, Beiseker and Crossfield.
Alberta saw a similar phenomena. Overall, building permits in January hit $1.2 billion in the province, representing a 45.4 per cent hike from a year ago ($820 million) but a 7.2 per cent decline from December ($1.3 billion).
Alberta's residential sector increased by 27.3 per cent in January compared to January 2006, reaching $757.6 million and also increased 15.1 per cent from December ($658.2 million). January 2006's total was $595.3 million.

In the non-residential sector, the value of building permits soared by 93.4 per cent from a year ago. January's total was $434.6 million compared to January 2006 which was $224.7 million. However, the sector declined by 30.6 per cent compared to December ($626.1 million). Nationally, the value of building permits surged to their highest level ever in January, thanks to huge gains in the value of residential and non-residential permits. It was the third time in four months that the $6-billion mark was surpassed, said Statistics Canada. Builders took out a record $6.3 billion in building permits in January. January's level was 11.3 per cent higher than December 2006. "These results point to a busy spring on building sites as building permits are a leading indicator for construction activity," said the federal agency.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

Building Permit Applications
2006 - Number of Permits - Estimated Value
Residential - 2,583 - $346M
Non-Residential - 392 - $163M
TOTAL - 2,975 - $509M
2007 - Number of Permits - Estimated Value
Residential - 2,015 - $296M
Non-Residential - 371 - $272M
TOTAL - 2,386 - $568M
Source: The City of Calgary

© The Calgary Herald 2007

The time is ripe to buy a house
Albertans
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Are the home-buying intentions of Albertans waning? A survey released Tuesday suggests home-buying intentions in the province may be slowing down but a majority of Albertans still say now is the time to buy. The RBC Royal Bank's 14th Annual Homeownership Survey found that 12 per cent of Alberta residents are "very likely" to purchase a home in the next two years, down 18 per cent from last year, but still ahead of the national average of nine per cent. Another 24 per cent said they are "somewhat likely" to buy in the next two years -- also ahead of the national average (19 per cent).

But the poll also shows that 52 per cent of Alberta residents said it makes more sense to buy a home now rather than wait until next year and among those who intend to buy, 43 per cent plan on buying a home bigger than their current residence and 76 per cent stated they will buy a resale home. Ron Stanners, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board, said there are no signs yet of a cooling off in the MLS market in the city despite escalating average sale prices. "The market doesn't show it at this moment," said Stanners. "Our market is still very strong and going on strong. It would follow logically that if prices continue to rise then every jump in price eliminates somebody else who would like to get into the marketplace. It has to have an impact even if it's a gradual impact on the number of people who are entering the marketplace.

"But for the most part, homes are still quite affordable, given the salary ranges in Alberta. There's always options. If single-family doesn't work for them, then of course condominiums (are an option). . . . We haven't seen any impact from it as yet." The number of sales in Calgary for December, January and February were all records and, as of Tuesday morning, the Calgary Real Estate Board website showed there were 559 properties sold so far this month. The average sale price for the past 30 days was almost $398,000 and the 30-day median sale price was $365,000. Don Peard, regional vice-president, Mortgage Specialists, RBC Royal Bank, said record buying seasons in Alberta over the last few years may help to explain why purchase intentions in the province have softened.

"That said, buying intentions among Albertans are still higher than the country average, and with housing prices likely to rise even higher, many are saying the time to buy is now," said Peard. The poll also found that 68 per cent of Albertans -- the highest average in the country -- expect housing prices will be higher by this time next year and 46 per cent expect to see mortgage rates higher in a year's time. A majority (53 per cent) said they are concerned about increases in interest rates in 2007. And 58 per cent of Albertans have a mortgage on their home with an average of $104,219 left to pay.

Data the Calgary Real Estate Board released last week showed, for the first time, the average sale price of a Calgary condominium has cracked the $300,000 barrier -- an increase of more than 40 per cent from a year ago -- and the average sale price of a single-family home in February was more than $435,000. The average combined (single-family, condo, mobile) residential sale price in February was $393,307, a 29.14 per cent increase over February 2006, when the average price was $304,550. Recently, the Canadian Real Estate Association said sales are expected to decrease by 2.7 per cent this year in the province and another two per cent in 2008. However, the average residential sale price is forecast to increase by 15.5 per cent this year to $329,800 and another 7.2 per cent in 2008 to $353,700.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

03-08-2007, 07:01 PM

Calgary home price increases continue to lead country
Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, March 08, 2007
Calgary continues to lead the country in new home price increases compared to one year ago.
Statistics Canada reported Thursday that the city posted the largest 12-month hike (40.8 per cent).
But the New Housing Price Index also noted Calgary’s monthly increase was just behind Edmonton in January compared to the previous month.
Statistics Canada reported that nationally the year-over-year hike in contractors’ selling prices was 10.1 per cent, but down from the 10.7 per cent in the previous month.
“Price increases were seen in 10 of the 21 metropolitan areas surveyed,” said the federal agency. “Edmonton (1.6 per cent) led the way, followed by Calgary (0.8 per cent). Costs for construction materials, in particular concrete, and labour for excavation and painting were the contributing factors. Higher lot values were also cited in Edmonton.”
Monthly gains were also noted in Montréal, Winnipeg, London, Victoria, Hamilton, Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton, Toronto and Oshawa and St. Catharines–Niagara. Of the 10 metropolitan areas showing increases, land prices rose in three.
Seven metropolitan areas registered no monthly change. Greater Sudbury and Thunder Bay (0.4 per cent) showed the largest decrease due to competitive factors. Charlottetown, Ottawa–Gatineau and Kitchener were also down from the previous month.
Over the past year, Calgary led the way with the largest percentage increase followed closely by Edmonton (40.2 per cent), Saskatoon (16.1 per cent), Regina (8.3 per cent), Winnipeg (7.8 per cent) and Vancouver (6.9 per cent).

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

Housing cools
New housing starts down by a third over last year
Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, March 08, 2007
The red-hot, record pace set by Calgary home builders last year is showing signs of slowing down.
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, total housing starts across the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area declined in February by 32.7 per cent compared to February 2006. The decline was registered most dramatically in the single-family home sector where starts plunged by 35.9 per cent compared to last year.

Lai Sing Louie, senior market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in Calgary, said there has been a weakening in housing starts in the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area in February.
“It’s something we expected. We didn’t think that housing starts in 2007 would exceed the 2006 record volumes. There was so much going on,” said Louie. “We thought it would pull back. It’s pulled back a little bit more than we thought.”

The Calgary CMA encompasses the city, Airdrie, the Municipal District of Rocky View, Chestermere, Cochrane, Irricana, Beiseker and Crossfield.

Construction workers putting up new houses in the community of Taradale.
Mikael Kjellstrm/Calgary Herald

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Font: ****Total housing starts in Calgary dropped from 1,088 in February 2006 to 732 this February. Single-family starts dropped from 859 last year to 551 this year in February while multiple starts, which include semi-detached units, rows and apartments, fell from 229 to 181, a drop of 21 per cent.
In the first two months of this year, total housing starts are down 29.5 per cent from last year. Single-detached starts are down 31.9 per cent and multiple starts are down 21.2 per cent.
The CMHC said housing starts across the seven largest urban areas in Alberta decreased from 2,856 units in February 2006 to 2,338 units in 2007, representing a drop of about 18 per cent.
Nationally, urban starts in February totalled 9,436 units, a decrease of about 24 per cent from the previous year.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

atlas_inc

03-08-2007, 07:13 PM

From the Calgary Real Estate News
******************************

By Brian Pincott

As Calgary continues to struggle with its unprecedented growth and the impacts of our continuing sprawl, there is a lot of head scratching going on, wondering where we have gone wrong and what can we do better. It is generally accepted that we have built a city which is neither sustainable nor reflects how we want to see ourselves. We are not people who want to spend inordinate amounts of time in our cars, nor do we want to appear that we are thumbing our noses at environmental concerns.

Much hand wringing has gone on as to how we can deal with our infrastructure deficit, as to how we can accommodate growth and still maintain urban character. As we spend more and more time struggling with just getting around our city, the perceived imperative has been to build more and more infrastructure, specifically roads and interchanges.

The emphasis of our transportation system has been, and continues to be, the private automobile. With such a focus, it appears only logical that we should be able to build our way out of traffic jams and packed roadways. Intuitively, it makes sense to add capacity to our overburdened roadways. Yet, experience and research elsewhere has shown it impossible to build yourself out of congestion. Just look at other cities, such as Toronto or Los Angeles, who have tried. The common analogy used is that building roads to solve traffic congestion is the same as treating obesity by getting a larger belt size.

Rather, we should be shifting the focus of our transportation policy and planning away from the automobile and onto people. If the intent is to move people, rather than move cars, our transportation priorities shift automatically. The priority becomes transit and other forms of mass transportation. We should also design community networks that allow the full range of transportation choices, not just transit and cars, but also bikes and walking.

This is not about eliminating the private automobile, but more about shifting our focus. It is about changing the nature of our built environment so owning a car is a choice rather than a necessity. It is about designing a mixed transportation system that will allow transit to work efficiently and effectively, making it a viable option for everyone. It is about growing a city which puts people first.

—Brian Pincott is the Chair of the Sierra Club of Canada's Chinook Group and can be reached at brian@sierraclubchinook.org or at 233-7332.

From the Calgary Real Estate News
*******************************

Although the hot Alberta economy may show signs of slowing slightly over the next year, it is not affecting the almost nonexistent vacancy rate for office space in the downtown Calgary area.

GVA Devencore Worldwide has just released its new statistics that track office vacancy rates across the country, and downtown Calgary remains by far the lowest, with just 0.2% of space not leased, or more specifically, only 56,700 sq. ft. of 29.8 million sq. ft. in total currently available.

“With the federal government’s decision to enact changes to the tax structure for energy trusts and with oil and gas prices showing signs of moderating, the white hot Alberta economy may cool slightly over the coming year, but this is not likely to ease the office space shortage that currently exists in the downtown district,” the spring report says.

Presently, vacant Class A and Class B space is virtually non-existent, and the report says this has caused rental rates to reach levels that are the highest in the country.

“This is a landlord’s market, and tenants have minimal leverage in negotiating new leases,” the report says.

The space shortage has created construction activity of several new projects; the report notes that nearly a dozen new development projects are either in the planning or design stages, but some of this space will not be completed before the end of the decade.

Of those projects currently under construction, most of them are 100% pre-leased.

As a result, many tenants are beginning to look outside of downtown for office space, but even there vacancy rates are under 4%.

“There will be very little new available space if any in Calgary over the next two years,” said Don Dickson, manager of the commercial division for the Calgary Real Estate Board. “In short, there is far more demand than there is supply.”

According to the GVA Devencore report, over the past six months, combined Class A and Class B vacancy rate in the downtown area did rise slightly, but only from 0.1% to 0.2%.

The report says “these are challenging times for tenants in Calgary, as they find themselves faced with conditions that clearly favour landlords.”

Tenants with leases that do not expire until after 2010 may have more options, as there will be new inventory coming to the market early in the next decade.

But even so, it is not too early to begin evaluating future space needs, as these new projects may also be pre-leased quickly once they are officially announced.

“At present, tenants are best advised to work closely with their real estate advisors to plan for both short and long term requirements.”

While Calgary is facing this tough space squeeze, the situation is not much better across the country.

According to the GVA Devencore report, Vancouver’s downtown vacancy rate is just 3.1%, and has been on a steady decrease from 2003, when it peaked at 13.6%.

The second quarter of 2006 showed a vacancy rate of 4.2%.

As with Calgary, businesses looking for office space in Vancouver are more likely to find space in the suburbs, but even there, rental rates are increasing as the demand increases.

And with only a couple of new projects in the downtown Vancouver area underway, the situation is expected to continue, the report says.

In Edmonton, the combined vacancy rate stands at 6.2%, up from 4.2% six months ago, but GVA Devencore predicts that number to decrease this year as the economy continues to strengthen in Edmonton.

Class A vacancy rates in Toronto’s financial core have dropped to 5.1%, and 3 million sq. ft. of space is expected to be added to the market in 2009-2010, but the report says it is “difficult to predict the quality of the churn space that will be freed up.”

Winnipeg’s combined rate dropped slightly over the past six months, from 6.3% to 5%.

Rental rates in Montreal remain stable, the report notes, although the combined vacancy rate has settled at 8.2%.

In Ottawa, downtown vacancy rates have fallen below 3% with much of the tenant activity generated by demand from the federal government and local law firms.

The report adds that Kanata continues to rebound from the deep slump it suffered in the first years of this decade and vacancy rates have fallen to 9.4%.

The Halifax market has been moderately active over the past six months, with combined vacancy rates dropping from 6% to 4.8%.

In Quebec City, downtown vacancy rates have continued to plummet, to 2.7% in Class A buildings and 2.5% in Class B properties.

—Angela Anderson is a Calgary Real Estate News reporter.

atlas_inc

03-08-2007, 07:56 PM

National newscasts zeroing in on Calgary
By THERESA TAYLER
Metro Calgary
Whether it’s due to Calgary’s growing population and booming economy, or
because we’re the hometown of the Prime Minister,is hard to say.
But one thing’s for sure —Calgary is on Canada’s national network radar.

This week Kevin Newman, Global N a t i o n a l anchor, will broadcast the network’s nati o n a l newscast live fromthe city. And next week CBC’s nightly news program, The National, will broadcast from the nearby, small town of Okotoks. “It’s not just the economy that makes Calgary interesting.

While (Global) is here we’re going to take a look at some of the medical breakthroughs the University ofCalgary is making,” said Newman.
“As well, everyone kind of expects there may be an election soon, we’re going to do a folio on Stephen Harper,take a look at his life. He’s
largely an enigma to many Canadians.”

Newman will broadcast the nightly news program from downtown Calgary tomorrow and from the U of C on Friday.

“(Calgary) is cooking right now, it’s kind of thought of as the promised land by the rest of Canada at the moment,” said Newman.

Global National is based
in Vancouver.

atlas_inc

03-10-2007, 04:13 PM

Alberta employment leading the nation
Province sets record in February
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Saturday, March 10, 2007

Calgary's unemployment rate remained at a minuscule level in February and Alberta achieved a new record high employment rate, according to Statistics Canada. In its Labour Force Survey released Friday, the federal agency said Calgary and Victoria had the lowest unemployment rates in the country at 3.1 per cent. The local rate increased slightly from 2.6 per cent in January. Alberta posted the lowest provincial unemployment rate at 3.5 per cent while the national average was 6.1 per cent. In January, Alberta was at 3.3 per cent while Canada was at 6.2 per cent.

Todd Hirsch, chief economist for the Canada West Foundation, said those numbers show that "Alberta is really reaching the limits of its full employment spectrum." "We can't really expect to see that unemployment rate fall too much lower," said Hirsch, adding the city and province are in a virtual full employment scenario. "What's starting to happen now is more and more people obviously have been moving to Calgary and to Alberta and that's pushing that unemployment rate up just a little bit and that's what we'd like to see happen. "We can't be expecting it to be falling and falling and falling anymore. It's basically levelled out as low as it's going to get."

Hirsch said those numbers indicate an "extremely tight labour market as it's been for the last year and a half to two years." "This has to be one of the biggest challenges facing employers right now -- keeping good employees. There's so many competing offers out there. It gets very difficult for employers to maintain their labour force," he said. Laura Shewchuk, president of Urban Energy, said the Calgary company started last August as a concierge service to help companies "offer unique, innovative, effective strategies to help retain key employees and doing it through using concierge hours as part of their overall compensation or benefit package."

"In a city where people are becoming more and more affluent and financially not necessarily as committed to their careers as they once had to be, many people are in a position where they can retire and yet they don't really want to retire or need to retire. However they want lifestyle changes," said Shewchuk. "We are growing kind of very steady-as-she-goes. . . . We are talking to individual companies. We are talking to heads of human resource departments, presidents of companies. And we are doing some test runs for a couple of companies right now. . . . It's quite a new concept and we want to make sure we're doing everything right for the clients that we do have. . . . Ultimately, the people that we're marketing to are the presidents and the HR directors. We can help them identify employees that are potentially at high risk of early retirement or changing companies or overly stressed. The people we actually work with the most end up being the individual employee and their families."

Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industry Minister Iris Evans told the Herald "we've got a huge boom in our employment growth." "We've got a huge demand. We've got a demand that we're working hard to fill," said Evans. "If you look at it, Alberta's only 10 per cent of Canada's working-age population but we've got 27.4 per cent of all new jobs created in the country. "These statistics really confirm what we know in this office. Every place I go, people are talking to me about the need for more labour. "It's not stopping and we're getting people to think more creatively about how they can employ people. It's been good news for the people with some disabilities. They're getting more access to the workforce, but on the flip side it's been bad news for people who are in the non-profit sector who have really struggled to keep their workers when there's so many jobs available paying more money."

The provincial employment numbers are staggering. Between February 2006 and February 2007, Alberta's labour force increased by 115,500 and employment increased by 103,900. The province's employment rate is 71.6 per cent compared with the national rate of 63.4 per cent. Most of the jobs in Alberta were full-time positions, 83.3 per cent. Over the past 12 months, employment grew by 5.7 per cent, the highest in the country, compared to a growth rate of 2.5 per cent for Canada. And the province recorded a net gain of 6,200 jobs in February from January -- the highest in the country.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Builders focusing on inner-city area
Kathy McCormick Calgary Herald Saturday, March 10, 2007

Multi-family builders took out 7,048 building permits in 2006, with most of them in the inner city, says a Calgary builders group. A total of 3,119 permits were in the city centre, followed by 1,039 in the southwest, 718 in the west end, 619 in the northeast, and 598 in the south, says the Calgary Region Home Builders Association. Of those in the city centre, the Beltline area had most of the activity, with nearly 2,000 permits in that area.

Altadore, West Hillhurst and Lincoln Park -- the former Canadian Forces Base Calgary, which now is being developed as Garrison Woods and Garrison Green -- were the next busiest areas. Building permits do not indicate actual construction, but rather a builder's intentions to undertake a project. One permit is needed for every unit in a building.

Outside the inner city, Panorama Hills and Country Hills Village in the north-central sector were the busiest areas for permit activity, followed by Taradale in the northeast and Aspen Woods on the west side. In terms of building permits, Pointe of View was the most active with 1,035, followed by Resiance Corp. with 771, Trico Homes with 415, Cardel Lifestyles with 244, and Battistella Developments with 208. Rounding out the top 10 for volume were: The Qualico Group, Bucci Developments, Cidex Signature Homes, Hawthorne Homes and Cove Properties. Non-builder members of the CRHBA took out 2,469 permits last year.

atlas_inc

03-17-2007, 06:10 PM

'Trophy towers' put Calgary in shade
Richard White For The Calgary Herald Saturday, March 17, 2007

The following is the first of a two-part series comparing Calgary and Dubai. What does a Persian Gulf city --part of a desert nation neighbouring Saudi Arabia -- and a Western Canadian city like Calgary have in common? At first glance, much more than you'd think. I was part of Calgary's recent trade mission to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, allowing me to make a first-hand comparison. Both cities contain just over one million people, both are modern, both are rapidly growing, and both are pro commerce. In each city, the number-one complaint is traffic. But when you look at the two in more depth, they are quite different.
Dubai has a far-reaching vision to be a dominant global city rivalling New York as the unofficial capital of the world.

It is growing about 10 times faster than Calgary. They have about 300 construction cranes to our 30. Where we are creating new suburbs or communities within Calgary, they are basically creating entirely new cities within their city. In case this seems like an exaggeration, Dubai is not only aiming to build the world's tallest skyscraper -- twice the size of the Empire State Building -- one development in particular would be 10 times the size of Calgary's entire downtown. Another ambitious project, the World Islands, involves a series of 300 man-made islands designed to together look from the air like the shape of the world's continents. Calgary's trade mission was a follow-up to a visit to our city in November by a Dubai delegation.

Our group included Mayor Dave Bronconnier as well as such Calgary developers as Marquis Developments, Torode Commercial and Intergulf Cidex. As can be gathered by the scope of Dubai's ambitious projects, the Middle Eastern city's politicians and developers buy into the notion that architecture is vital in defining a city's culture and sense of place. In Calgary, this is not the case. Architecture here tends towards the blandly functional. While our city's benchmark for leaseable space in office towers is 85 per cent of the total available area, developers in Dubai are prepared to accept 70 per cent.

Like the Americans who created the Chrysler Building or the Empire State Building in New York, they believe in iconic architecture that serves several purposes besides the strictly commercial. The joke is: "In Dubai, developers would rather have a trophy tower, than a trophy wife." There is an amazing culture of "architectural marketing" in Dubai. The marketing of office, hotel and residential buildings is based on a project's iconic architecture, not on its location or price. Dubai's vision is to be the dominant city in their trading area, which they define as anywhere within a four-hour plane trip.

There are 400 million people in this area, with a baby boom-like generation of young people who are just entering the work force and their high consumer years. By contrast, Calgary's baby boom generation is entering its retirement years. Dubai plans to become a centre of excellence in commerce, health care, entertainment, culture, tourism and retirement/resort living. To support this vision, it is creating the world's largest airport and sea port. Despite our wealth, expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and "can do" attitude, Calgary and Alberta have nothing that comes even close. Some projects were mind-boggling: 45 themed hotels along the waterfront with over 30,000 hotel rooms, or a new health care city with 2,000 hospital beds (the equivalent of six Calgary hospitals), including a Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical School as anchor tenants. Rather than try to revitalize their old city centre, Dubai is creating an entirely new downtown several kilometres away anchored by three major projects -- the Burj Dubai Tower (which will be the world's tallest building), the International Financial Centre, and Dubai World Trade Centre.

The city is filled with billboards showing trophy towers slated to be constructed. We were told by one architect the minimum height they would build would be 60 to 70 storeys. Other developments include the Jumeriah Beach project. Going from conception in 1995 to completion in 2010, it will have more than 200 towers taller than 30 floors and several more than 90 floors -- mostly condos, but also some office, hotels and retail all linked by a man-made lagoon. This is Dubai's equivalent of the East Village/Fort Calgary development near city hall. Despite proposals dating back to the 1960s, including one ill-fated scheme that included canals, Calgary's development of the East Village area has been sluggish by comparison. But Dubai is far from being a perfect place. (See the second part of this column in next Saturday's Herald.) Richard White is the director of operations and communications at Riddell Kurczaba Architecture

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Urban 'village': Keynote project's triple towers planned for Victoria Park area
Kathy McCormickCalgary Herald Saturday, March 17, 2007

It's the start of a grand symphony. Keynote has set the tone for further re-development of the Victoria Park area just north of the Calgary Stampede grounds -- and it's music to everyone's ears who lives, or wants to live, in the trendy inner city. Located between 11th and 12th Avenues S.E. at 1st Street in the Victoria Park area, Keynote will be a three-tower complex consisting of two residential towers with a total of 425 units, as well as a 14-storey office tower.

The large retail component on the ground level will include the popular Sunterra Market, replacing a Co-op store that recently closed its doors a block away to relocate to the Beltline area further west. Keynote will have an urban village design, with the main floor consisting of 33,000 square feet of retail space. A Plus-15 garden will connect all three towers, providing ample opportunities for residents and businesspeople to enjoy the outdoors right outside the door.Underneath it all, secure parking will be provided.

One of the two residential towers will be 26 storeys and offer 177 units. The second tower will be 34 storeys and have 248 residential units, says project sales manager Jeannie Elrafie. The third tower will be 14 storeys and offer 230,000 square feet of commercial space and conference facilities. "It will be a true urban village," says Elrafie. "People will have the opportunity to live, work and play right there." The first 119 units of the first phase of the first tower sold out immediately upon release last September, says Elrafie."People actually camped out overnight to get a chance to buy, so we expect a strong demand for the remaining 51 units of the first tower, which have just been released."

Units range from 581 to 635 square feet for one bedroom units to 830 to 947 square feet for two bedroom units. Prices are from the $300,000s with GST, says Elrafie. "Additionally, we have seven sky suites of 1,572 to just over 6,000 square feet, which we will release later this year." Located between 11th and 12th Avenues S.E. at 1st Street, the complex is central to downtown and vital to the rejuvenation of the area -- where other condo complexes such as ArriVa and the Cove Properties' project of Sasso, Vetro, and now Nuera are filling the skyline around Stampede Park.
The whole area is under a massive rejuvenation program, including the expansion plans for Stampede Park, which include a new casino already under construction.

"The area east of the Beltline is already through the pioneering stage and there's quite a high demand as consumers try to get in early while prices are affordable," says Elrafie. "It's an exciting area with a huge retail component coming in." Keynote addresses more of a move-up market, with the target group consisting of young professionals looking for maintenance freedom close to downtown -- but also looking for high-end amenities and finishes, she says. Keynote units will have such standards as cork flooring, nine-foot ceilings, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and walls of glass to take in city views.

The complex will include exercise facilities and guest suites. "Everything has been planned to a whole new level," says Elrafie. Keynote Corp. who are the developers, are the same people responsible for owning and operating the Hyatt Regency. They have also been involved in commercial construction in Calgary. The retail component of the development will be the first to open. It is slated to open in spring 2009, followed by the office building, then the first residential tower by fall of '09. The whole complex should be completed by 2010.

A sales centre on site -- 1119 1 St. S.E. -- is open from noon to 6 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It includes a full-scale mock-up of a one-bedroom unit. For more information or to register, check the website at www.keynotecalgary.ca.

In Short
Project: The three-tower Keynote complex is to consist of two residential towers with a total of 435 units, an office tower of 14 storeys, and a large retail component on the ground level. The first phase of 119 units sold out last fall and the second phase, the remaining 51 units in the first tower, have just been released. Sunterra Market recently announced it will open in the retail level.

Area: 11th and 12th Avenues S.E. at 1st Street in the Victoria Park area of the inner city.

Prices: From the $300,000s with GST.

Information: A sales centre on site at 1119 1 St. S.E. is open from noon to 6 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. For more information or to register, visit www.keynotecalgary.com.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

03-19-2007, 02:33 AM

Rental 'crisis' wider than feared
Housing shortage spread across the province, task force says
Kelly Cryderman Calgary Herald Sunday, March 18, 2007

CREDIT: Grant Black, Calgary Herald
Lynne Moran's rent was doubled to $850 at the start of February.
CREDIT: Grant Black, Calgary Herald
Kent Fisher was told he's being evicted from his apartment because the new landlord plans "major renovations." He believes that's code for a
conversion to condos.

CREDIT: Grant Black, Calgary Herald
Two-thirds of Linda Darwent's monthly AISH cheque goes to pay the rent. She says the provincial government should have acted long ago to foster more affordable housing.
Calgary renter Lynne Moran is filled with frustration and fear. Rent for Moran's basement suite doubled Feb. 1, going to $850 from $425. The mother of two grown children left a relationship and a house more than a year ago and is now on her own, working full time as a receptionist at a car dealership. The increased rent and utilities swallow up one of her two paycheques each month, and she needs to find a cheaper place to live -- quickly. "I have looked everywhere in this city," said Moran, 54. "I can't find anything and it's awful. It's scary."

Albertans like Moran who have been hit by double- or triple-digit percentage increases in their rent, been turfed from their apartments to make way for condominiums, or have seen their dreams of owning a house thwarted by rising prices could all be affected by the results of a report from the Alberta Affordable Housing Task Force, which will go to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Ray Danyluk on Monday. Much of what they've heard around the province is pretty grim, say task force members. "It's an all-Alberta crisis out there," said Calgary-Foothills MLA Len Webber, the committee chairman. "I'm hoping the government will look at the report seriously."

Based on a push from Premier Ed Stelmach to find solutions to the housing crunch -- a pledge he made in the run-up to being elected Alberta PC party leader in December -- the committee travelled to nine communities around the province in February and early March with a mandate to report back to Danyluk within 45 days. The 15 members listened to the concerns and collected the suggestions of members of the public, mayors and council members, affordable housing societies, developers, landlords and other organizations. The committee has heard from seniors in Calgary and Edmonton who are using their entire pension cheque to pay their rent, and disabled people who aren't making it on their monthly cheques. They've listened to the arguments for and against rent controls, with many saying any controls would discourage investment and repairs in rentals.

Municipal officials in Fort McMurray told the task force they'll be short 15,500 housing units by 2011, up from the current shortage of 3,900. The task force also heard from communities as small as Elk Point, in northeastern Alberta, where there are no rental units and barely anything for sale. And communities such as Lethbridge and Medicine Hat are seeing the same problems as Calgary -- shelters housing working people. The economic boom has brought prosperity and jobs, but it has also turned Alberta -- which was until the last few years a bastion of relatively cheap housing -- into a much more expensive place. Webber and other committee members say they've been surprised by the scope of the problem, which they had believed was largely concentrated in the province's biggest cities and the major oil and gas hubs.

"I knew the situation in Calgary, I knew the situation in Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie. But we have, throughout the province with this overheated economy, serious problems," said Edmonton NDP MLA Ray Martin, a member of the task force. "Even in places like Medicine Hat and Lethbridge . . . it's a provincewide problem rather than the two major cities." It's no surprise to Red Deer's Barb Joslin, 53, who receives monthly disability benefits due to nerve damage in her legs. She spoke to the committee because her rent leaves her with only $149 in spending money at the end of the month -- and she's now been told her rent is going up. "It's a dignity thing -- whether you go to the food bank or whatever," Joslin said.

Reg Dawson, project co-ordinator at the Lethbridge Housing Authority, who also made a presentation to the committee, said his city is experiencing "echo" effects from the boom in Calgary. While there are about 2,100 people on the waiting list for affordable housing in Calgary, which has a population of more than one million, there are 400 on the list for the Lethbridge Housing Authority -- population 80,000. "Everybody is feeling additional housing pressures," Dawson said. Only in the last few months, the big-city phenomenon of rental properties being converted into condos is popping up in Lethbridge, he added. "That creates a bit of a shortage for rental accommodation."

Back in Calgary, condo conversions have been all the rage for some time. "The decline in the rental stock can mostly be attributed to the continuation in conversion of units from rental tenure to condominium," reports the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, noting that 946 Calgary rental units were converted into condos in 2006 with virtually no new construction of rentals. Kent Fisher, 55, is in the middle of another CMHC statistic. The dump-truck driver moved to the low-rise Greenview Drive apartments in the northeast part of the city last May. In February, he was sent a letter by the apartment's new owners, Red Trout Inc., telling him he has to move out in three months because the company is making "major renovations" to the buildings. Unmentioned in the letter is the fact the units are listed for sale as condos on the company's website. Kent believes he's entitled to six months' notice -- the period required under Alberta's Residential Tenancies Act if a building is being converted into condos. And he's determined to stick to his guns. "They're not going to shove me around," Fisher said. "These people who are just buckling under and just leaving right away, that's exactly what Red Trout Inc. wants. I'm not going to put up with that. They're going to fight me right to the end. In another six months, the market might be better."

Service Alberta, the department that administers the law, is looking into the matter. "We're concerned about it and we're going to be taking a look at this particular building," said spokesman Eoin Kenny. Brian O'Kane of Red Trout Inc. wouldn't comment. While the condo conversions have eaten up rental spots, they've also encouraged a smattering of so-called "economic evictions," where a landlord gets tenants out faster by increasing the rent by dramatic amounts -- sometimes into the thousands of dollars. These and other rent increase have spurred calls from some quarters for rent controls in Alberta. Currently there are no legal limits to the size of rent increases landlords are allowed to give as often as twice each year. The Tory government and landlords' groups such as the Calgary Apartment Association have spoken out against rent controls, saying they discourage investment in rentals and their upkeep.

Both the NDP and Liberals don't like referring to them as rent controls, but are calling for temporary "rent guidelines" or "rent regulation." For instance, the Liberals want a 10 per cent limit on rent increases for a period of 12 months when the vacancy rate dips below three per cent. "I think that's doable because I think that won't interfere with new rental accommodation projects that are in the pipeline right now," said Dave Taylor, Liberal MLA for Calgary-Currie. "If you put it on in a way that allows it to run on for more than a year, you're going to interfere with the marketplace. But "renters need protection on an interim basis." The minister, Ray Danyluk, said he's willing to consider any and all solutions and that's why opposition members were made an integral part of the task force. He said he's determined to act quickly. "Why would we as a government ask the opposition and the third party to be a part of the report if we didn't value their direction, because they have done some work. We need to put it all together and we need to come up with the best solution."

Linda Darwent, 60, attended the meeting in Calgary and spoke to the task force members because two-thirds of her income -- which comes from CPP and the Alberta government's Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped -- goes to her rent and any cost increase will do her in. "I don't know what I'll do or where I'll go," Darwent said in an interview. "The stress of trying to make ends meet is unbearable." Darwent wants the government to invest more in non-profit housing. "Get the thing done," she said. "Action should have been taken a long time ago." It's for people such as Darwent -- who are spending large portions of their incomes on housing -- that Chris MacFarlane, director of Poverty Reduction for Calgary's United Way, made her presentation to the committee.

"Affordable housing is an issue that needs a concerted, long-term strategy with firm leadership by the provincial government," MacFarlane said.
But in the short term, she said, the province needs to take actions such as expanding its rent-subsidy program, using reserved municipal and school lands for affordable housing, providing financial incentives to developers to include affordable housing units in their buildings and public relations campaigns encouraging secondary or basement suites. It remains to be seen whether the report will contain MacFarlane and others' suggestions for improving the situation. The government will take as long as six weeks to reply to the report.

But at this point, said University of Calgary political analyst David Taras, government action on housing can't come fast enough. "The future of the province really depends on housing," Taras said. "If people don't have a place to live, and workers can't get to work, we won't have a boom. This will be the brakes on the boom." Not only are people with disabilities or low-wage jobs in danger of not having safe and comfortable homes, Taras said, but Albertans who always assumed they'd be able to buy a house may face a much tougher challenge. Part of the "gold standard" of a good middle-class life in Alberta has always been home ownership, he said. "All of a sudden, we're a big city and all of the rules have changed. That gold standard is slipping for a lot of people." Taras said former premier Ralph Klein was often forgiven his foibles because he was credited with the prosperity of the province. However, Stelmach won't be given the same leverage, Taras said. "The downside of the boom can land on him like a 10-tonne truck," Taras said. "So he has three to six months -- my sense -- to turn it around and show that life is going to be better. And so housing, in terms of showing action on that front, becomes incredibly important."

kcryderman@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

03-21-2007, 01:11 AM

Budget ‘disastrous’ for energy industry
Spending riles business leaders
GEOFFREY SCOTTON
CALGARY HERALD
Aside from representatives of small enterprises and manufacturers, business leaders slammed Monday’s federal budget for too much spending and too little tax relief, for targeting Alberta’s economy-driving oilsands projects and for failing to take better leadership in debt reduction.

“We’ve given it a thumbs down,” said Calgary Chamber of Commerce chairman Hal Walker. “This budget is disastrous to the Canadian energy industry.”

Canada West Foundation chief economist Todd Hirsch said the budget was politically-driven attempt to curry electoral support.

“There were massive increases in spending, very, very minimal reductions in taxes,” Hirsch said. “Anyway you want to split it, it was a political budget, not an economically sound budget.”

Front and centre in the crosshairs of the Chamber of Commerce and others was Ottawa’s decision to phase out the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance (ACCA) for oilsands projects by 2015, a revenue-neutral tax deferral program that helps facilitate financing for oilsands projects.

Walker was livid about comments by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty suggesting the move was targeted at “those who have avoided paying their fair share of taxes.”

“A change to the ACCA for oilsands developers undermines the single-largest contributor to Canada’s economic prosperity,” he said.

Others business leaders noted federal debt reduction appears less of a priority.

“Servicing that debt is 16 per cent of total government spending,” noted John Carpenter, executive director and CEO of the Certified General Accountants of Alberta.

“They need to get more aggressive on that with a longterm aggressive plan. There needed to be general reductions in income taxes and there was supposed to be a one per cent reduction in the GST out there that nobody’s talking about anymore.”

Still, representatives of small and medium sized business like moves to reduce paperwork and to boost by 50 per cent the lifetime capital gains on the sale of a business to $750,000.

“There’s a lot of little things in the budget for entrepreneurs, so overall, we’re pleased,” said Dan Kelly, with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

“There’s some movement on the tax side . . . and regulatory reform and red tape reform . . . and recognition of the shortage of labour,” Kelly added. “There’s recognition that the skills and labour agenda is a big one.”

Similarly, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters vice-president for Alberta Brian McCready lauded the government’s decision to provide special two-year ACCAs to the manufacturing sector.

Although Alberta’s manufacturing sector is booming, the industry in vote-rich Ontario and Quebec has been suffering, costing central Canadian factories tens of thousands of jobs.

Oilpatch fuming over tax changes
GEOFFREY SCOTTON
CALGARY HERALD
Business leaders and energy industry representatives worry that Ottawa’s decision to phase out a key oilsands tax deferral plan — the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance, or ACCA — will endanger billions of dollars in future projects.

“It’s not good news for oilsands producers,” said Todd Hirsch, chief economist with the Calgary-based Canada West Foundation. “They will be very upset and very angry.”

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the program, which applies to all mining projects, will be phased out by 2015 for oilsands mining. The change was paired with a move to extend an a similar program to promote new environmentfriendly technologies in the oilpatch, such as carbon capture and storage, along with a special two-year allowance for manufacturers.

“They’re obviously trying to steer the investments into more of the green technologies. There’s a bit of a carrot,” said Hirsch. “It’s not going to balance the stick.”

Alberta Energy spokesman Jason Chance said Alberta is disappointed with Ottawa’s move, citing a lack of consultation in changing what was part of a key 1995 federal-provincial agreement, but also in light of a provincial review of energy royalties.

The cumulative effect of the phase-out of the tax deferral plan, Alberta’s royalty review, new provincial and soon-toemerge federal climate change policies, and rising materials and labour costs is disturbing, said Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers vicepresident Greg Stringham.

“It has a negative impact on the decisions going forward. It’s really the four layers of uncertainty,” said Stringham.

“It’s so hard for people to make investment decisions to invest $10 billion in projects like this, if you can’t see through the crystal ball — it’s so cloudy with all these layers.”

The ACCA currently allows mining companies that are financing massive projects to pay less taxes in the early years of their project and more taxes in the later years. The vehicle is revenue neutral, but does provide an incentive and facilitates financing for what are long life projects with price tags in the double-digit billions of dollars.

The Pembina Institute, an environmental think-tank, didn’t think Monday’s announcement went far enough. It wanted the deferral plan axed completely immediately.

Rain of money likely to delay election
CALGARY’S EYE ON NATIONAL POLITICS
DON MARTIN
OTTAWA
The only special interest not helped by Monday’s federal budget was, ironically, Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

His party is primed and poised to capitalize on a campaign-ready budget chock full of electorate perks he might not be able to afford next year if the vote is delayed.

But there’s no way this budget will be the catalyst to hit the hustings this spring.

It’s a family friendly, Confederation-rebalancing, province-equalizing, 477-page whopper of runaway spending engineered to buy this new, green, middle-class, mainstreamed government a clear shot at a majority rule.

Problem is, it will take all three of Harper’s opponents to successfully torpedo him in the House of Commons — and since the Bloc is on board, the Liberals and New Democrats can only pretend to declare war by refusing to support the budget.

MARTIN: Quebec the biggest winner
From page A1
They would wave a white flag before triggering an election over this motherhood and apple pie document.

In this budget, they can only see themselves if they had power to blow the billions that have magically appeared as the tax collector’s payoff from a roaring economy. The only ideology driving Harper at this time and place is piling surplus dollars on hesitant voters to build up support.

Truckers, tree huggers, three-down football backers, ethanol or biodiesel producers, the disabled, the retired and young parents — no special interest was overlooked for a handout, although the bureaucrat trying to explain the budgetary reward for aboriginal groups had the easy job of having almost nothing to report.

Of course, nobody gets a bigger bang of federal bucks than Quebec Premier Jean Charest, now in the throes of fighting for re-election in a three-way race with only a week of rebound time left in his campaign.

My francophone colleagues had a guffaw when they spotted the title of the budget document —“Aspire,” as in to strive for greatness. In French it means “suck,” as in draining the federal treasury of more than its share of the spending surge.

The number crunchers say the Quebec treasury will siphon off 30 cents of every new spending dollar — not bad for a province with less then 25 per cent of the population and the ongoing beneficiary of fiscal coddling.

And what’s good for Quebec comes, naturally, courtesy of powerhouse provinces like Alberta. For example, Quebec gets $2.2 billion, or almost half, of the combined boosts in this year’s equalization and social transfer dollars, even though it already pockets $2 billion more in federal spending per year than it contributes.

The prosperity dividend for provinces like Alberta and B.C. was, um, nothing. Harper reneged on his promise not to include resource revenue in the new equalization formula, but then again, neither province gets equalization now. Harper will phase out a tax break for building the oilsands, but will allow them tax advantages to install greener technology. And, the move to impose market value taxation on property in the equalization formula will hurt B.C. should it lurch into harder economic times and fall back into have-not provincial status.

The not-so-subtle message inside the stack of budget documents was a blatant gerrymandering of expenditures to conform with electoral opportunism. Regional affections deemed necessary for Conservative electoral gain — Ontario and Quebec, in other words — were blanketed with dollars. Regions where the vote is true-blue Conservative and unlikely to shift toward rivals — that’s you Alberta — were left without special rewards.

The Conservatives clearly had an embarrassment of riches to spend — and the prime minister barely blushed as he spent it.

If any proof of a government with more money than imagination to spend it on was required, consider the truckers’ meal deduction. Nobody could recall a serious lobby by long-haul truckers for an 80 per cent writeoff for their food and drink, but they got it, the better to nail down their vote. And you’ve got to look a tad askance at the new fund to support Canadian lacrosse and football as heritage sports.

Pick any Jean Chretien or Paul Martin budget and this was its equal or one better in spending growth. A government that insisted it would not boost expenditures ahead of average economic growth escalated spending 7.9 per cent against GDP growth of 2.3 per cent. Harper will need a great depression in three years to make the long-term average fit to his formula.

Still, most reaction will be predictable and pleasant. Ontario will gush praise, Quebecers will complain less than usual and Albertans will merely shrug and wonder why they keep sending their tax dollars to die in Ottawa for political purposes.

Environmentalists will note the word Kyoto did not appear in the document and demand hard caps on emissions, although they would be forced to admit Harper went deeper green than anyone had a right to expect.

The child tax credit will be music to a young family’s ears, the boost on registered education savings put a smile on parents of post-secondary students and those with disabled children have reason to be pleased thanks to a new registered savings plan.

Stephen Harper has unleashed an election-ready budget — and that ensures his opponents won’t give him one.

atlas_inc

03-26-2007, 08:00 PM

Mon, March 26, 2007
Mustard seed building affordable housing units
UPDATED: 2007-03-26 01:46:17 MST

By DOUG MCINTYRE, SUN MEDIA

The Mustard Seed Ministry is hoping to plant new seeds with its recent purchase of a building to provide desperately needed housing for Calgary's working poor.

Executive director Pat Nixon said the city's affordable housing crunch has forced the shelter to look at providing what he hopes will be hundreds of low-income suites at the newly acquired site on 10 Ave. S.E., located right behind the Mustard Seed's existing facility at 102 11 Ave. S.E.

"We don't want to build more short-term crisis housing, which is tough for me to even say," said Nixon.

The two-storey building was bought for $3 million and will be demolished to make way for an affordable housing facility.

"It's not the building we're interested in so much as the location," said Nixon, adding he's not yet sure when the new facility will open its doors.

Nixon added the short-term needs remain critical, especially with the temporary homeless shelter at the former Brick store on 16th Ave. N. slated to be closed next Sunday.

A better boom
UPDATED: 2007-03-22 01:50:09 MST

Alberta's upswing on firm foundation, economist says

By P.J. HARSTON, SUN MEDIA

One of America's more controversial economists, Paul Krugman, told more than 1,100 of Alberta's business and political elite yesterday that "things are different this time."

He was referring to the economic boom that's descended upon this province, thanks to the world's thirst for raw materials and resources, specifically oil.

"This is a better, more soundly based boom than those of the past," he said, addressing the crowd at Edmonton Economic Development Corporation's annual luncheon.

"None of this should be taken to mean don't diversify -- you don't want to be a monoculture," said Krugman, who is a Princeton University economics professor, author and New York Times op-ed columnist.

RECESSION LOOMS

Not all is rosy, though, he added, outlining problems cropping up in the U.S. economy that could have wide-reaching implications across the continent and the world.

"The U.S. is facing a recession or at least a serious slowdown fairly soon," he said.

Krugman noted that the sub-prime lending situation in the U.S. is reaching its predictable conclusion, where predatory lenders have financed houses for people who can't afford them and will default on their mortgages.

This has already affected the financial markets recently and has brought back thoughts of the 1979 to 1982 "double-dip recession" as well as the 1991 recession, he said.

Krugman said that right now the markets are relatively stable because stakeholders are optimistic that these are different times -- we haven't seen a return to "stagflation" of the 1980s, when the economy was stagnant and inflation rose.

"We can now weather oil price fluctuations better," he said.

Worldwide growth and demand is the driving force behind the economy right now and that's good for resource and raw material rich countries, he added.

Incoming EEDC president and chief executive Ron Gilbertson, speaking at the same luncheon, said growth and demand in the Greater Edmonton region comes with its share of challenges as a result of that worldwide demand for oil.

"Our No. 1 challenge is how to manage growth without putting a strain on the people or a strain on the economy," he said.

That's been a recurring theme in this province as industry struggles with a lack of workers, skyrocketing wages, high inflation and housing costs.

"We need to have growth that's managed," said Gilbertson. "Not just a bigger community, but a better community as well."

The EEDC is a is a not-for-profit company owned by the City of Edmonton that is responsible for regional economic development, regional tourism marketing, and management of the Shaw Conference Centre and Edmonton Research Park.

atlas_inc

04-01-2007, 06:43 PM

Construction chaos
Calgary revs up for frenetic summer
Calgary Herald Sunday, April 01, 2007

It's the inevitable downside to the arrival of warmer weather: road work season. This year the pylons, detours and jackhammers will be out in full force for what will be the busiest road construction season in Calgary history. Major projects hit high gear in coming months throughout the city, likely spelling longer commutes for drivers already weary of traffic jams. But the biggest impacts will be felt downtown, where work on several commercial and residential projects will either choke or shut key roads. The bright side? A host of major work is scheduled to finish this year, leaving Calgary's mayor to suggest there might actually be less roadwork next year.

Slow drive to finish line
Take solace: silver lining is that a slew of major projects will finally wrap up
Joel Kom Calgary Herald Sunday, April 01, 2007

When you find yourself wedged among hundreds of other drivers, sitting in yet another traffic jam this summer, it might help to think you're being stalled by city history. OK, maybe it won't, but at least you can take solace in the fact there is a silver lining to the litany of orange pylons that will dot the city's roads in the months ahead. This coming road construction season will see a frenetic pace of activity unlike any Calgary has witnessed, with provincial and municipal projects carrying a total price eclipsing $2.28 billion. That doesn't even include the major private-sector work -- carrying a value of more than $2.6 billion -- that will also disrupt major routes. "It'll be the biggest construction season in our city's history," Mayor Dave Bronconnier said. But with that, Bronconnier added, comes the silver lining: this year will see a slew of major projects finished or nearly wrapped up, lifting the blockages from some of the city's arteries.

There are even hints that municipal construction work may be peaking this year as the infrastructure backlog starts to ease. Frustrated drivers should try to think those happy thoughts while they sit in the heat of traffic jams, Bronconnier suggested. "I think they'll be pretty happy to see a lot of those projects nearing (completion) or complete," he said. "We have less projects identified for next year," he added, noting that could change depending on the upcoming provincial budget. The Glenmore Trail work at Elbow Drive and 5th Street S.W. is among those slated to rid of orange-vested workers this year.
When the alterations are finished in the fall, it will end more than two years of work -- at a $110-million cost -- on a road that carries more than 100,000 cars a day.City officials are relieved at the prospect of paving the last metres of a project that, at times, has looked like it was hit by a meteor shower.
Congestion caused by work on C-Train extensions is also expected to clear up by the end of the year. While the actual northwest and northeast extensions won't be running until next year, the road construction affecting drivers should finish by the end of the year. Those projects include widening Crowchild Trail N.W., building the Crowchild Trail and Nose Hill Drive N.W. interchange and finishing the McKnight Boulevard and 36th Street N.E. interchange.

Total cost for all that work? Around $460 million. But it will be a slow drive to the finish line for those who have to manoeuvre around the construction while it's still underway. The northwest LRT work will be tough on drivers because it's so close to Crowfoot Towne Centre. "That's an area that's especially difficult," said Ian Norris, the city's director of transportation infrastructure. He also pointed to the Bow Trail widening from 37th Street S.W. to Strathcona Boulevard as another high-impact project to be highlighted by detours. And, of course, there's the 16th Avenue N. widening, an $80-million project that's resulted in concrete barriers lining the roads for two years -- and will still for at least another year. The province will be cranking its machinery into gear on the Stoney Trail northwest and northeast ring roads, though the impacts there should be minimal this year. Deerfoot Trail will be the site of some minor work this summer around Barlow and Peigan Trails, with some slowdowns expected.

But if you want to talk detours, congestion and road closures, look no further than downtown. While most major infrastructure work will be happening throughout the city, the construction season's biggest headaches will be felt in the core. The Bow, EnCana Corp.'s billion-dollar, 58-storey office tower, will shut down 6th Avenue between 1st Street S.E. and Centre Street for up to 11 months. There could be more ripple effects after talk of also closing a lane on 5th Avenue came up last week. City council delayed a decision on more road closures until the full impact of the tower's construction was laid out.
There will be other downtown work. The Penny Lane towers, another billion-dollar commercial complex, will break ground soon and likely force some road closures over the next four years. Add in Centennial Place at 3rd Avenue and 4th Street S.W. and Jamieson Place at 4th Avenue and 2nd Street S.W.
With all that hammering, city council will be eyeing how hard developers try to prevent their projects from spilling onto the streets, said Ald. Madeleine King, whose ward envelops downtown.

The city may have to toughen rules encouraging more in-site construction, depending on the traffic headaches created by the upcoming work, she said.
King said the city will post the latest construction information on its website. And aside from the usual advice to find other routes and to leave a little earlier from home, King reminded drivers -- some of whom she hopes will become cyclists and pedestrians -- to remember that this work will be worth it.
"Success is easier to live through than failure," she said. "Breathe deeply, try focusing on how the boom is affecting your life positively and play some nice music."

jkom@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Emotions mixed as landmark closes
GwendolynRichards Calgary Herald Sunday, April 01, 2007

Discounts helped Penny Lane store owners get ready to move out.Paper-covered windows and signs advertising discounts took the place of most store displays Saturday as Penny Lane businesses marked their last day in the city landmark. Throughout the building, posters thanked people for their patronage -- the message typed over an image of the two new skyscrapers that will replace the squat heritage buildings. Penny Lane will be demolished to make way for a billion-dollar project made up of two commercial towers.

At Ceili's Irish Pub, servers were bracing for a busy night, but also taking time to recognize the final hours at the Penny Lane location. Friday night must have been a "gong show," server Paula Espinoza said, judging from the mess when she walked in Saturday. By mid-afternoon, some staff were busy taking pictures of each other holding up various decorations from the bar. "I think they (the owners) want to keep all that stuff," Espinoza said, gesturing to the decorations piled above the bar. "Whatever doesn't get stolen." Patrons have been pillaging the pub; pale rectangles on the back wall are ghostly reminders of where posters once hung. Upstairs at the Spa at Angles, owner Anna Sannderss remained upbeat as she managed a day full of bookings and the inevitable packing. But she was upset she was only given eight days notice about the closure, which forced her to cancel bookings made for the next couple of weeks. "The only thing I wish was for a little bit more time," she said.

Former manager Beata Gorniak, who returned to help pack, said the spa's new location just down 8th Avenue will be great, but nothing can replace the history of Penny Lane. "It's really sad. There's a lot of heritage. This building here is almost 100 years old. To destroy it to put up modern buildings is very saddening," she said. At Tango Living, antique furniture bore red sale stickers. Owner Susan Abbiati said she is fine with the closure because she knew that was the plan since she opened about six months earlier. "I think it'll be even better," she said of the new towers. Project owners hope to start demolition next month and have construction begin in December, pending city approval. The two towers combined will contain almost two million square feet of space with more than one thousand parking stalls and 53,000 square feet for retail-restaurant use on the ground level.

grichards@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

04-06-2007, 07:28 PM

Politicians and developers distrusted

The Saint Index also uncovered that Canadians bear a high level of
skepticism regarding relationships between elected officials and developers.
In fact, 60% of respondents expressed concern that these perceived close
relationships can compromise fairness. That number increases to as much as 70%
in Calgary.
"These findings should send a warning to both politicians and
developers," says Fox.
The Saint Index also reveals that 87% of respondents believe that a
political candidate's position on community growth is an important issue to
consider when casting their votes.

atlas_inc

04-11-2007, 05:44 PM

Calgary's set to have Canada's fastest growing economy in 2007, but experts fear our city may be headed for a fall. Is Cowtown pricing itself out of prosperity?
Geoffrey Scotton Calgary Herald Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Calgary's growth will outpace all other Canadian cities again in 2007, according to estimates released Tuesday by the Conference Board of Canada -- but the organization is worried this city may be setting itself up for a fall. In its thrice-yearly Metropolitan Outlook, the Ottawa-based economic research institute said Calgary's economy will expand by 4.2 per cent in real terms -- and quite possibly more -- in 2007, building on what it described as a "remarkable" 6.9 per cent gain in 2006.

That would make Calgary's economy Canada's fastest growing for an unprecedented fifth straight year. "It's quite amazing," said the board's director of Metropolitan Outlook, economist Mario Lefebvre. "It's pretty hard to repeat as No. 1, but you are doing it almost systematically." However, Lefebvre is concerned Calgary has grown too fast for too long, and that shortages apparent in labour, materials, housing, office space, infrastructure, transit and health care may be just a foreboding of much larger problems.

In short, he's nervous Calgary is pricing itself out of prosperity by becoming too expensive to attract the migrants and immigrants it absolutely needs to grow. It's a scenario that could lead to skyrocketing wages and in turn an economic slowdown followed by a collapse in housing prices. "If a soft correction does not materialize, maybe at some point it will mean a hard correction will come," said Lefebvre. "I'm worried that if a correction does not take place, it will eventually come -- but come harder than expected."

Calgary's expected performance in 2007 puts it at the head of pack dominated by western Canadian cities, as the top five municipalities are all west of Manitoba and include Saskatoon, Victoria and Vancouver. Right behind Calgary is the provincial capital of Edmonton, with 3.7 per cent growth, making 2007 the fourth consecutive year that Calgary and Edmonton have ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in growth among Canadian cities. The conference board estimates that Edmonton's economy expanded by 5.9 per cent in 2006. Over the medium term, Calgary's economic expansion is forecast to moderate further from the frantic pace of 2006 due to smaller increases in investment, construction and services sector growth, with a four per cent gain in 2008 and a 3.8 per cent increase in 2009. The conference board believes a recovering central Canadian economy will spur Toronto to a better performance and lift it to top spot by 2009. It would be the first time in more than half a decade Calgary has not held the No. 1 spot.

Other forecasts of Calgary activity are similar to those from the conference board. City of Calgary manager of corporate economics Patrick Walters told the Herald the city is planning for an expansion of 4.5 per cent in 2007 after estimated growth of six per cent in 2006. Walters's expectation for 2008 is a further four per cent increase. "It's roughly the same thing," said Walters. "Compared to last year, we're saying '07 will be lower because of a number of reasons," he added, citing lower oil prices than in 2006 and no repeat of the billions of dollars in provincial rebate cheques distributed in January 2006.Calgary Economic Development is forecasting 3.9 per cent growth, but the agency's director of research and business information, Adam Legge, emphasized that needs to be put in context.

"It's very solid. Anything shy of a repeat performance of 2006 would appear from a numbers perspective to be a slowdown," said Legge. "But that's not a bad thing when you contextualize it about what 2006 actually put upon the city in terms of stretching our capacity." Alberta is expected to lead Canadian provinces over the medium and longer term. But at 4.7 per cent growth in 2007 is expected to be surpassed by Newfoundland and Labrador, where resources projects are set to boost growth dramatically to a five per cent annual rate, but only for a single year. Growth in Alberta was 6.3 per cent in 2006, the highest in Canada, and will dip to 4.7 per cent this year. The conference board sees average 4.1 per cent growth in the 2008-to-2011 period and 4.2 per cent in the 2002-to-2011 period, both by far the highest growth rates of any Canadian province.

gscotton@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

freefarezone

04-13-2007, 05:04 AM

Stampede expansion worth yahooing about
Robert Remington, Calgary Herald
Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Every great city has a central gathering space. Calgary still does not have one that works.

Eau Claire Market is a disaster. Olympic Plaza isn't user friendly. Prince's Island is under stress.

Our best chance, our only one, perhaps, is the expansion and redevelopment of Stampede Park.

Most cities would die for the opportunity that Calgary has been given -- a large space of developable land next to downtown, bordered by the meandering Elbow River and easily accessible by rapid transit. That's the hand that Calgary has been dealt with Stampede Park, and it's all aces.

By 2020, if they do it right, Stampede Park will be transformed from a gated parking lot into a greener, year-round public meeting place. It might not be the Piazza Navona in Rome, Trafalgar in London or Federation Square in Melbourne, but it will be the closest thing we're going to get to St. Peter's Square here in the land of casinos and cowboy hats.

In the overheated economy of Alberta, it won't come cheap. The Calgary Stampede's original estimate for the transformation of Stampede Park was $550 million. According to a report going to the city's finance and corporate services committee, that figure has risen by $30 million for two buildings alone -- a new casino and an agriculture complex -- mostly in labour and construction costs. Like everything else in Alberta, you can blame it on the boom.

To make room for its expansion, the Stampede still must finalize the paperwork on 23 outstanding properties approved by city council for expropriation in March 2005, seven years after negotiations were begun with more than 200 property owners in Victoria Park.

Gentrification is not a pretty process. The expansion of Stampede Park has had deleterious effects on Victoria Park, a community older than Calgary itself. It resigned itself long ago to being devoured by the slumbering giant in its midst and, with little security of permanence, the neighbourhood has been in decline for 30 years.

"The community was exhausted by this continual struggle," said a 1996 report by the International Development Research Centre that looked at Stampede expansion as part of a housing rights study in three Canadian cities.

"It had been extremely difficult to resist the entire weight of the establishment and the strength of its political forces," the report said.

Among the Stampede expropriation victims is the John Howard Society, whose Bedford House for ex-cons is threatened with closure. A recent attempt by the society to build a new halfway house in Sunalta was defeated by public pressure from Sunalta and the neighbouring community of Scarboro.

Victoria Park also had some of the most affordable housing in the city. It is always the weakest and most vulnerable in society that get displaced when the forces of power begin to move, but it's too late to lament that now.

The plans for expansion and redevelopment of Stampede Park are exciting. There will be markets, an agriculture college, a much-needed outdoor performing arts space, a hotel and an overall greening of the place that will finally put the "park" in Stampede Park. The banks of the Elbow River will be cleared of horse barns to make it the urban park it always should have been.

Enjoy it, because you're paying for a good chunk of it. Of the Stampede's $180-million budget last year, the province coughed up $35 million, in addition to the $10 million the park got from lottery revenue and another $354,000 in additional provincial grants. The city doesn't kick in any dough, but it does back the Stampede's $30-million line of credit.

In return, the Stampede generates $345 million for the Alberta economy. The vast majority of it, $300 million annually, comes to Calgary.

The Stampede Park expansion could be one of the best things to happen to Calgary. Unless they really screw it up, it should be Calgary's equivalent of New York's Rockefeller Plaza, Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square, San Francisco's Washington Square, Vancouver's Stanley Park and, who knows, maybe even a bit of Piazza Navona -- all rolled into one big cowboy stompin' ground. Yahoo.

freefarezone

04-13-2007, 05:13 AM

Stampede expansion balloons by $30M
New casino, agriculture centre hit by rising construction costs
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Two projects that are part of the Stampede expansion will cost $30 million more than anticipated.

A report going to the civic finance committee Wednesday says the new casino will cost $50 million, up from $34 million, while the price of the agriculture building has climbed $14 million, to $60 million.

The casino cost includes a $2.5-million increase necessary after the city's planning commission required changes to the design, notably moving a restaurant so it fronted along the street, and adding public art.

View Larger Image
The new Calgary Stampede Casino is under construction next to the Roundup Centre. Costs of the building are heading up.
Dean Bicknell, Calgary Herald
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Font: ****Warren Connell, the Stampede's vice-president of park development and operations, said discussions about the design meant they went to tender later than expected, which in this market can lead to increased costs.

"But it was the first project out of our expansion plan, and certainly both the city and the Stampede wanted to get it right for the community interface piece," he said, referring to how the building fits with pedestrians walking by on 12th Avenue S.E.

He added the initial project estimates two years ago weren't based on specific designs, just a size.

"The 2005 estimates were very, very preliminary," Connell said.

The cost of the casino, expected to be completed by August 2008, will be covered by borrowing and the Stampede's internal cash flow, the report said.

The Stampede saw its revenues increase 13 per cent in 2006, while its net income rose 30 per cent.

The agriculture building is being redesigned to take advantage of the barns that won't be required by thoroughbred or harness racing after this year. There is no start date.

The other main building project on site, the Roundup Centre, will come in at $50 million, entirely funded by the provincial government, and will be finished by the spring of 2009.

Ald. Madeleine King, who sits on the Stampede board, said Calgary's heated construction market -- and its demand for labour and materials -- has put pressure on everything being built in the city.

"However careful you are with construction projects at the moment, there is a price escalation month over month," she said, adding the board has been careful with its oversight.

Connell said a 14 to 22 per cent contingency is being built into the tenders now going out.

Cost escalations have affected projects across the city. The Calgary Zoo is looking at building its expansion project in stages to manage the price jumps. The northwest portion of the provincial ring road will cost about $156 million more than expected.

The city saw the cost of its Pine Creek wastewater treatment plant jump to about $370 million from an initial budget last year of $240 million.

And the budget for the Bearspaw and Glenmore water and wastewater treatment plants is estimated to climb $25.4 million above the $303 million approved last year.

atlas_inc

04-14-2007, 05:18 PM

Downtown homes get top dollar
UPDATED: 2007-04-13 01:48:09 MST

Calgary sixth most expensive in world

By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA

More Calgarians are buying downtown homes but paying top price for the prime location.

People who live downtown in some of Canada's largest cities generally pay less per-square foot than people in cities around the world and enjoy shorter daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey done on first-time home buyers by Century 21.

Calgary ranks sixth most expensive of 31 cities surveyed around the world.

The cost to buy in Calgary's downtown is even more than settling in Toronto's core, which ranked 16th in the survey with an average cost running $209 per sq. ft.

George Bamber, owner of a Calgary-based Century 21 said it's a sign of a city maturing and becoming more like Vancouver or Toronto, where downtown is a place where people live and work. "You just get more real estate for your money outside of downtown," he said. "To live downtown people pay for it."

A condo in Southwood, for instance, would run about $323 a sq. ft while downtown goes for about $500.

Still Bamber said the interest in downtown living only seems to be getting more popular -- a sign Calgary is "getting to be more like a big city.

"People want to be close to restaurants and bars and don't want to drive an hour to work," he said.

He said 30% of the housing market is condos -- the bulk of which are in downtown.

The survey showed Vancouver placing fourth most expensive at $577 per sq. ft., while Edmonton was 10th most expensive at $322.

In Calgary, a typical first-time buyer would choose a one-bedroom, one-bath 500-sq. ft. apartment in Mission or Connaught priced at about $250,000 and a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk to the Calgary Tower.

---

TOP 10 MOST EXPENSIVE DOWNTOWN MARKETS

- Paris $1051/sq.ft.

- Moscow $688/sq.ft

- Seoul $630/sq.ft

- Vancouver $577/sq.ft

- London, U.K. $532/sq.ft

- Calgary $500/sq.ft

- Athens $375/sq.ft

- New York City $375/sq.ft

- Tokyo, $325/sq.ft

- Edmonton $322/sq.ft

St. John's and Quebec City had the lowest and second-lowest per-square-foot downtown prices of all 31 cities surveyed, at $55 and $93 respectively.

The two lowest per-square-foot prices for international cities were Istanbul, Turkey and Sydney, Australia, at $94 and $105 respectively.

Vancouver was fourth most expensive at $577 per square foot while Calgary was sixth most expensive.

atlas_inc

04-14-2007, 05:35 PM

Village' in city
Condo towers to be added near Deerfoot Meadows
Kathy McCormick Calgary Herald Saturday, April 14, 2007

Kenneth Mariash is the developer of The Bluffs at Deerfoot Meadows project.

Creating a good community is not just about putting in stores for people to shop, nor is it about constructing buildings to house people. You need to create an urban village, says Ken Mariash, managing partner of the Deerfoot Meadows retail centre. His company, Heritage Partners, has already created the backbone of the massive, 1.7-million-square-foot Deerfoot Meadows project just west of Deerfoot Trail and south of Heritage Drive S.E. The next step is adding a thriving population to take advantage of the project's many shops, services and amenities. Mariash is working on plans for The Bluffs at Deerfoot Meadows, a tract of land 100 feet above the retail centre in the valley.

The area, which is adjacent to Blackfoot Trail on the west side, runs from Heritage Drive on the north to the Blackfoot Mobile Home Park. The site has views of the river valley both north and south, as well as the extensive shopping mall and big-box retailers below. "We're now transitioning into a final vision for the area," says Mariash. Mariash has been working on plans for the site since the mid-'90s when he first bought the land. "We'll finalize it with an elaborate and significant urban village, which is just begging in the Calgary market."

The 10.8-hectare parcel of land on top of the hill "is quite a jewel in its own right, and it can be synergistic with the other components," says Mariash. "The objective is to help sustain what's below." The area is "perfect for luxury residences," he says. Preliminary plans call for high-end condo towers -- as many as 500 to 1,000 units in total -- of ultra-luxurious living spaces the likes of which have not yet been seen in Calgary, he says. "We believe there is a fairly significant market for that product here," says Mariash. "By the time we finish, it will probably be the most upscale product of its type in the community. We're talking things like recreation and a clubhouse with Olympic-sized pools, exercise facilities, spa treatments and all the pampering.

"The team has taken the things it learned from designing and marketing a similar development in Victoria, B.C. Bayview, which is now in its first stages of development, is selling quickly. Watch for more on this development when Victoria is featured in Recreation and Investment Properties in the New Condos section on April 28. "We learned that people want it all -- restaurants, boardrooms, a clubhouse and more," says Mariash. A seniors' component will definitely be part of the mix, he says, adding that details about the type of facility, where it will be located and how big it will be have yet to be determined. "We have an opportunity to please everybody," he says. "The site is large and lengthy, so we can create mini districts of price categories."

The challenge is to make the whole project cohesive. The developer is working on creating a broad, boardwalk-type deck along the east side of the whole range of condos. "It will be a challenge to integrate the buildings and we are planning a pedestrian promenade along the river side of the site as one way to do that," says Mariash. "It will be uninterrupted all along the ridge. "There is a tendency in developments to plop buildings down with no sense of connectivity, and this long area is an interesting design challenge. We need horizontal connection at the ground level, but there will be vertical buildings, so we're looking for balance and synergy -- and that will combine for a powerful outcome."

Other plans for the site include office buildings and hotels. Another key to the development will be access to the shops and services below, as well as a connection to the 40 hectares on the river that Heritage Partners has dedicated to the city for use as parkland. "That makes it a true integrated community -- a real gem," says Mariash. The developer will be submitting plans for the residential component of the property to city officials within the next few months. Meanwhile, plans are moving on the last phase of the bottom retail site, which Mariash terms a lifestyle centre. "We will provide a significant fashion and entertainment area, which will complement the other uses -- and by the synergy of all the different areas, it will create an element of excitement for Calgary and give it the global recognition it deserves," he says.

The 500,000-square-foot Village at Deerfoot Meadows will have more than 100 retailers, including very high-end stores not previously in Calgary, he says. Unlike the big-box component next door, the new area will be more pedestrian-friendly, with an ambience that will make it conducive to leisurely shopping, dining and entertaining, he says. The Village at Deerfoot Meadows is expected to cost $250 million. By completion, the total Deerfoot Meadows development will contain 3.5 million square feet.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

'D-word' needs embracing by Calgarians
Richard White For The Calgary Herald Saturday, April 14, 2007

More and more, we hear the need for more density in how we develop our cities. Unfortunately, the "d-word" is feared by many Calgarians and Canadians as we still evolve from an agrarian to an urban society. Increased density is about creating more diversity in housing options for Calgarians. It is not about eliminating single-family housing. For many people, higher density is synonymous with multi-family development. However, that is not always the case.In the suburbs, it could mean smaller lot sizes or more attached town homes like we see in McKenzie Towne. It doesn't have to mean apartment blocks or highrise condos. In established communities, it can be infills where a lot with one house is subdivided to accommodate two houses, or it could be small condominium or apartment complexes. In the city centre, it means mid- and high-density urban villages. There are several reasons why people fear high density development. One of the main fears is that density will mean more traffic and congestion.

While this is true, it is usually not as bad as people fear. If the road network and community are well-designed, the higher density development will be located within walking distance of bus stops, LRT stations, grocery stores and other amenities, allowing people living there to walk and take transit more than currently occurs. For most roads in Calgary, congestion happens only a few hours a day. Most of the time, there is excess capacity. Another reason people fear density is that multi-family housing has been associated in the past with lower-cost housing -- which people have stereotypically associated with cheap building materials and poor designs. They were also once seen as attracting low-income people. Such stereotypes are certainly not true anymore. Many multi-family housing projects are built to high standards, attracting wealthy empty nesters and young professionals. Think Bridges, Eau Claire, Garrison Woods and McKenzie Towne. In the past, high density communities also meant less privacy. But with new multi-family construction materials, the walls, windows and floors can create an almost soundproof place to live.

Attached homes and balconies can be staggered to allow for more privacy than enjoyed by many current suburban homes, which often have shared front driveways and back decks that seem to almost touch one another. People in single-family communities often feared the addition of multi-family projects because they believed it would decrease property values through things like increased crime and more transients. But this certainly isn't the case in communities like Garrison Woods. Property values in these communities have increased more than most neighbourhoods.

The increased density brought increased amenities -- new Safeway, Starbucks and other retailers and restaurants, which helped make the area more desirable. In a traditional single-family street, there is eight feet between houses. If there are 20 homes on the street, that means 160 feet of side yard that serves no useful purpose. If you were to attach each of the homes, you could create four more homes 40-feet wide, or five more on 30 foot lots -- a 20-per-cent increase in density without changing the size of the lots.This would also allow more "tot lots" or playgrounds where children or grandchildren can play and meet other kids, rather than being locked up in a backyard with a six-foot fence.

Higher density is about better design that would stagger homes so there is more, rather than less, privacy. It also creates a more social place where residents know their neighbours and can feel more part of their community. I think there are some great opportunities to densify our established communities, especially along major bus routes and near LRT stations. Imagine if streets like 17th Avenue (east and west), Bow Trail, Centre Street, 14th Street North and Edmonton Trail were converted from being primarily single-family homes and small businesses.

Imagine if they were instead changed to four- and five-floor mixed-buildings with retail at the base and apartment and condos above. Imagine if our older shopping centres and grocery store sites were redeveloped to include some residential development, as has happened at North Hill shopping centre. Why create more density? Simply put, a denser city is more cost-effective, more environmentally friendly and allows for a better quality of life. A denser urban city invests less in roads and interchanges and more in transit, schools, hospitals, libraries and parks. A denser city is a healthier city, creating more green space, more walking and better air quality through less driving. This isn't going to happen overnight in Calgary. But if we build more quality medium- and high-density communities, we will see that living in denser neighbourhoods does not mean you have to sacrifice your current quality of living. In fact, it will enhance it. Think of roof-top gardens rather than mowing the back yard. Think of people watching on a sidewalk patio, rather than painting the back deck.
Think of a front porch, rather than a patch of grass and a massive driveway to shovel. Think outside the single family box. I expect that, in the future, Calgarians will embrace the D-word.

Richard White is the director of operations and communications at Riddell Kurczaba Architecture.

In Short:
People oppose density because they fear it will bring:
- Increased traffic;
- Increased crime;
- Decreased property values;
- Decreased privacy;
- Unattractive designs;
- Attract lower income owners and renters.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Office projects hit $5B
Calgary development leads nation
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Saturday, April 14, 2007

DOWNTOWN BUILDING FRENZY: "(Calgary) is definitely in a market of its own," says Calgary Economic Development boss Bruce Graham.

The number of current downtown office developments either under construction or proposed in Calgary's central business district is estimated to be a staggering $5.5 billion. With 12 buildings currently under construction, representing 6.5 million square feet, Calgary's frenzied pace of development is leading the nation. In Canada, there were 21 office buildings under construction in the first quarter of this year throughout the country's downtown central business districts. Calgary's total square footage of construction accounts for a whopping 57.8 per cent of all downtown office construction in the country. Bruce Graham, president and CEO of Calgary Economic Development, said the pace of activity means Calgary is "leading the country in office construction and economic activity and that's undisputed.

"In a North American context, this is definitely in a market of its own as far as I can tell," said Graham. "And we're being noticed by investors as far away as Dubai and Europe. That's a byproduct of what's happening here (economically) . . . We're now being recognized as one of the major office centres in the world. "It also suggests to me nobody had a crystal ball that was working perfect and consequently we've been caught short which has led to a very tight office market situation. We've got a lot of projects coming forward at this time to satisfy a lot of pent-up demand and a lot of projected demand as well. "There is a sense of confidence. Certainly a lot of the downtown office construction has a linkage to the energy sector and the commodity prices have stayed relatively stable and firm at a price point that has kept a lot of the projects still moving forward."

The downtown office vacancy rate had hit the historic low level of under one per cent and continues to hover around the one per cent mark with a total inventory of more than 32 million square feet. And about 2.3 million square feet of new construction scheduled to be available in 2007 is already spoken for. Mike Gigliuk, director of research for Alberta for CB Richard Ellis, said there is currently $3.5 billion in downtown office construction underway or just being completed and another $2 billion in the pre-leasing/proposal stage. According to CB Richard Ellis data for the first quarter of this year, there is a total of 11.25 million square feet of downtown office construction across Canada with Calgary leading the charge at 6.5 million square feet. Toronto follows at 3.38 million square feet. A first quarter office market report by The Staubach Company says seven buildings are due for completion this year in Calgary.
"A drastic increase in the cost of construction materials, trades people, and the supply of labour, has sharply increased the cost to construct standard office space," said the report. "A year ago tenants could build out new office space from a base building standard for approximately $25-$30 per square foot. In today's market, tenants would need to pay approximately $60-$70 per square foot to build out the same space."

The report said the downtown office vacancy rate in the first quarter was 1.5 per cent and it is forecast to be one per cent for the year. Proposed downtown buildings include billion-dollar projects like The Bow (EnCana) and the Penny Lane towers -- both projects would each add about two million square feet of office space. Brad Krizan, president of the Calgary chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and director of leasing for OPUS Building Canada, said there is obviously a lot of confidence in the Calgary economy given the amount of construction. "And these are big, big projects that are coming in the second wave of development," said Krizan. "It also speaks to our market. Calgary is unique in that we have large-size tenants that occupy large square footage. And really the market has hit a critical point again in this development cycle which calls for another flurry of large office developments to be built."

By 2010 and 2o11, the downtown core will be "absolutely different. You're going to have some high-rise signature projects completed and occupied. So the whole look of the skyline is going to be different. You're going to have more residents downtown. The streetscape is going to change quite a bit too just by virtue of new building design and more people walking the streets downtown," said Krizan. "So it's going to be a pretty interesting, exciting, dynamic place." Tod Hughes, president of Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (Alberta), said that level of construction signifies "continued optimism in downtown Calgary at all levels." "We've seen people from hoteliers to multi-family developers to office buildings and more institutional type buildings. I think there's a lot of optimism in Calgary still and I think it just signifies that people don't think it's changing," said Hughes. "They're planning construction projects for a long time in the future. You don't do them for 12 months or 24 months. People long-term continue to be very bullish on the Calgary market." Graham said more than 50 per cent of the downtown office construction taking place in one city with about one-thirtieth of the country's population is "definitely unique."

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

CALGARY OFFICE DEVELOPMENTS
1 Centrium Place, 332 - 6th Avenue S.W.
Under construction, Fully Leased/Sold
2 Homburg Harris Ctr East, 207 and 213 9th Ave. S.W
Under construction, Fully Leased/Sold
3 Homburg Harris Ctr West , 224R 10th Ave. S.W.
Under construction, Vacancy
4 Opus 8, 607 - 8th Avenue S.W.,
Under construction, Fully Leased/Sold
5 Livingston Phase 1, 2nd St. and 3rd Ave. S.W.
Under construction, Fully Leased/Sold
6 Livingston Phase 2, 2nd St. and 3rd Ave. S.W.
Under construction, Fully Leased/Sold
7 The Bow, 5th and 7th Avenues between Centre St.
and 1st St. S.E.
Fully Leased/Sold
8 8 West, 903 - 8th Avenue S.W. -- Under construction, Vacancy
9 Bankers Court, 9th Avenue - 2nd Street S.W.
Under construction, Fully Leased/Sold
10 Calgary City Centre 1, 2nd Avenue S.W.
Pre Leasing/Pre Sales, Vacancy
11 Genco Tower, 608 - 7th Street S.W.
Pre Leasing/Pre Sales, Vacancy
12 Palliser West, 1st St. and 10th Ave. S.E.
Pre Leasing/Pre Sales, Vacancy
13 Palliser East, 1st St. and 10th Ave. S.E.
Pre Leasing/Pre Sales, Vacancy
14 Palliser South, 8th Ave. and 2nd St. S.W.
Pre Leasing/Pre Sales, Vacancy
15 Penny Lane East, 507 to 535 8th Ave. S.W.
Pre Leasing/Pre Sales, Vacancy
16 Penny Lane West, 507 to 535 8th Ave. S.W.
Pre Leasing/Pre Sales, Vacancy
17 Centennial Place East, 555 2nd Ave. S.W.
Under construction, Vacancy
18 Centennial Place West, 555 2nd Ave. S.W.
Under construction, Vacancy
19 First Canadian Ctr Phase 2, 350 7th Ave. S.W., Vacancy
20 Jamieson Place, 302 4th Ave. S.W. Under construction, Vacancy
21 CPA Lands, 428 6th Ave. S.E. Pre Leasing/Pre Sales, Vacancy
22 Eau Claire Redev., between 2nd & 3rd Ave. & 2nd to 3rd St. S.W. Pre Leasing/Pre Sales, Vacancy
23 Herald Block, 1st St. and 7th Ave. S.W.
Pre Leasing/Pre Sales, Vacancy
24 Imperial Oil., between 5th & 6th Ave & 4th & 5th St. S.W. Fully Leased

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Pace of non-residential construction sets record
Alberta, B.C. lead country in surge of new projects
Geoffrey Scotton Calgary Herald Saturday, April 14, 2007

A 20 per cent increase in first-quarter non-residential construction values in Calgary led the way across the country. There was no end to Alberta's surging construction sector in the first three months of 2007, as a frenzy of office building in this province and neighbouring British Columbia pushed national non-residential building construction values to a record in the first quarter. Calgary played a central role, with the 20.8 per cent increase in non-residential construction spending here totalling $985 million. It was the largest dollar gain quarter-to-quarter of any major Canadian city and compared with just $531 million in the same quarter of 2006. Statistics Canada said Friday Alberta's non-residential building expenditures rose 11.8 per cent to $2.1 billion in the January to March time frame, the 12th consecutive quarter that spending in the sector has risen.

That pushed the national record to $9.4 billion, an increase of 3.3 per cent from the prior quarter at the end of 2006. It was the 16th consecutive increase in non-residential construction spending at the national level and reflected strength across the non-residential segment. Commercial sector investment nationally was up five per cent to $5.6 billion; institutional investment edged ahead 1.3 per cent to $2.3 billion and there was a marginal increase i the industrial sector to $1.4 billion, a 0.2 per cent gain. "Provincially, by far the biggest first-quarter increase (in dollars) occurred in Alberta," said StatsCan. Western Canada's dynamic economy continued to spark the non-residential sector (and) other contributing factors, included a strong labour market, strong consumer demand for durable goods and declining vacancy rates in large urban centres, which provided added incentive for office building construction." In this province, while industrial construction spending slipped 5.4 per cent to $324 million in the first quarter, it jumped 21 per cent in the commercial grouping to a record $1.36 billion and surged 14.2 per cent to a record $427 million in the institutional sector, compared with the final three months of 2006. Calgary's performance in the institutional sector was also notable, as institutional investment in the first quarter of 2007 rose 26 per cent to $247 million. That was fuelled, StatsCan said, by major projects in the health care and educational fields.

gscotton@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

04-17-2007, 03:43 PM

Task force backs rent controls
Rules would be similar to B.C.'s
Kelly Cryderman, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, April 17, 2007

A deluge of steep rent increases and condominium conversions has prompted a Stelmach government committee charged with finding solutions to the housing crunch to call for a two-year period of rent controls, among other solutions, say government sources.

This morning, Conservative government MLAs will review and debate the suggestions from the 16-member Alberta Affordable Housing Task Force, which was initiated by Premier Ed Stelmach earlier this year and toured the province in February and March.

If the recommendations are adopted, rent increases would temporarily be limited by mandatory "rent stability guidelines." This would cap rent hikes to inflation levels, plus two per cent -- similar to the rules in B.C.

If landlords have extraordinary costs such as renovations or high utility bills during those two years, they would have to apply for permission to a yet-to-be determined government body for a greater rent increase. New construction would be exempt from these rules.

"The decision to recommend this protective measure was a very difficult one for the task force," the report says. "There was clear concern among many members about the impact of rent guidelines on overall new rent supply and on rental rates once guidelines are removed in two years.

"At the same time, the task force was confronted everywhere with the plight of renters who are losing their homes right now. These people have few other affordable housing options in today's overheated market. The task force understood that keeping people in their current homes wherever possible is essential while dealing with the urgent situation Alberta is facing."

While rent increases are now allowed twice per year, the task force recommends they be permitted only once annually.

Sources told the Herald the report also includes a recommendation to force landlords to give tenants one-year's eviction notice, instead of the current six months, if they are going to convert an apartment building into condominiums -- a trend that has swept through the province's largest cities.

No rent increases will be allowed during that period.

Other recommendations are focused on homelessness -- an increasingly visible problem in Calgary -- including one calling for increased funding to temporary emergency shelters.

The recommendations are likely to win praise from housing activists and opposition parties, while frustrating landlords -- who have spoken out against rent controls in recent months, saying they distort the market, and discourage development and maintenance.

The rent controls will be a tough pill to swallow for MLAs with a strong belief in the free market, but is increasingly seen as a possible solution in light of the past year's changes to the market. For instance, Calgary-East MLA Moe Amery called for rent controls last week.

The task force heard a number of worrying stories, including one from Calgarian Catherine Mitchell when the task force came to the city Feb. 28. She and her husband have lived in their home -- a rented two-bedroom apartment -- for 35 years, but live in fear that eviction is just one condo application or rent hike away. "It's the stuff nightmares are made of," the 75-year-old retired teacher said.

The report went to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Ray Danyluk in March, and has been working its way through the government's private review process since then.

The fact it hasn't been released a month after being given to the minister has been a major bone of contention for opposition members.

kcryderman@theherald.canwest.com

===============================

East Village plan gets $135M boost
Borrowing bylaw will pave way for redevelopment
Colette Derworiz, with files from Joel Kom, Calgary Herald., Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Dirt could be moved in the dilapidated East Village as early as this fall, after city council approved borrowing $135 million to kick-start redevelopment in the area best known for drug dealing and prostitution.

The borrowing bylaw, which was given two readings by city council Monday, is the first hurdle in a plan to prepare the area for redevelopment.

The money will be used to restore the river walk, replace the underground water and sewer pipes, and create new parks. Once the infrastructure is in place, the land also needs to be raised 1.5 metres above of the flood plain.
Speaking in favour of the East Village revitalization were residents Karin Wong, left, Bill Nairn, and B.J. Annis at City Hall on Monday.View Larger Image View

"It's a long time coming," said Ward 7 Ald. Druh Farrell, who represents the rundown area east of City Hall.

Four years ago, East Village was well on its way to becoming a unique urban village with a winding canal and a pedestrian walkway full of cafes and shops. But the billion-dollar proposal fell apart, amid accusations of mismanagement and a $3-million cost for the city to get out of the deal.

The $135-million loan approved by council Monday is part of a new plan usually referred to as tax increment financing, which the city is now calling a community revitalization levy.

The tax scheme allows the city to borrow money to pay for much-needed infrastructure upgrades in the rundown east side. It's expected those upgrades would attract new development, which should improve property values. The increased tax revenue generated from the higher property values would then pay off the infrastructure debt.

However, three aldermen -- Diane Colley-Urquhart, Helene Larocque and Ric McIver -- voted against borrowing for the infrastructure work.

"It's a high level of risk," Colley-Urquhart said. "At a time when the economy is booming, we don't need to have government subsidizing development, and that's exactly what it is."

McIver agreed, suggesting the money should be paid for by private developers.

"In one way, council's betting that if you build it, they will come," he said. "And there's a chance they will. There's also a chance they won't.

"If you have the private sector pay for it, there's no bet required. But council's decided to gamble with taxpayers' money on this one."

Mayor Dave Bronconnier defended the scheme, saying the debt will be paid back ultimately by developers in the area.

"This is the only option to move forward to actually have a comprehensive approach to start dealing with a very troubled area," he said. "When you look at what is occurring today between the crime activity . . . and the lack of reinvestment in this community, I think if we are not going to do it now, I don't know when we will ever contemplate doing it."

Once city council approves final reading of the bylaw next week, it will be sent to the provincial government to sign off on the plan.

"That could be done as early as June, and ultimately you could see dirt being moved in early fall 2007," Bronconnier said.

cderworiz@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

04-19-2007, 04:07 PM

$100M to target housing crunch
$33B budget reflects 'price of prosperity'
Jason Fekete Calgary Herald Thursday, April 19, 2007

Alberta Finance Minister Lyle Oberg tries on a new pair of cowboy boots, Wednesday, in Calgary, in advance of the provincial budget which will be delivered today in Edmonton.

The Stelmach government is set to unleash a torrent of spending in today's provincial budget -- including $100 million in new cash to municipalities for affordable housing -- which is raising serious concerns about its fiscal restraint and ability to plan for the long term. Government sources peg the fiscal blueprint at $33 billion, which would be a nearly 30 per cent increase in forecast budget expenditure in just two years, numbers that spending watchdogs and the opposition insist aren't sustainable. Yet, the fallout from the province's petro-fuelled economic growth is forcing the government to break the bank. It's believed $18 billion will be invested over three years in the province's capital plan to deal with what Premier Ed Stelmach has labelled "the price of prosperity."
Lyle Oberg said on the eve of delivering his first budget the Tories have little choice but to address the overwhelming needs across the province. "We need a lot of things in Alberta right now . . .We will be spending what needs to be spent," Oberg said in Edmonton.

"It's a balance in a growing economy with a potential cloud on the horizon of lowering or moderating oil and gas prices," Oberg said. Oberg noted earlier in the day in Calgary -- during a stop to buy a pair of Alberta-made size 11D, 10-inch black cowhide boots he'll wear when delivering the budget -- there will be "some emphasis on savings," as well as tax cuts.
With the overall splurge, it's believed the projected surplus will total about $2 billion, which would be a relatively puny estimate compared to recent years.

The expected spending binge also is worrying business groups and tax watchdogs, who had expected tighter purse strings under a new regime. "If they do go to $33 billion, it will be extremely disappointing . . . It's pretty clear the government has a sustainability problem," said Scott Hennig, Alberta director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "It says something when a Conservative government spends more than the opposition Liberals would." But the financial reality facing the Tory government is long and expensive wish lists for new schools, hospitals, transit and community facilities. Calgary school boards are looking for almost $600 million for maintenance costs and school upgrades, including $466 million for the Calgary Board of Education and $115 million for the Calgary Catholic School District.

There is also a long list of new schools for both boards. The CBE's capital plan calls for $300 million to be spent on 19 new schools over the next three years, but only three of them have been promised money. The Catholic board wants 12 new schools to be built, but only two of those have received funding. Education Minister Ron Liepert hinted Wednesday in the legislature the government may pursue controversial public-private partnerships to build new schools. On the post-secondary side, SAIT is seeking $353 million for a new trades and technology complex, while the University of Calgary wants $283 million for the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy. Mount Royal College is looking for $55 million for a new library.

The City of Calgary hopes Stelmach will live up to his commitment to provide $1.4 billion annually to municipalities -- ramped up over three to four years -- and extending over a period of 10 years. Opposition parties said the former Klein government -- which admitted it didn't have a plan for Alberta's phenomenal growth -- is to blame for the infrastructure backlog now crippling the province. "This is not the price of prosperity. This is the price of failing to plan," charged Liberal Leader Kevin Taft. "This is the price of bad management and there's no excuse for it."

jfekete@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

New levy may add $1,900 to uptown living
Colette DerworizCalgary Herald Thursday, April 19, 2007

A civic committee has given the nod to a series of redevelopment levies to help pay for recreation facilities, pathways and sidewalks in and around downtown Calgary. The levies, which still have to be approved by council Monday, could add between $1,500 and $1,900 to every home built downtown and in the Beltline. While most committee members were in favour of the levies as a way to help pay for much-needed amenities, some aldermen said they're concerned about the additional cost to homebuyers. "I don't think that we can just keep coming up with new levies," said Ald. Madeleine King, whose Ward 8 includes both the downtown and the Beltline. "It will make the centre city a bit more expensive, and that can't be a good thing. "We're already fighting with affordability, and the centre city plays a very important role in providing affordable housing."

But developers said most homebuyers would expect to pay their fair share toward improving the community as they move into the city's inner core. "To create a community in which people want to live, those residents need to pay for the services that are lacking," said Paul Battistella, a Calgary developer who is also a representative with the Calgary Region Home Builders Association. Battistella said, however, there's a concern among developers that the current residents are already dealing with a shortfall of recreation centres, libraries and parks. Ward 7 Ald. Druh Farrell addressed those concerns by getting an amendment passed at committee. "I believe this levy is necessary," she said.

However, she said there needs to be a commitment by the city to deal with the lack of amenities downtown and in the Beltline. Farrell suggested an annual report be prepared to update city council on how the money being collected would be spent that also highlights the city's commitment to the improvements. "This will remind council, as the money comes in, we have a commitment to spend it rather than just letting it accrue in a dusty account," she said. The levies range between $535 per front metre (of development along the street) for alternative transportation networks such as pedestrian overpasses, sidewalks and bike paths, to $1,130 per front metre for recreation facilities. A levy of $222 per front metre for parks and another one costing $260 per front metre for the 13th Avenue Greenway were rejected by the committee. There's about 20,000 metres of developable frontage in the centre city, although homeowners would be exempted if they decide to rebuild on their property.

cderworiz@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

04-21-2007, 07:17 PM

Alberta energy revenue crashing
Tories expect
$6.5B less in ’09 budget
SHAUN POLCZER CALGARY HERALD
For oil-rich Albertans in the midst of an economic boom, this week’s budget presented the sobering prospect that falling resource revenues could put an end to the province’s free-spending ways.
According to budget projections, oil and natural gas revenues are expected to be nearly cut in half within two years, dropping to $7.8 billion in 2009-10 after peaking at $14.35 billion in 2005-06.
The $6.5-billion drop in petrodollars has prompted questions about whether Alberta has hit its budget peak, with fewer resources available for the future.
“We have plateaued for a short time,” Finance Minister Lyle Oberg said Friday in Calgary.
“We have money, yes, but looking five, 10, 15 years out, we have to decide if that money is going to be there.”
In his budget address Thursday, Oberg referred to “a tempering” of the province’s outlook for oil and gas.
He blamed the drop on a combination of lower conventional production, falling commodity prices and lower land sales.
“We have the most volatile energy stream of any government in North America. Fluctuating commodity markets and other global factors can’t be controlled by any government,” Oberg said in his address.
The forecast decline comes as conventional petroleum supplies dwindle, placing greater emphasis on Alberta’s massive oilsands resource.
The province is reviewing all royalties this year to ensure Albertans get their fair share of the energy pie. But earlier this week, an internal government report estimated “future oilsands royalties will be in the order of $1.2 billion when production reaches three million barrels per day in 2020, essentially the same as the current value for 2004-05.”
Local observers have warned that runaway spending threatens to undermine the province’s prosperity. The Calgary Chamber of Commerce said the Stelmach government failed to keep spending increases in line with inflation and population growth.
In addition, the province didn’t address what the chamber called a “problematic reliance” on oil money.
“Last year, the Alberta government recorded unprecedented revenues,” said chamber chairman Hal Walker.
“This year, they committed most of that money to out-of-control spending, while forecasting a rapid decline in non-renewable resource revenues. This budget puts the province on a road that risks the return to deficit and debt.”
David Taras, a political analyst at the University of Calgary, said Stelmach — like his predecessor Ralph Klein — has no vision for managing the province’s enormous wealth.
The government should be stashing more cash into the Heritage Fund and other savings accounts because resource revenues are likely to decline sharply in future years.
“It’s a big mistake not to plan for the future,” Taras said. “We’re entering a different economic era.”
Despite steep spending increases, Oberg insisted there’s no chance of falling into a deficit position. He noted Alberta has more than $7 billion stashed away in its rainy day account, aside from the Heritage Fund.
“We’ve got a substantial amount of dollars in the sustainability fund to cover that,” he said in an interview. “I hope it doesn’t happen, but we’d be foolish not to listen to what other people are saying.”
Alberta is still in an enviable position compared with other provinces. This year’s budget projects royalties will pump $10.3 billion into provincial coffers, an amount larger than the entire budgets of Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.
There’s also the question of whether the province is underestimating its energy wealth, a chronic issue during the Klein era.
Budget estimates are based on oil averaging $58 US a barrel in 2007-08, falling to $52.50 two years later.
Although gas prices are expected to rise to $6.75 Cdn per gigajoule from $5.95 this year, they’re forecast to drop to $6.25 by decade’s end.
The forecasts are based on an average of multiple industry sources. But the province’s numbers are significantly lower than figures oil companies use to base their own spending.
Calgary-based FirstEnergy Capital Corp. sees oil averaging $66 in 2007 before falling to $62 in 2009. Likewise, FirstEnergy’s natural gas forecast is higher, averaging $8.40 Cdn. this year, before climbing to $8.65 in 2008.
Commodities analyst Martin King agreed the numbers are among the most bullish in the industry, but justified in light of market fundamentals.
Even so, King said the province is right to take a more conservative view based on volatile markets. “It’s damn near impossible to forecast price,” he said.
Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier argued the province is deliberately underestimating revenues, depriving municipalities of muchneeded funds.
“Is there a bit of a slowing down? Yes. Is it going to be dramatic in the fact that it’s going to stop? Absolutely not,” Bronconnier told reporters Friday. “Alberta will still lead the country in terms of economic growth.”
The big money-gusher for Albertans is natural gas, which accounts for about two-thirds of the province’s non-renewable resource revenue — or more than conventional oil and oilsands royalties combined.
Every 10-cent increase in gas prices adds $98 million to provincial coffers, while a $1 change in oil prices is worth $139 million to Albertans.
Frank Atkins, an energy economist at the University of Calgary, said the bottom line doesn’t add up.
Based on futures markets, he’s expecting oil to top out over $60 for the foreseeable future and suggested natural gas is will rebound back above $8.
Low-ball revenue estimates are “kind of suspicious to me,” he said.
“It all looks like very poor planning, or there’s a political element we don’t understand.”

Broken budget promise stalls LRT plans: mayor
COLETTE DERWORIZ
CALGARY HERALD
Mayor Dave Bronconnier launched another attack on the province Friday, suggesting Calgary won’t be able to build the $520-million west leg of the LRT because the budget didn’t fully deliver on a promise made by Premier Ed Stelmach.
At a news conference, Bronconnier said Stelmach failed to live up to his pledge and return the equivalent of the education portion of the property tax to municipalities.
“Yesterday’s budget did not meet that commitment,” he told reporters Friday.
“Yesterday’s budget constitutes a half-kept promise. Today, I am urging Premier Stelmach, on behalf of Calgarians, to deliver on all of his promises.”
When asked in Edmonton about the comments, Stelmach said he had a good working relationship with Bronconnier.
“He was just bringing forward some points,” he said
Stelmach said Alberta looks after municipalities better than any other province, with a “six-fold increase” in funding in the past few years.
“So I think there may be a few details to work out, but we’re committed to the new $1.4 billion and we’re continuing to work toward that,” he said. “At least municipalities can plan, because the funding is stable and predictable.”
But Bronconnier said it’ll be difficult to pay for major infrastructure projects without a full commitment.
“Municipalities can’t go out to finance money to build major legs or extensions of the LRT, major public works, on one-year commitments,” he said, suggesting the city won’t be able to build the west leg of the LRT system and a number of key road projects.
Earlier this year, when the city was hosting open houses on the west leg of the LRT, Bronconnier was confident much of the $520 million would come from the promised funding, allowing the project to be complete by 2011.
The provincial funding for municipalities will be phased in, beginning with $400 million in 2007-08, $500 million in 2008-09, $600 million in 200910 and $1.4 billion in 2010-11.
Bronconnier acknowledged the $400 million in 2007 was part of the premier’s promise to municipalities.
“But there is a catch: there’s strings, and a lot of them,” he said. “Half of the money, while labelled municipal, is actually to deal with areas of provincial responsibility. Half.”
About $200 million of the funding in 2007 is targeted at core infrastructure, such as roads, transit and sewer.
But the government also said $100 million for affordable housing will come out of the municipal funding and another $100 million will be used for water and shared capital projects involving multiple municipalities.
Bronconnier said that means municipalities are left to share $200 million in 2007, with about a third — or $60 million — likely to come to Calgary.
“Well, $60 million and $125 million are two different numbers,” he said.
However, Finance Minister Lyle Oberg said there’s another $600 million in municipal infrastructure funding across the province that is untargeted, in addition to the $400 million for municipalities,
“We have to ensure our infrastructure is looked after, as well. We require a partnership,” he said.
Transit union makes last-ditch offer
Mayor worries strike may be ‘in the cards’
COLETTE DERWORIZ
CALGARY HERALD
In a last-ditch effort to avoid a transit strike, city council will consider the union’s latest offer Monday during a closed-door meeting.
Talks between the Amalgamated Transit Union and the city broke off Thursday night after city officials declined to negotiate a counterproposal by the union.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier said he’ll take the union’s last offer to city council Monday, though he’s unsure whether politicians can avoid a strike.
“I believe that city council wants to make sure that transit service is on the road,” he said, “but they don’t want to break the piggy bank in order to get there.
“We’ve tried to avoid (a strike) and we’ve tried to have a really positive relationship with the transit union . . . but if a union leader is convinced that he is going out on strike, regardless of how much money is really on the table, maybe that’s what’s in the cards.”
Union president Mike Mahar said he’d rather not have a transit strike.
“If they can address our key issues that are outstanding, I can prevent even having to have a strike vote,” he said.
Mahar, who said he believes city council could address some of those issues, said he’s scheduled a special meeting with the union’s 2,400 members Tuesday to discuss the union’s options, including whether to hold a strike vote.
The earliest a strike vote could be held is May 1.
Mediated talks broke off last week, and the union applied Tuesday to the labour board to hold a strike vote, triggering a two-week cooling-off period.
Should the membership approve going on strike, the union must give 72 hours’ notice before members walk off the job.
The labour dispute between the city and its transit workers heated up about a month ago when the union declared its members wouldn’t work overtime or take additional shifts after 10 months of failed negotiations with the city.
Wages are one of the main issues. The union is looking for 15 per cent over 30 months, while the city initially proposed 10 per cent over 36 months. The city’s latest offer was 10.5 per cent over 36 months, according to the union.
Other issues include concerns about using bigger buses on shuttle routes and working conditions.
The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 583, which represents 1,600 drivers and train operators, as well as mechanics, clerks and other staff, has been without a contract since June 2006.

Hefty house prices ripple beyond Calgary
Market red-hot in surrounding
centres
MARIO TONEGUZZI
CALGARY HERALD
Potential homebuyers in Calgary looking for some relief in escalating average house prices are in for a rude awakening if they think houses are much cheaper in smaller centres just outside the city.
In places like Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, and the Municipal Districts of Foothills and Rocky View, the average sale prices of residential properties in the the first quarter of the year continue to balloon.
For example, 118 properties sold in Rocky View in the first three months of this year for an average of $955,920 and 88 sold in Foothills for $677,304.
In Cochrane, the average sale price is $451,144 followed by Okotoks ($413,016) and Airdrie ($360,204). Chestermere has also seen prices skyrocket to an average of $484,509.
What is happening outside the city mirrors a provincewide trend as demand for housing continues to push average house prices upwards.
“They’re going up throughout Alberta, really,” said Lai Sing Louie, senior market analyst for the Prairies and Territories region for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. in Calgary. “If I could show you the average housing prices throughout all the centres in Alberta, you would see that they’re all going up.
“As much as it is a Calgary story, it’s an Alberta story too in that a lot of people have come to Alberta. Employment opportunities are good here. Wages are rising and that creates a demand for housing and as that happens with people buying houses, they start pushing prices up. That’s something we’ve felt right throughout the entire province.”
Louie said some areas outside the city are less expensive than in Calgary and if people don’t mind commuting they offer another alternative for homeowners.
“You can get a little more house out there than if you paid the same amount and stayed in the city,” he said.
In recent years, the bedroom community of Okotoks has been a perfect example of rising average house prices. The average residential sale price in the town has climbed from $239,968 in the first quarter of 2005 to $413,016 in the first quarter of this year.
Roberta Gullacher, a realtor with Re/ Max in Okotoks, said the resale market remains good in the community just south of Calgary.
“We’re steady out here. We’re growing like a weed. Growing. Growing,” said Gullacher.
“They say about 50 per cent of our population commutes but I would say it’s higher. . . . A lot of people are commuting. A lot of people are coming from Calgary. I find a lot of people coming from say a Sherwood Park or somewhere outside of Toronto (that have moved out here to work) they tend to look at the outlying areas because they’re used to commuting into the city already and they’re used to the small town atmosphere.”
Ron Stanners, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board, said in some places outside the city average sale prices for homes are lower than in the city “but they’re still going up.”
“Even some smaller communities like Irricana, prices have gone up dramatically,” said Stanners.
In the first three months of this year, for example, in Irricana 10 residential properties sold for an average of $242,500. Last year in the first quarter, the average was $175,326 and in 2005 it was $121,393

atlas_inc

04-23-2007, 07:38 PM

City tries to take building for downtown fire hall
JOEL KOM CALGARY HERALD Monday, April 23, 2003

The city is trying to take over a small apartment building on a busy corner downtown for a fire hall, but the building’s owner and some area residents say the move is really being done to satisfy a developer. The move to expropriate the building at the corner of 4th Avenue and 8th Street S.W. began last week, when the city served public notice it wanted to take control of the property. That would give the city ownership of a chunk of land in Eau Claire, where it wants to build a new fire hall — and an 88-unit affordable housing project. The latter project was suggested by La Caille Group, a developer with several downtown properties.

James Robertson, the city’s manager of land servicing and housing, said the city “is in negotiations” with the building’s owner, Dr. Leo Wong, and intends to reach a settlement for the land despite the expropriation bid. But Wong said the only talks he’s had with the city came in the form of a letter sent to him in November proposing a $530,000 buyout. That figure is below the last market-value assessment, he said, which put it around $570,000. The only reason he knew about the potential expropriation was from reading the newspaper, he said. “I read that the city’s negotiating with us, but my only contact with the city was a woman phoning me warning me about an article in the Herald (two months ago),” he said Friday.

Wong, however, said he was willing to sell. “Under the circumstances, I don’t think we have any choice, do we?” he said. “To be honest with you, I don’t know why the city is acquiring land for La Caille, which is what this is. The city’s using the fire hall as an excuse to expropriate the land.” The plan was launched after La Caille pitched the affordable housing project to the city about six months ago. The project would be built with both private and public cash, and would be publicly owned. The deal could also involve La Caille acquiring part of the 4th Avenue property and land on 1st Avenue S.W., where 72 units of affordable housing now sit. Robertson said those units need significant and costly renovations. As for using the fire hall as an excuse, he said that location had already been explored for exactly that purpose. La Caille management couldn’t be reached for comment.

Greg Wilkes, the fire department’s manager of infrastructure services, said the downtown needs two new halls to alleviate the pressure of almost 7,000 calls annually handled by the two existing stations in the core. Some area residents are scratching their heads over the hall’s proposed location, saying the downtown traffic and one-way street maze would stall any fire response. “They obviously haven’t driven down 4th Avenue around 5:30 p.m. because you can’t,” said Eau Claire resident Doug Crapo. “It’s gridlock.” Wilkes said the city would actually turn the section of 8th Street between 4th and 5th Avenues from a one-way street into a two-way. What’s more, he added, the traffic lights can be controlled by the fire department to let outgoing trucks get to an emergency.

Ald. Madeleine King, whose ward includes the building, said she didn’t know enough about the project to comment on the city’s intentions. But she noted La Caille was the only developer she knew of that responded to Bronconnier’s challenge for the private sector to build affordable housing.

C Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

05-05-2007, 05:00 PM

Canmore developer to head East Village project
KATHY McCORMICK CALGARY HERALD Saturday, May 5, 2007

Chris Ollenberger has resigned as president of Three Sisters Mountain Village in Canmore to head up the reconstruction of the new The Rivers neighbourhood near City Hall. Ollenberger will be the founding president of the Calgary Municipal Land Corp., a newlyformed private company owned by the city with the mandate to look after the social, cultural, economic and environmental development of the inner-city location that includes East Village.“It’s the chance of a lifetime and a wicked opportunity for me,” says Ollenberger, who starts in his new position June 1.

The Rivers, as the whole area will be known, includes East Village — the land that’s bounded by the Bow River on the north, the Elbow River and Fort Calgary on the east, railway tracks and 9th Avenue S.E. on the south, and City Hall to the west. It will also include part of Victoria Park to 1st Street S.E. and Stampede Park. Aborrowing bylaw of $135 million was recently passed by city council, paving the way for the redevelopment of the lands, which Ollenberger says will be his first priority. “I’ll be working on the infrastructure needs for the area, getting estimates and reviewing engineer’s drawings, and the like,” he says. “Our mandate is to make the area attractive for development to come in, and we want to be in the ground this fall with infrastructure.”

The area has been virtually untouched for some three decades while remediation of the lands was reviewed and a previous plan for the area fell through. Parts of the East Village lands need to be raised above the flood plain, while other infrastructure either needs to be upgraded, replaced, or built to allow for more intensification. The city website describes the formation of the CMLCas a necessary step. “The city decided local infrastructure limitations were so significant that substantial public intervention was necessary to prepare the lands for both public redevelopment and private redevelopment,” it says.

As much as 4.3 million square feet of land is available for redevelopment in The Rivers, with about one-third of The Rivers consisting of land within East Village. Of that, the city owns about half. The area will include a multitude of multi-family sites as well as a new police headquarters, a new public library, an urban campus and parks. “The Calgary Municipal Land Corp. is a private company owned by the city, with a board of eight people at the top,” says Ollenberger.

He is one of the board members, as is Mayor Dave Bronconnier, the only elected official on it. “My experience with sustainable development that I headed up in Three Sisters Mountain Village, and my enthusiasm, will help with the new position,” says Ollenberger. Three Sisters has won many awards and accolades over the time Ollenberger has been involved, including innovative green building practices and unique initiatives in environmental stewardship.

The latest accolade — an environmental achievement award — was given to Stewart Creek Golf and Country Club superintendent Sean Kjemhus recently by the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association for wildlife habitat protection and water management in Three Sisters. Three Sisters Mountain Village has not yet announced a successor to Ollenberger, who will continue at the company until May 25.

atlas_inc

05-05-2007, 05:01 PM

We say we don’t want sprawl, but...
Roads are primary force behind problem
JIM DEWALD and BEV SANDALACK FOR THE CALGARY HERALD
Saturday, May 5, 2007

In March, Canada West Foundation released a survey of citizens living in major cities west of, and including Toronto. What they found was that Calgarians are more concerned about urban sprawl than the citizens of all other cities surveyed (74 per cent of Calgarians versus 66 per cent of Torontonians and 63 per cent of Vancouverites). Interesting. One month later, Canada West Foundation shared further survey results, asking respondents what they would see as the top priorities for their city.

Again, there was a distinct difference between the views of Calgarians and Canada’s larger municipalities. Seventy-six per cent of Calgarians felt that building and maintaining a road system was a very high or high priority, making it number two on Calgary’s overall list of priorities, again far outstripping the responses from Toronto and Vancouver. Large metropolitan regions like Vancouver and Toronto are far more concerned about social and environmental issues, while the responses from Calgarians were more similar to smaller centres like Saskatoon, who worry most about how far and fast they can drive.

Calgarians seem to want to be a big city with the urbanity and qualities that go along with it, but the mindset is obviously still more like a small centre, and one that serves and promotes sprawl. Why do we still not understand that roads are the primary driver of sprawl? Simply put, extending road networks as the framework for urban development is a guaranteed path to sprawl. The relationship is direct and significant, and this is not a chickens and eggs paradox — roads create sprawl, period. Unfortunately, to many, roads look like a quick fix for our traffic problems.

In reality, research has found that extending road networks does little more than promote more travel. The key measure here is vehicle trips travelled per capita, which increases every time a travel lane is added, an interchange is built, or a freeway is extended. Over the medium to long term, congestion always goes up with road improvements, not the other way around. This truth has been realized in both Toronto and Vancouver.

Toronto’s big experiment was the 407 Expressway. The logic seemed sound — make commuters pay a toll to travel faster, and they will take trips away from the swelling 401. The results: after less than a decade in operation, the 407 is operating at full capacity with 360,000 daily trips (three times what we see on most of the Deerfoot), and the 401 has required two major upgrades and lane additions to cope with additional traffic.

Roads induce travel — this fact that has been proven consistently. In Vancouver, city officials made a conscious decision years ago to stop building new roads into the downtown area. The result has been an explosion of residential development near downtown, and dispersion of employment to suburban regions. While perhaps not completely intuitive, this has resulted in fewer and shorter trips. Even with their relatively under-developed public transit system, Vancouver is the only major city in Canada where average daily commute time has gone down, not up, between 1992 and 2005 (see graph). A similar response has happened in Calgary. The City of Calgary’s 2005 transportation plan update reported that even though no new roads have been built into our downtown for decades, employment growth and downtown building have continued, supported by increased use of transit, walking, biking, or relocating (i.e. people moving to downtown housing).

This is a healthier and far more sustainable way to grow a city than just continuing to build out with low density suburbs. Roads do not solve traffic problems, they create them. The evidence is irrefutable. Calgary, it is time to get out of our small town thinking and realize that great cities have a different infrastructure framework than small and medium sized cities.

What is the legacy we want to leave for our children and for future Calgarians, and how can we create the best possible example given our relative wealth and privilege? Ironically, while our political cycle of triannual elections causes elected officials to focus on short-term objectives, developers have a longer term, albeit frustrated, outlook. In April, city council’s priorities included tossing homeless people out to the snowy streets so that the Trans-Canada Highway improvements could be finished ahead of the next election. Meanwhile, the Urban Land Institute (the developer lobby group in the U.S.), released a report calling for North American cities to abandon the single-use, low density sprawl patterns of growth in favour of higher density, mixed use patterns.

atlas_inc

05-16-2007, 04:14 PM

This sounds similar to what some Calgary developers pulled on purchasers here (Union Square, Gateway Midtown).

Vancouver developer hit with cease marketing order

(CBC) - The Vancouver developer being sued for cancelling pre-sale agreements at the Riverbend housing development in Coquitlam has been ordered to stop selling units at the project. The province's Superintendent of Real Estate issued a cease marketing order Monday against CB Developments, under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act. In his decision, W. Alan Clark said there is a "substantial likelihood" the company planned to remarket the properties to new potential purchaser "without providing accurate disclosure."

Clark said the fact that lawsuits have been filed against CB could affect the value and price of the units, and could influence the decision of would-be purchasers. Even if the developer did re-sell the units to new buyers, they would likely end up tied up in litigation and might not receive title, Clark said, so he has suspended the company's right to sell them.

The company has returned deposits to more than 30 would-be buyers, and told them their purchase agreements have been cancelled. Some of them had put their money down up to two years ago. CB said rising construction costs and increased land values meant it had to resell the units at a higher price, and so it was breaking their contracts. Several of the buyers are taking the company to court. B.C. Finance Minister Carole Taylor said the superintendent's action Monday should give the buyers some relief. "They will at least know that there will be no reselling of their home until various issues under the act are followed, so it gives everyone breathing room, a chance to see exactly what the situation is, exactly what the contracts say," she said

atlas_inc

05-29-2007, 05:32 PM

Kahanoff Centre expansion benefits non-profit groups
David ParkerCalgary Herald Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Once upon a time, non-profits could work through board members and other supporters to find free office space. I still get the odd call asking if I know of any landlords or larger tenants who might have some extra space -- forget it. Real estate is so tight that it seems every square inch of the downtown core is used up. Thank goodness The Kahanoff Foundation bought the 11-storey building on the corner of 12th Avenue and Centre Street in 2003 and made its 100,000 square feet available as a great resource for organizations. But the market has certainly shifted since then, and tonight Kahanoff vice-president Cynthia Moore will share plans with the non-profit community for an exciting expansion that will add another 200,000 square feet of office and meeting space at below market rates. Currently 20 different organizations make use of the Kahanoff Centre including Calgary United Way, its biggest tenant that occupies three floors.

The Kahanoff Foundation has purchased the remainder of the block apart from the Esso station on 1st Street S.E. and intends to initially develop the 12th Avenue portion that includes the Flagworks building, which has the potential to become a performing arts space. Jim Ebbles and his team at Kasian Architecture have designed a proposed 17-storey tower with lots of underground parking and 11,500- square-foot floor plates that will be joined to the Centre with a dramatic eight-storey glass atrium. It will provide service retail on the ground floor along with a large, flexible gathering space for special events with doors pivoting out into a big plaza area that will carry through to 13th Avenue -- designated as a 'green' street in the area plan.

The new building will also have many 'green' features including green roofs on all flat surfaces and the wide use of indigenous plants over ample area of landscaping. The two buildings are to be bridged at the second floor level allowing for an expansion of conference facilities that will be available for all non-profits. They will be equipped with the most modern of audio-visual equipment, a servery and spacious pre-function areas. The primarily glass-faced new tower will raise the level of non-profit accommodation in the city and help this area of Victoria Park to be a livelier and safer area. For the new tenants, it offers affordable rents in a location close to downtown and many of their board members and supporters, and the opportunity to reside in an environment with a high level of synergy that can only help productivity.

It should also help non-profits give their employees a better working space with all of the bells and whistles of a high-class downtown office tower. I admire these staffers who may work for less money than they could earn elsewhere for the satisfaction of helping worthy causes, so being in a new building a few blocks from shopping, restaurants and the LRT is well deserved. Moore says Kahanoff is also looking into the possibility of including day care and fitness facilities in the new space. Armelle Kilpatrick, general manager of Westcorp Properties, handles the leasing of the Kahanoff Centre, a model created in Calgary that is drawing attention from many other cities. It provides an unprecedented opportunity for interaction and collaboration on all aspects of non-profit operation, training, development, value and growth. And affordable rents that are so hard to find in this city.

David Parker appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. He can be reached at 830-4622 or e-mail info@davidparker.ca

atlas_inc

06-03-2007, 07:14 PM

Yesterday & Today
Architects ask where the Beltline area -- and downtown -- is going
Kathy McCormickCalgary Herald Saturday, June 02, 2007

CREDIT: Dean Bicknell, Calgary Herald
Rob Taylor, president of the Beltline Communities of Connaught and Victoria, near the Vintage Chophouse.

The key to good design in older Calgary neighbourhoods is creating architecture that will speak of today, yet complement the heritage buildings of yesterday, said architects at the Beltline Urban Forum. Unfortunately, Calgary may not be doing all that it should to ensure that is happening, they said. "Calgary is so dynamic and so much is going on that it makes me dizzy," said award-winning Toronto architect Bruce Kuwabara. "On a tour of the Beltline, three out of four corners of one intersection were under construction, but where is it all going? You can't build a city out of just two-storey townhouses and 28-storey towers."

The Beltline encompasses the historic inner-city communities of Connaught and Victoria Park. As part of the forum, Kuwabara joined experts like Eben Smith, vice-president with Smith and Smith Associates in Chicago, and Robert Lemon of Robert Lemon Architecture, who is also chairman of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, in discussing the area. The impetus behind the forum -- the first public event of this kind for the Beltline --was the controversy over the former Mount Royal Block, said Rob Taylor, president of the Beltline Communities of Victoria and Connaught. The block was located on the south side of the 800 block of 17th Avenue S.W. The initial proposal in 2005 called for the removal of some 93-year-old buildings to make way for a modern, glass structure that would include Shoppers Drug Mart.

But heated opposition resulted in Tonko Realty Advisors revising the plans to create an Edwardian-style building instead. "We tried to find the most publicly accessible, hot-button issue to discuss, and the experience with the Mount Royal Block was it," said Taylor. "The brick facade was a kickoff for the discussion on the alternatives. We wanted to show other things that would work. "We've also observed that higher density doesn't need to be just highrises. There are other alternatives such as zero-lot-line cube buildings with interior courtyards. "We want integrated eclecticism. We have 11 decades of history and we want to open up and encourage those kinds of alternatives for the future."

The Beltline Urban Forum was critical of the area's propensity for tower developments that are trying to be all things -- with heritage-style bases and modern, glass towers above them. "It appears as if the base of all the new condos is brick," said Smith. "It's almost like it's being forced on new buildings to give it an historic nature, but it's not the right way. There are other ways to achieve those goals and some buildings are not that successful." The Beltline is bounded by 17th Avenue on the south, the CP Rail tracks to the north, the Elbow River to the east and 14th Street on the west.

While the city does not have any specific requirements in its bylaws to make developers construct a heritage podium to base new buildings in the inner city, "we are told categorically what direction they would like to see," said Peter Burgener, principal of BKDI Architects. The company is working with many of the condo projects in the Beltline area, with the trend among developers to use brick or stone at street level to mimic the area's heritage buildings. "They don't specifically prescribe brick, but they strongly suggest 'warm' podiums of something like stone," said Taylor. "It encourages replication, but I can see why people in the area like it. It's an easily-accessible way to provide a reasonable standard of streetscape." The key to good design is to complement the historic nature of the area, not imitate it, said Lemon of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation.

By copying the architecture of yesterday, " it may look attractive, but it diminishes the value of the authentic buildings sitting around it," he said.
New buildings "should be products of their own time" in order to create a record of today's architecture for generations to come, said Lemon. But that doesn't mean a stark, modern building needs to sit on its own, dwarfing the historic building next door, said all three architects. "You need a balance," said Lemon. "The buildings should be distinguishable, but compatible with its heritage neighbours. It should not become a beauty contest, but height, scale, rhythm and orientation are all important."
Kuwabara agreed: "Texture matters, materials matter and quality of workmanship matters."

Specific things such as the proportions or outline of the new building make it compatible with older neighbourhoods, but "specific things (also) make it distinguishable, and that still anchors it and creates a focal point," said Lemon. The Gardiner Museum in Toronto, which underwent a massive, $20-million expansion by KPMB Architects, is one example of how to do it right, said Kuwabara, who is part of the firm. The award-winning, modern building "is between two heritage buildings, yet it's the ultimate complement to them," he said. "That pertains to the Beltline." But the Beltline is unique in some respects, said Lemon.

Unlike historic neighbourhoods in other cities where the whole area is vintage, the older architecture in the Beltline is "dispersed" within the community, he said. "The context of the neighbourhood is not driven by the consistency of the buildings and there are a lot of gaps in-between," he said. The area has been the focus of several ambitious proposals, including the Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan, which was approved by city council last year. It is the result of two other visions for the area -- the Beltline Initiative: Rediscovering the Centre, and the Blueprint to the Beltline, which both included input from area residents. The amalgamation of Connaught and Victoria Park into the Beltline, as well as area business revitalization zones, was undertaken with the aim of increasing its density -- a long-time objective for the entire inner city. That, in turn, will "increase opportunities in the area and engender a lot of variety" in the community, said Taylor.

The Beltline Area Development Plan encourages a diversity of building types and styles, as well as a built-form that is an "expression of its time," and "of the highest urban design and architectural quality." The report states the city is looking for "diversity on building sites, massing, heights, materials, setback, site coverage, orientation and overall design that complements and is in context with surrounding development." The streetscape "should be more valuable than any one building, but one building can make the difference," said Kuwabara. He praised the arriVa condo tower now under construction by Torode Residential on the far east side of the Beltline as "striking, with a lot of identity," and a building that "creates a flagship and anchor for the area."

Modern and distinctive, it, too, has "been shackled into the red brick syndrome," he said, noting the western-flavoured base of the tower doesn't fit with the rest of the building. Kuwabara also praised two buildings on the northwest corner of 2nd Street and 11th Avenue S.W. as good examples of melding old with new. The corner building, which is anchored by Vintage Chophouse and Tavern, was originally a four-storey warehouse, but Homburg added four storeys, creating a new look that still worked with the old, then built another building immediately west that has many of the same design elements. "They are simple buildings, but powerful, reflecting on the vintage look and history of the area, and they should have an effect on the whole corridor," he said.

Some of the other condo tower developments now underway or proposed for the Beltline area besides arriVa include: Stella, Nova and Luna towers, Centuria on the Park, Union Square, Colours by Battistella, Nuera, Keynote, Gateway Midtown, Gateway Beltline, Xenex, and Renoir Suites.
Several office buildings and mixed-use and/or commercial buildings are also proposed or currently under construction. Another way to incorporate the historic nature of the neighbourhood is through the public realm, said Smith of Smith and Smith Associates in Chicago. "You can take elements of the history of the area and translate that into the public spaces or as public art," he said. "It's a key anchoring factor. I'm not seeing much public art, and that's something you definitely need to give consideration to."

More than 150 people attended Beltline Urban Forum, which Taylor said will be duplicated in the future. City staff as well as Ald. Madeleine King were in attendance. Kuwabara praised the citizens for their "passion and interest in building the city," comparing their involvement to Denver, Col., and he urged everyone to continue dialogue on design to create the kind of city they want in future. "The buildings in a city are like a family," he said. "They are not all the same, but there must be a synergy, harmony and connectiveness."

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

06-12-2007, 06:27 PM

Critical mass
Calgarians say their city too big for its own good

By TODD SAELHOF AND PABLO FERNANDEZ, SUN MEDIA

There are too many Calgarians and the quality of life in the city is suffering, says a survey released today.

And those poll results can be blamed on a lack of funding from the province, says the city's mayor.

Dave Bronconnier said yesterday that traffic tie-ups, lack of schools, rising unemployment and a shortage of housing are the reason the Canada West Foundation reports the majority of Calgarians say there are too many citizens, and many think the quality of life has deteriorated in the last five years.

"It's no surprise to me the frustration Calgarians find themselves in -- I feel it as a commuter, as a motorist, as a parent and as a person who lives here," Bronconnier said.

"This is why we've been pressuring the provincial government to keep its commitment to reinvest back in infrastructure."

The survey, which polled people in Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Toronto, reports 51.1% of Calgarians think there are too many people here.

Calgarians also think their quality of life is worse now than in 2002 and don't expect it to improve anytime soon.

The survey found 45.3% of Calgarians believe there has been a downturn in the quality of life, while 36.1% think things will only get worse -- the highest rate of dissatisfaction in the country.

And although 51.1% of Calgarians also say local government is doing a good job in dealing with the growth, that was the lowest level of satisfaction among all the cities in the Looking West 2007 survey.

Residents happiest with how their local government is dealing with growth live in Regina, where the level of satisfaction was 75.2%.

Although 86.1% of Calgarians rate their quality of life as good or very good, that is the second lowest rating, with Toronto ranking lowest, at 81.1% and Saskatoon ranking highest at 89.2%.

"Whether it's this survey or many other surveys that have come forward in the last little while, Calgarians are saying 'Get after the infrastructure, don't let up, reinvest back to make sure my quality of life and that of my family is not deteriorating," Bronconnier said. "I've heard the message loud and clear -- I just hope the politicians in Edmonton hear the same message."

Ward 9 Ald. Joe Ceci said the numbers come as no surprise.

"We are swelling in population, and it's not necessarily newcomers alone, though, who are driving the need for some projects, for example, new commercial towers," Ceci said.

"Certainly you don't have to go very far down any road in this city to see another project going in the ground.

"All of that has a big impact on ease of travel around the city, but I don't know of any effective measure of putting the unwelcome mat out for people -- it's not practical and it's not neighbourly."

TOPS IN MISERY

Percentage of population who feel local government does a good job of managing growth:

1. Regina -- 75.2 %

2. Saskatoon -- 73.5 %

3. Winnipeg -- 55.2 %

4. Edmonton -- 54 %

5. Toronto -- 52.8 %

6. Vancouver -- 51.6 %

7. Calgary -- 51.1 %

Percentage who agree there are too many people living in the city:

1. Calgary -- 51.1%

2. Toronto -- 46.2%

3. Vancouver -- 43.8%

4. Edmonton -- 38%

5. Saskatoon -- 12.8 %

6. Winnipeg -- 10.6 %

7. Regina -- 7.2 %

Percentage who feel quality of life has deteriorated in the last five years:

1. Calgary -- 45.3 %

2. (tie) Vancouver, Toronto -- 36 %

4. Edmonton -- 28 %

5. Winnipeg -- 19 %

6. Saskatoon -- 14.6 %

7. Regina -- 11.2 %

atlas_inc

06-12-2007, 06:31 PM

Really, it's OK to like Calgary
Boosterism eases in city exploring its potential

Todd Babiak, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2007

A young man in a white muscle shirt, giant sunglasses and a baseball cap floats silently down the Elbow River. He has a burning cigarette in one hand and a can of Kokanee in the other.

His baby blue dinghy is of the cheap Canadian Tire blow-up variety, with cartoon dolphins. He passes under the bridge and another dinghy appears upriver, this one carrying two young men. One is talking excitedly on a cellular phone, about dinner.

Elbow Drive is already crowded with convertibles, driven by the lucky ones who sneaked away early.
In lovely old neighbourhoods such as Kensington, above, Calgary feels remarkably similar to Edmonton.

Twenty blocks north, in the shiny office towers, the day's last few theoretical millions are being sucked out of Alberta's crust. On the banks of the river, not far from a cluster of hungry geese, three destitute men lie in the grass with their eyes closed, their two overflowing shopping carts parked in the shade of an elm tree.

This must mean something.

For more than 100 years, Edmontonians and Calgarians have become experts in making superficial observations and ridiculous judgments about each other. The rivalry between the cities, as fun as it can be in its sporting incarnation, has become tired and pathetic.

Calgarians see what they want to see in Edmonton, and vice-versa. Usually it's something doleful, which makes everyone feel better about their own hometowns and ultimately prevents them from engaging in a healthy dialogue about the possibility of urban renewal in Alberta. It also prevents them from travelling to each other's cities, just for fun.

For an Edmontonian to admit that Calgary's downtown is more attractive, its restaurants more elegant, that its zoo is amazing and its view of the Rockies enviable, would be an admission of failure.

Why?

The truth is, Edmonton and Calgary are both extraordinary and frustrating boomtowns of one million people, both ugly and pretty, both rich and poor, both redneck and sophisticated, separated by 275 kilometres.

An Edmontonian in Calgary can't help noticing that once you're in the core, in the lovely historic neighbourhoods north and south of downtown, the cities even feel remarkably similar.

Of course, there are fundamental cultural differences. Irony, neurosis and even self-loathing are stitched into the great bosom of Edmonton. Calgary, by contrast, has a marketable cowboy theme and a spanky slogan in Heart of the New West.

Without passing any city ordinances or doping the water supply, it has become perfectly acceptable to claim that Calgary has the best theatre scene, the best wine merchants, the best opera, the best restaurants, the best blue jeans, the best buskers, the best cupcakes and the best-looking people on Earth.

Calgarians point out the new German imports on their streets with a tone of astonished pride, as though every new millionaire were a shared success. It's not possible to get through a day without hearing that building cranes are "the official bird of Calgary."

Bad traffic, horrible service and wacky real estate prices have become folk tales, proof that Calgary is a big city now, even when it all doesn't seem nearly so extreme when you're actually on Memorial Drive or looking at a house in Kensington.

But something new and exciting and distinct is happening in Calgary today.

Aggressive boosterism is on the wane, along with the city's automatic tendency to vote against its interests in a block with rural Alberta. Real Calgarians, the ones who aim to stay after the boom, sense an opportunity that reaches beyond personal wealth. They're testing what they mean by "world class."

Since November, a retired oil executive named David Matthews has been holding informal lunch-hour think-tanks at La Chaumiere, a classic French restaurant on 17th Avenue.

Matthews goes through the newspaper and the phone book, and invites smart and influential people -- politicians and writers and business leaders, academics and architects and planners.

"I do sometimes think: what am I doing in this city?" he says, with a hint of a British accent, during one of his pleasant mini-salons. "Especially after having been to Europe on vacation, say.

"But the place grows on me. The city has so much potential, enormous potential, but we keep screwing it up. We need to get beyond roads and interchanges and potholes and garbage."

Matthews hopes the think-tank will transform into action at the end of June, to help elect a "few visionaries" to city council in October. He says people sometimes accuse him of being insane, as he always pays the bill at the end of the meal. "Calgary's been very good to me, and I'd like to give something back," he says. "I think we can make a very special town of this."

One of Matthew's regular guests is Bob van Wegen, a soft-spoken community activist and board member of the Calgary Heritage Initiative. He laments Calgary's No. 1 challenge, that too many people come to the city hoping to make a pile of dough and leave.

"They aren't necessarily coming here for an urban experience," he says. "They'll arrive from rural places in Saskatchewan or the Maritimes, or from similar cities like Dallas or Houston, and they're happy to buy a ranch house in the 'burbs. And a lot of people, even lifelong Calgarians, are attracted to the natural but not the physical environment.

"Why do you live in Calgary? To be close to the mountains."

This is vexing to a growing number of Calgarians focused on planning and sustainability and architecture and the arts. The constantly expanding fringes of the city suck money and energy from the city, as a reality and as a concept, and prevent Calgarians from engaging in a meaningful way with Calgary.

"Summer weekends in Kensington are the worst time of the year for the locals," says Marcello di Cintio, an award-winning travel writer who grew up in Calgary and remains here. "The tourists from the suburbs are in to see what a real neighbourhood looks like."

Di Cintio is part of a bright new generation of writers and thinkers desperate to rethink and remake Calgary, to discover what they love best about the city -- neighbourhood funk, puppet theatre, a spirit of experimentation, sandstone -- and explode it.

Not that there isn't momentum to go along with the constructive criticism. One of the greatest urban developments in recent Canadian history, Garrison Woods, transformed an abandoned army barracks into a central village of condominiums, brownstone-style townhomes, duplexes and houses.

On June 1, the city unfurled its plans for a brave and transformative 14-block downtown cultural district.

Kensington, Inglewood, Bridgeland and other inner-city neighbourhoods provide dense, colourful, authentic and tree-lined alternatives to freeways, manicured lawns and vinyl siding.

The Bow, a spectacular office tower to be built by EnCana, has sparked a renewed interest in downtown and the ways in which an architectural project can represent the hopes and dreams and shifting identity of a city and its people.

On their dinghys, the young men float through Calgary-Elbow, Ralph Klein's former riding, adjacent to the Mercedes convertibles and the men who live out of shopping carts. Today's byelection in the riding could be a political catalyst in the city's social, cultural and physical transformation. Or not.

Either way, for the first time in a generation, Calgary is fully awake to its potential. Edmontonians must stop skipping the city on their way to Kananaskis and Banff.

Really, it's OK to love Calgary.

tbabiak@thejournal.canwest.com

- - -

Get More

Go to www.edmontonjournal.com for Todd's audio slideshow of Calgary, Calgary Herald columnist Val Fortney's column on Edmonton, and a reader poll.

© The Edmonton Journal 2007

If Calgary's a victim of anything, it's a victim of its own success
Bronconnier's whine about Stelmach convincing as Paris Hilton's rehab

Gary Lamphier, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2007

I've never resented Calgary's oil and gas riches. In fact, I've long admired the city's swagger and entrepreneurial smarts.

When it comes to civic boosterism and urban myth-making, there's much that Edmonton -- and its myopic municipal neighbours -- could learn from their supremely confident cousin to the south.

But Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier's self-serving campaign to portray Alberta's wealthiest city as a poor, downtrodden victim of the unfeeling, uncaring Stelmach government is something straight out of a Monty Python flick.

I mean, c'mon. Calgary as victim? You're kidding, right? Are we talking about the same Calgary that effectively ran the premier's office in this province for 28 of the past 36 years, and 13 of the past 14?

Now that's rich. Only a flak for (boo hoo) Paris Hilton could come up with spin like that. Or a southern Alberta Liberal mayor in a province run by a northern Alberta Tory premier on the eve of two provincial by-elections.

Last time I checked, Alberta's biggest city had more newly minted millionaires than any city in Canada. More than a quarter of Canada's 100 best-paid CEOs live in Calgary, home to just three per cent of the nation's population.

Suncor CEO Rick George alone pocketed $15.5 million in 2006, topping the combined incomes of Edmonton's eight best-paid corporate bosses.

As the breathless national press has told us time and again, Calgary is a city where Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Maseratis adorn the driveways of million-dollar homes, and where every self-respecting, thirtysomething oilpatch VP owns a half-million-dollar ski pad in Canmore.

A Calgary analyst I know told me last year there were 10,000-plus brokerage house accounts in his city with assets of $1 million or more. That's roughly one for every 100 Calgarians.

Sales of Calgary homes worth $1 million or more soared nearly 40 per cent over the past year, according to a city realtor. Average prices for single-detached homes are now approaching half a million bucks.

Median household incomes and economic growth rates in Calgary have ranked at or among the highest in Canada for years. Unemployment levels are usually the lowest for any major city.

Sales of high-end condos are so hot that one new project located near Calgary Tower -- with units priced from $840,000 to $3.5 million -- recently sold out in a single day.

Calgary's LRT system puts Edmonton's to shame. The city's roadways are a pleasure to drive compared to Edmonton's, which look as if they've been riddled with artillery fire by the U.S. Air Force.

Calgary sprouts shiny new office towers the way Edmonton sprouts ugly graffiti. EnCana vows that its new monument to itself will rank as the tallest, most grandiose office tower in Western Canada.

Edmonton hasn't had a new downtown office tower in, what, 17 years. That's three years before (former Calgary mayor) Ralph Klein became premier.

(Of course, Calgary's favourite son can't be blamed for any of the city's current problems, even if his laissez-faire approach to oilsands development and his hands-off approach to royalties are the two biggest reasons why Calgary is suffering the strains of growth.

Why, Bronconnier even named a city park after King Ralph.)

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. Calgary, if this is what pain looks like, feel free to spread it around, especially among your neighbours to the north. We could use some of that.

As my colleague Sheila Pratt has noted, despite all evidence to the contrary, Calgarians now seem convinced that dad really does like Edmonton best. As the spin goes, E-town now gets more of everything from Stelmach's Tories, including more dough for city projects.

Forget that the proposed $200-million remake of Edmonton's Royal Alberta Museum has been delayed, or that NAIT's expansion plans got the snub, or that plans for a redesign of Edmonton's legislature precinct were ditched.

And forget the fact that Calgary actually has more cabinet ministers (three) than Edmonton, which has just one. No matter.

Calgary is now a victim. That's the new mantra. The proof? Seems that uncaring, unfeeling Stelmach and his (largely rural, unsophisticated) cronies attached unwanted strings to the $1.4 billion in annual infrastructure funding for Alberta's towns and cities, including Calgary.

It's so wrong. So insensitive to Calgary's special needs. This has to end.

Well, you get the picture. The Calgary tribe, my friends, has spoken. It's clear how this episode of Survivor will end. Ed, your days on this island are numbered.

Todd Hirsch has a new gig. The erudite former chief economist at Canada West Foundation is now a senior economist with Edmonton-based ATB Financial, the province's largest homegrown bank.

In his new role, Hirsch will speak for ATB on provincial and national economic issues. He'll continue to be based in Calgary.

glamphier@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2007

Edmonton and Calgary: Alberta's two solitudes

Edmonton and Calgary: Alberta's two solitudes
After decades of bitter rivalry, more unites than divides the two urban centres

Todd Babiak, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2007

The rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary is dead. We're a corridor now, an economic zone -- the second-richest in the world, after Luxembourg, apparently.

Hockey will always be hockey, but old stereotypes have faded: Edmonton has grown in financial power while Calgary has become more of a cultural centre.

Yet we don't know each other. As urban explorers, Edmontonians and Calgarians are bound by a preference for Vancouver, New York or Paris. It's easier to rely on old-fashioned biases than to arrive at an accurate representation of our sister city. As Vladimir Lenin, never a philosophical icon in these parts, said, "A lie told often enough becomes the truth."

The relationship between Edmonton and Calgary, during the post-Lougheed era, was a mess of true lies. Crawling out of a recession into our current state of overheated madness came with plenty of civic character assassination.

Now that we're in a post-post-Lougheed era, with desperate growth issues leading the two cities and their citizens into a political, economic and cultural bloc, a place called Urban Alberta, it's time to peer between the truths and the lies.

"There's a real desire in this community to demonstrate a new look," says Bob McPhee, general director and CEO of the nationally acclaimed Calgary Opera, and a former Edmontonian. "It's more than just cowboys."

After all, the Stampede lasts for only 10 days. The core of Calgary, like the core of Edmonton, is a beautiful and diverse and increasingly cosmopolitan place -- especially in the summertime. And Calgary is moving out of its time of triumphalism into a much more thoughtful, and realistic, phase of physical and cultural growth.

tbabiak@thejournal.canwest.com

A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Today, we start a six-part series with the Calgary Herald as writers from both newspapers swap cities for a day.

Edmonton and Calgary have grown in size and sophistication, especially in the past couple of years, and in this joint project we'll give our readers a fresh look at the biggest centres in our booming province.

Today: Columnist Todd Babiak

July 10: City columnist Scott McKeen

Aug. 14: Food writer Judy Schultz

Sept. 11: Sports columnist Dan Barnes

Oct. 9: Culture writer Liz Nicholls

Nov. 13: Business columnist Gary Lamphier

© The Edmonton Journal 2007

Our town as seen by their town
Lesson No. 1: humble Edmontonians shrink from 'world class' status

Val Fortney, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2007

It is a city in the midst of an economic boom, with all the good and bad that entails.

Its population, with a footprint bigger than Toronto or Chicago, has hit the million mark. Jobs are everywhere and people are flocking from all over the country to capitalize on the prosperity. Housing prices are in the stratosphere, homelessness and urban crime are growing problems and a shortage of service workers means you can't get a decent cup of coffee to save your life.

Oh, and everybody's ticked off about all the potholes.

Calgary, you say? Try Edmonton, just 275 kilometres up the QEII.

Ask a random sampling of Calgarians, and they'll variously describe Edmonton as the capital of our province, the city with North America's largest shopping mall and cold winters without the respite of chinooks.

It's a government town, a blue-collar town, a cultural, festival-rich town; and it's a place that some of us in Cowtown love to loathe.

Other than these famed characteristics and a few outmoded stereotypes, how well do we know our urban neighbours to the north? This writer, for one, confesses to a woeful ignorance of the place that once served as a major stopping point on the way to the Klondike Gold Rush.

So I welcomed the opportunity to spend a few days exploring the city's nooks and crannies -- watching a play in the famed Old Strathcona theatre district, enjoying a stroll through the verdant North Saskatchewan River valley, and dining in a handful of its more popular restaurants.

To get to the heart of the Edmontonian character, though, such short-term casual observance must be guided by those who know and love it best, leaders in the community whose work has helped to shape and inform the city's distinct -- albeit hard to uncover -- true character.

So, what's the first lesson you learn when talking to an Edmontonian about what makes the city a great place to live?

Don't dare utter such Calgary-style terms as "world class." Unless, of course, you want to be greeted with a raised eyebrow or a sarcastic chuckle.

"People here aren't really big on boasting," says Holger Peterson as he cuts into a salmon filet at Il Portico, a downtown dining spot that not long ago received a rave review in the New York Times.

"The longtime Edmontonians I know like to keep the city, and its great qualities, a secret."

© The Edmonton Journal 2007

Perfect strangers
Val Fortney, Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, June 11, 2007
Edmonton -

It is a city in the midst of an economic boom, with all the good and bad that entails.

Its population, with a footprint bigger than Toronto or Chicago, has now hit the million mark. Jobs are everywhere and people are flocking from all over the country to capitalize on the prosperity. Housing prices are in the stratosphere, homelessness and urban crime is a growing problem and a shortage of service workers means you can't get a decent cup of coffee to save your life. Oh, and everybody's ticked off about all the potholes.

Ask a random sampling of Calgarians, and they'll variously describe Edmonton as the capital of our province, the city with North America's largest shopping mall and cold winters without the respite of Chinooks. It's a government town, a blue-collar town, a cultural, festival-rich town; and it's a place a few folks in Cowtown love to loathe.

Other than these famed characteristics and a few outmoded stereotypes, how well do we know our urban neighbours to the north? This writer, for one, confesses to a woeful ignorance of the place that once served as a major stopping point on the way to the Klondike Gold Rush.

So I welcomed the opportunity to spend a few days exploring the city's nooks and crannies - watching a play in the famed Old Strathcona theatre district, enjoying a stroll through the verdant North Saskatchewan River valley that bisects the city and dining in a handful of its more popular restaurants.

To get to the heart of the Edmontonian character, though, such short-term casual observance must be aided by those who know and love it best, leaders in the community whose work has helped to shape and inform the city's distinct, albeit hard-to-undercover, true character.

So, what's the first lesson you learn when talking to an Edmontonian about what makes his or her city a great place to live?

Don't dare utter such Calgary-style terms as "world-class." Unless, of course, you want to be greeted with a raised eyebrow or a sarcastic chuckle.

"People here aren't really big on boasting," says Holger Peterson as he cuts into a salmon filet at Il Portico, a downtown dining spot that not long ago received a rave review in the New York Times. Yes, that New York Times.

"The longtime Edmontonians I know like to keep the city, and its great qualities, a secret."

Peterson has lived here since 1958, when he arrived at age eight with his German immigrant parents. He's worked with the radio station CKUA since the 1960s and in 1976 launched his own very successful roots music record label, Stony Plains Records.

The well-travelled Peterson could have based his business anywhere. But he chose Edmonton.

"I just never felt motivated to leave," he says with a shrug of his shoulders.

When prodded, he does eventually begin to articulate what's so special about his city.

"The size works for me, and the river valley is beautiful," says the man who became a Member of the Order of Canada in 2003 for his groundbreaking work on the country's music scene.

"We have cuisine, culture, touring artists - we're not lacking in anything."

Peterson's reticence about waxing euphoric over his city's virtues, I soon discover, is a trait common amongst even the proudest citizens.

Knowing this made interviewing Stewart Lemoine about why he loves this town a much less painful experience than it could have been.

The prolific playwright/director/producer and mainstay of the city's theatre scene sits in a coffee shop looking out on to Whyte Avenue, the funky inner-city strip filled with boutique hotels, chic restaurants and eclectic shops.

"We've been labelled a cultural capital, by someone," says the longtime Edmontonian with a quiet sigh as he refers to his home's designation as Festival City.

"It's nice to have that acknowledged, but no one really knows what that means."

Lemoine, though, is the first to say there's no better place for an artist to live and ply his craft. "It's all about the freedom; I live here because I want to produce plays for myself," he says.

"This city has a great talent pool, and our audience here is incredible."

Lemoine readily admits that Edmonton lacks a clear identity that you can wrap up in a tidy promotional package, but dismisses that as a non-issue.

"People come here and say we're unpretentious because the place is unremarkable," says Lemoine, who in a rare moment of hyperbole likens the river valley to New York's Central Park.

"But we don't worry about our status - we're too busy thinking about other things."

When an Edmontonian does lapse into a brief moment of boastfulness, it's usually about the river valley and the winding North Saskatchewan that weaves its way through the city and its environs.

For Vivian Manasc, it's more than an asset: it's the key symbol of the city's very essence.

"The river valley makes this city so livable," says one of the principals of Manasc-Isaac Architects, a company renowned for its work in sustainable design.

"You can live in the most affluent or the most modest neighbourhood, and still be close to the river valley."

Manasc, a native of Montreal, came to Edmonton in the 1970s and was quickly hooked. "It was boom time, then and now, and so much of what we do is driven by growth," she says.

This isn't to say she doesn't see room for improvement in her city. Like Calgary, she says, Edmonton has an unfortunate history of not respecting its historical buildings; its downtown, she adds, has too many vacant lots and not enough "walkability"; attention to good public architecture hasn't been a priority; and urban sprawl is just as big an issue here as it is in Calgary.

But things are improving. "Urban design in Edmonton has finally got some political backing," she says, noting Mayor Stephen Mandel has put a much-needed focus on this and other urban issues.

Mandel is indeed thinking about a lot of things besides Edmonton's lack of a clear brand. "Throw on a cowboy hat, and that's Calgary," says the city's mayor of three years.

"Edmonton has struggled for years, but we're getting more confident with our identity."

Mandel sees Calgary and Edmonton as being two very different, but complementary, cities. "One of the real dilemmas of this province is that both Calgary and Edmonton have inferiority complexes," he says as he relaxes in his palatial city hall office.

"We're competitive with one another, and that's unhealthy. What we need to do is work together now, to build a great province."

He acknowledges that the two cities share many of the same boom time challenges - public transportation is one of his big concerns - but there are some that are unique to Edmonton. For instance, the population of one million is derived from what's known as the Alberta Capital Region, which consists of Edmonton proper along with 23 surrounding, sometimes warring, municipalities.

"You'll be having the same challenges we're having in this now, in about 10 years, with places like Airdrie and Okotoks," he says of the often-frustrating experience of trying to build consensus.

He's quick to point to Edmonton assets like its wealth of educational institutions in the city's core, its cultural offerings and its leadership in the life sciences field.

"We're a city of the future, with a great cultural scene," says Mandel, in this columnist's first encounter with anything remotely resembling Edmonton-style boosterism.

Rachel Notley is another typical understated Edmontonian, but admits she's been an ambassador for her hometown while living in other major Canadian cities.

"There are low expectations from people outside of Edmonton about our city," says the politician set to replace Raj Pannu as the New Democrat standard-bearer for Edmonton-Strathcona.

"Edmonton is the pleasant surprise."

Along with her city's more diverse political landscape - "if Edmonton were a city state, we would have had three different governments in the last 20 years" - the native Edmontonian loves its down-to-earth collective character.

"I think it's because so many here still have strong rural roots," says the lawyer daughter of the late ND politician Grant Notley over lunch at Caf Select, an Edmonton dining institution. "That brings with it a lack of pretense."

Lack of pretense, indeed. We Calgarians have a lot in common with this other urban Alberta centre. We share many of the same challenges, and, for the most part, we fiercely love our cities.

Just don't expect our northerly neighbours to shout their love from the rooftops.

It's just not the Edmonton way.

vfortney@theherald.canwest.com

atlas_inc

06-14-2007, 03:36 PM

EnCana tower contruction underway
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald

Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Work is now officially underway on the tallest office tower in Western Canada, with the mayor and other dignitaries attending a ground breaking ceremony for the Bow Wednesday morning.

Crews, already digging on the sites on either side of 6th Avenue, paused for the speeches.
"We're building the largest office building in Western Canada," Calgary Economic Development CEO Bruce Graham said. "It's fitting they'll start by digging the biggest hole south of Fort McMurray."

The Bow - which will house EnCana - includes a six-storey underground parkade that will run from 5th Avenue to 7th Avenue, requiring a 20 metre deep hole.

It will mean the block of 6th Avenue between 1st Street S.E. and Centre Street will be closed completely for up to 11 months, starting shortly after the Stampede parade July 6.

The 58-storey Bow will occupy the block north of 6th Avenue, while on the south site a smaller building will house retail and cultural space. It will be built around the 78-year-old York Hotel, which will be restored.

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com

© Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

06-18-2007, 06:12 PM

New York on the Bow
High-rise condo tower slated for Calgary modelled on NYC
Kathy McCormick, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, June 16, 2007
Arcus Developments' first high-rise condominium tower is set to launch later this month in Calgary.

Astoria on 10th is classic, uptown chic -- and it's no accident that it was named after one of the greatest buildings in New York, says the developer.

"We saw a huge opportunity for this product that will make an impact on the skyline of Calgary," says Johannes van Leenen, managing director and owner of Arcus.

We researched architecture all around North America and decided we wanted a New York feel. That's why we named it Astoria. We have a twin tower on 8th Street that we will name the Carlton and there will be a hotel in-between."

The Astoria on 10th is a mixed use tower, with the first floor consisting of retail and the next two floors containing commercial and office space.

"The fourth floor will be an amenity centre for the residents, with a workout area and social area that spills on to a rooftop garden terrace," says Michael Myers, general manager, condo division of Arcus.

"The rest of the 30 storeys will be residential with a total of 229 units."

The Arcus philosophy is simple, says van Leenen. "We're not looking to be the biggest, but we want to build beautiful buildings and communities that Calgary can be proud of."

To do that, "we've researched the best architects with the level of expertise we want, and the best builders, and picked the ones we want to do the job," he says. "There are a good number of firms with expertise in Calgary and by bringing in the best, we are able to take the division where we want it."

A mock show suite has been set up in the new Arcus office at 999 8th St. S.W. At 585 square feet, it's one of the smaller units, and it has a full-width balcony that will provide spectacular city views.

The one-bedroom unit is an efficient model that includes a modern, open floor plan and upscale design.

The large windows make the unit even brighter and more appealing.

Look for high-end specs that are standard with the builder, such as granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and hardwood floors in entry and kitchens. Other features include porcelain tile flooring in bathrooms and the laundry room where the washer and dryer are also standard, and six-inch baseboards.

The bathroom in the show suite has been upgraded with such items as a pedestal sink to show the potential available for purchasers.

Ten different floor plans are available, with sizes starting at 580 square feet for one-bedroom, one-bathroom units, to up to 1,113 square feet for two-bedroom, two-bathroom units.

Two penthouses at 3,300 square feet, and 18 sub-penthouses of 1,033 to 1,123 square feet, are also offered.

Prices start at $284,000 and go to more than $2 million, with the average price in the range of $450,000. The amenity level of the building will consist of a large fitness centre and a full-service social room.

From the fourth floor, the owners will be able to access a rooftop terrace, which will include seating areas, trees, plants, flowers and a large grassed area.

Heated, secured underground parking is provided, with extra storage lockers for each unit.

The public launch of the site is scheduled for June 28. Register at www.AstoriaOn10th.com for an invitation to the launch.

Arcus has another large multi-family development in Edmonton planned for July. Located near Grant MacEwan College in the inner city, the project will have 320 units.

Future plans include a 250-unit site in Cochrane and 1,200 units in south Calgary.

The developer is affiliated with WestView Builders, which is in High River as well as Okotoks and will soon be expanding to other areas.

WestView was a finalist in several categories at the recent SAM (Sales and Marketing) awards by the Calgary Region Home Builders Association.

These included two single-family and two multi-family finalist categories.

The builder is currently constructing or planning projects in both single-family and multi-family housing in High River and Okotoks.

The residential land development side of Arcus also includes land in Cochrane -- Jumping Pound Ridge on the west side just off George Fox Trail -- that will have a sales centre by late summer.

A longer-term piece of land is located in Copperview in the deep southeast of Calgary that will be developed in four to five years.

Arcus International recently held is official launch of its first resort project, Costa Del Sol in Belize. It's a complex with 400 villa-style luxury homes on Amebergris Caye.

In Short

DEVELOPER: Arcus Developments.

PROJECT: Astoria on 10th.

LOCATION: Across the street from the new Arcus offices at 999 8th St. S.W.

PRICES: Average $450,000.

LAUNCH DATE: June 28. Register at www.AstoriaOn10th.com.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

06-18-2007, 06:13 PM

Meadows charts course for luxury
Mall at Deerfoot and Heritage Drive expected to attract luxury retailers
Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Sunday, June 17, 2007

Ken Mariash is turning a piece of 'urban blight' into one of the premier developments in Calgary.It was once an "abandoned, industrial blight" on the Calgary landscape in an absolutely prime location. But once developer Ken Mariash has completed his vision for the choice piece of real estate -- which will cost about $2 billion to build -- it will house some of the most prestigious high-end retailers in the world as well as luxury residential hotel and office structures nearby on the ridge of Blackfoot Trail. The overall Deerfoot Meadows project is a 3.5 million-square-foot, multi-use integrated retail and luxury residential development situated on Alberta's busiest freeway -- the Deerfoot Trail.

Mariash's vision is to create a world-class destination location out of the 145-hectare site where big-box stores such as IKEA, Wal-Mart and the Superstore exist alongside the Meadows Collection, billed as Canada's first luxury centre, with possible big-name international retailers such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior, Hermes, Tiffany, Donna Karan, Versace, Coach, Crate and Barrel, and Holt Renfrew. All tied into a nice, enticing package for spend-happy Calgary and Alberta consumers and bordered by Blackfoot Trail, Heritage Drive and Deerfoot Trail. "The synergy appears between all these different tenants of small and big and international in nature and some of the biggest balance sheets in the world sort of comes together with an obvious need for the village (Meadows Collection) to be the centrepiece of the overall retail platform," says Mariash, managing partner of Heritage Partners Limited Partnership.

"What happens when you start to think about the village and the need in Calgary today of luxury components, there's really no place for the global tenants in the higher end to land in Calgary . . . So Calgary is in need of an instant solution -- a need in Calgary for those global tenants . . . They're all going to these prosperous places like Moscow and Dubai and Mumbai."

The retail development on the Deerfoot Meadows site will eventually be up to 3.5 million square feet -- 500,000 of that in the Meadows Collection part. Several luxury car dealerships also exist across Deerfoot Trail. And tying in the retail sector are The Bluffs which would include a number of highrise, high-end residential condominium towers combined with a clubhouse, spa and various other amenities. "We have a mile of frontage on Blackfoot Trail 100 feet above the site, overlooking the mountains and overlooking the river," says Mariash. "So when you start thinking about the village as being a sort of climactic component for the retail and a fairly serious fulfilment for Calgary on the global side, you also start thinking about the synergy of that village with The Bluffs and with a fairly high-end residential highrise product up on The Bluffs."

Mariash says a promenade on the ridge and the residential community is a way to connect them together in a one and a half kilometre walking path, "having some retail conveniences along the way whether it's some small bistros, coffee shops, or whatever. And of course that stroll would end up culminating in the village. We have to figure out how to get everybody up and down the hill," says Mariash, adding a tram system will also start operating once the village opens, circling the site and stopping at storefronts. Richard Pootmans, business development manager of real estate for Calgary Economic Development, says the overall Deerfoot Meadows project is an important part of the dynamic growth of the city. "This project is responding to the opportunities," he says, adding the village concept has attracted interest from retailers from around the world. "You really have to say that Ken has assembled the best creative talents in the world to provide us with a high level of excellence in the Deerfoot Meadows environment." Pootmans says the project is responding to high increases in retail sales per capita, the buoyancy of the economy and continued confidence in the market.

"It wasn't so long ago -- it seems kind of amazing actually -- that this was an abandoned, industrial blight on our landscape and look at what it is today," he says. "It's really an incredible achievement." Grant Kosowan, regional director for Orange National Retail Group Inc., says the Deerfoot Meadows project has a "ton of potential." "It's going to be up to Ken to realize it and it's going to be up to the group to do it," says Kosowan. "But there are few better located sites around. I've got great things to say about the land and the project as a whole. I'd love to see some progress on the village. That would be fantastic and that would be great for Calgary, be great for the project." He says the site's accessibility is "unbeatable" for a huge portion of the market. Once construction on Glenmore Trail is completed, "anybody south of the Bow River should be able to reach that thing in a very short period of time. Accessibility is fantastic," adds Kosowan. "It's tough to beat. Not many retail projects perched on Deerfoot Trail. The corner of Glenmore and Deerfoot, man it's right in the crosshairs."

And the project has received attention in eastern Canada. "Oh yeah, everybody knows about it. There's no doubt about it. Right across the country everybody's familiar with it. Even in some parts of the U.S. I would argue too. No doubt about that," says Kosowan. Mariash and Marvin Traub, president of Marvin Traub Associates and former CEO and chairman of Bloomingdales, who has been hired as a consultant on the Deerfoot Meadows retail project, are speaking Tuesday at a luncheon at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce on Global Retail Trends and the Future of Retailing. Former Ontario Premier Mike Harris is the moderator. Representatives for some high-end international retailers are expected to be in attendance. Mariash says a number of "world-class retirement facility operators" are interested in putting in a high-end, independent living and retirement campus on The Bluffs. "All of these things have now started to come together in a fairly emphatic way. One last item on The Bluffs would be the promenade on the hill and how people walk that ridge and enjoy the view of the river and enjoy the frontage," says Mariash.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

06-24-2007, 03:12 AM

Gifts top $100M
U of C ranks 2nd in nation for fundraising
Deborah Tetley, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

Don and Ruth Taylor announced that they will donate $25 million to the University of Calgary to create the new Taylor Family Digital Library on the campus during a press conference Friday December 8.
Ted Rhodes, Calgary Herald

Spurred by a hot Alberta economy, the University of Calgary -- one of the country's youngest undergraduate institutions -- raised a record $101 million in donations last year.

The milestone puts the 41-year-old university at No. 2 in annual post-secondary institution fundraising across the country -- just ahead of the University of Toronto and slightly behind the University of British Columbia.

U of C president Harvey Weingarten pointed to Alberta's booming economy as a contributor to the nearly 350 per cent spike in donations since 2002.

In that year, the university raised $22.7 million.

But the economy isn't the only factor, he said, noting the U of C received more than 12,800 individual gifts, targeting a range of projects, including student scholarships, capital and residences.

"Some of those are $25 and others at $25 million," Weingarten said. "But that is something the Calgary community is great at. They set the bar high, expect innovation and big thinking, and they have confidence we will deliver."

Weingarten said the majority of donations were gifts from Calgary-based individuals, companies and foundations.

Drama student Christopher Duthie has benefitted from two financial awards from the university in the past two years, which he's used to offset the costs of his fine arts degree.

Part of the money was used to finance the fifth-year student's residency program with One Yellow Rabbit.

"The money gives me opportunities to do things I might not have had a chance to, and meet people who have been in the business 25 years," he said. "I know that it has made a difference in me having a great education, and it's nice because the arts doesn't normally get a lot of funding."

Some of the more significant donations received by the university over the past year include $25 million from Calgarians Don and Ruth Taylor for the Taylor Family Digital Library, which is slated to open in the fall of 2009.

There is also the $2-million gift from the late Hong Kong philanthropist Henry Fok Ying Tung toward a new international residence for students and visiting scholars.

The university also reaped $20 million from the sale of a 2002 land donation from Dick and Lois Haskayne, creating an endowment for the Haskayne School of Business and a new wildlife park.

Other donations have gone toward boosting resources directed at improving U of C students' experiences.

For instance, ten scholarships worth $50,000 over three years are awarded to students applying to U of C from outside Calgary. Another 16 awards, worth $30,000 over three years, are awarded to Calgary-area students.

Those funds stem from a $25-million donation in 2005 by Seymour Schulich, who then had the funds matched by the provincial government.

Gary Durbeniuk, vice-president of development, said the university set a goal of raising $80 million last year, on the heels of a record $70.5 million raised 2005-06.

His office will aim for another $100 million next year.

Durbeniuk attributed U of C's success to a different fundraising strategy than ones used by other post secondaries. Rather than setting a firm target each year and reaching for it, the university invests time in relationships, he said.

Fundraising dollars also went toward:

- The $4.6-million Core Facility for Emerging Infectious Diseases
- The $1-million Experimental Lung Suite
- $1-million donation from alumni, Tara and Matt Brister, toward enhancing teaching and learning experiences.
- $2 million to renovate 36 spaces where students can study and lounge.
- Brothers Doc, B.J. and Don Seaman provided $2 million to begin planning neuroArm, the world's first MRI-compatible surgical robot.

dtetley@theherald.canwest.com
=========================================================

City has its eye on school land
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

The city wants to use land reserved for schools that will never be built for affordable housing, fire halls or libraries.

Using the sites would require the school boards to declare them surplus and the province changing legislation so the land can be redesignated.

"I think it's really important to use this land for affordable housing and it certainly is a huge opportunity," said Ald. Madeleine King, who is putting a motion before council on Monday. "It's being proactive in saying the amount of land that's been taken for schools does seem to be more than the school boards need to provide in terms of education."

Mayor Dave Bronconnier said it comes down to using public land for a public good.

"This is certainly a direction I've been working on with other members of council to address another critical social need," he said, adding some of the empty sites have been that way for 40 years.

He said there are 75 surplus lots in the city.

As the city grows and the price of a home rises to record levels, more Calgarians are having difficulty buying a place of their own or even finding somewhere with reasonable rent. Last year, a count of the homeless in the city put the number at more than 3,400.

The city will use $63 million allocated by the province in the spring budget to pay for part of two affordable housing projects already approved by council, to cover the cost escalation of two other projects already under construction and a rent subsidy program.

Details of the rent subsidy program are still being worked out, but it would involve up to 1,000 units and the city would work with landlords.

When a new community is developed in the city, sites have to be set aside for both public and Catholic schools and are tagged reserve land. That means the only things it can be used for are schools or a community facility, such as soccer fields or baseball diamonds.

"Currently, the (provincial) act prohibits the putting up of fire halls, libraries, affordable housing, anything of that nature," Bronconnier said.

The school boards do look at the sites available to them and declare some surplus.

Ted Flitton, spokesman for the Calgary Board of Education, said it is investigating six sites. "We evaluate the current role and any other potential future role and figure out what might be best for the community," he said.

However, even if a school board declares a site surplus, the city can't do anything with it unless there are changes to the Municipal Government Act.

Municipal Affairs spokeswoman Tracy Balash said the province has been encouraging cities to find innovative methods of creating more affordable housing units.

"We're looking forward to seeing what it is they're proposing and how we can be of assistance," she said.

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com
=========================================================

New reservoir proposed for north
Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

City Hall - The city is planning to spend nearly $1 million on a parcel of land to build a reservoir, which is needed to supply water to residents in the north.

Officials will ask council Monday for approval to go ahead with the purchase of the land from a private developer. Once it's bought, the city will use the land to build the Big Hill East Reservoir.

Donna Brown, who co-ordinates acquisitions for the city's corporate properties department, said it's an important piece of property.

"What prompts us to go looking for a reservoir site is growth in a particular area," she said, noting the city just bought another one on Old Banff Coach Road to serve the West Springs area.

"Now this is a further one that is required further up in the northwest, given the development up there."

The site, located on the corner of 69th Street and 144th Avenue N.W., is required before the city can give land-use approval for the first stages of the Nolan Hill and Sage Hill developments.

Council will make the final decision Monday.
=========================================================

Alderman urges hike in snow budget
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

As Calgarians' thoughts turn to summer, at least one city alderman is thinking about winter, and the inevitable snowfall that accompanies it.

Ald. Bob Hawkesworth says the city should boost its snow removal budget by $2.6 million to better deal with the demand to clear roads after a storm, a report going to council Monday recommends.

"I think it will help," said Hawkesworth, who made the original motion asking city staff to investigate solutions.

"I know it's an additional cost to the city budget, but at the same time, there's a cost to citizens for delays and lost productivity, and the frustration of sitting in gridlock traffic carries a cost with it as well.

"To my way of thinking, it's the kind of service people want us to provide. We are a winter city. We shouldn't have to come to a complete stop because of a snowfall."

In the first few months of this year, 40 per cent more snow fell on the city than usual. Heavy snowfalls led to numerous accidents and complaints from drivers.

A report to council, which the transportation department refused to comment on, said the cost of clearing snow and ice between January and the end of May came in at $13.7 million. The budget had set aside $11.1 million.

The annual snow and ice clearing budget is $18.5 million. If the proposed increase is approved -- and the money would have to be found during the November budget adjustments -- it would sit at $21.1 million.

Hawkesworth said his understanding is that the additional $2.6 million would go toward more equipment to clear the roads.

According to the report, Calgary's budget for snow and ice clearing is less both per capita and per kilometre than in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal.

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com
=========================================================

Speed bumps urged for playground zones
Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

Safety - An alderman wants to slow drivers shortcutting through playground and school zones, suggesting Calgary put speed bumps in some communities.

Ald. Craig Burrows will ask city officials Monday to investigate whether it is possible to install speed bumps in all school and playground zones where there are problems.

"Many in my communities are saying that we have issues in playground and school zones," he said. "The traffic, the intensity of growth in this city -- people just aren't driving safe in those areas."

A pilot project on playground and school speed zones is ongoing, with city officials studying two locations in each of the city's 14 wards based on a new set of national guidelines.

Burrows said his request could be another element of the pilot project.

There are about 1,000 school and playground zones in Calgary.
=========================================================

Megamall deal creates market for sale of water
'This may be a sign of things to come'
Renata D'Aliesio, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

Developers are carefully watching how the latest attempt to pipe water to a mammoth entertainment complex rising near Balzac will unfold, says a water irrigation manager.

If the swap for water between the Western Irrigation District and the Municipal District of Rocky View goes ahead, it will be the Calgary region's first foray into Alberta's emerging water market, where water now comes with a price.

"This may be a sign of things to come," Jim Webber, general manager of the Western Irrigation District, said in an interview before a public meeting in Strathmore on Thursday night. "This is the first test for urban growth.

"I think this is more of a reflection of the (water) urgency that more developers are facing."

Worried about the dwindling supply of water in parts of the province, the Alberta government last year closed off nearly every southern Alberta river to new requests for water.

For the M.D. of Rocky View, the closure left it without a source of water for a horse racing track and megamall under construction north of Calgary.

Rocky View instead attempted to draw water from the Red Deer River, but its proposal to Alberta Environment was met with strong opposition from local business and political leaders, who argued Red Deer water shouldn't be used to grow economies in other regions.

While the $15-million agreement for water and pipeline construction with the Western Irrigation District appears promising, it isn't a done deal, Webber told 150 or so people at the public meeting.

Most of the audience were users of the district's water. Thursday was their chance to learn about the deal and express comments.

"We wouldn't waste your time if we didn't think it was a good idea," Webber told the audience. The transfer, he said, will not threaten the water supply of the district's members.

If there is strong opposition to the proposal, the district will hold a plebiscite, Webber said. A final decision could take months still.

The irrigation district's system delivers water to 400 farmers, country residential homeowners and several industrial businesses. It also delivers water to a handful of communities, including Strathmore, Rockyford, Gleichen, Cluny and Standard.

Webber sees the water deal as an example of water co-operation.

rdaliesio@theherald.canwest.com
=========================================================

Cost escalation sinks clinic move
Michelle Lang, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

Dr. Rick Ward, with patients Chloe, 4, and her sister Kaiya Reid, 3, says the clinic had hoped to add more doctors in a physician-starved city.
Grant Black, Calgary Herald

A plan to expand a small medical clinic in Calgary that could have provided thousands of patients with a family physician is falling apart after the costs of moving the facility ballooned to $300,000 more than initial estimates.

Doctors at Crowfoot Village Family Practice had hoped to move to a new, bigger location in the northwest in September where they would create four new positions for general practitioners.

The move would have allowed them to take on 3,000 new patients at a time when this city is facing a shortage of doctors.

But physicians at the clinic announced Thursday that the expense of moving had grown to $1 million from original estimates of $700,000.

"We're in a position where it's not economically viable," said Dr. Rick Ward, a long-time family doctor at Crowfoot Village Family Practice.

"The community is really screaming for more family physicians. We thought this was a great opportunity to increase the number of Calgarians who would have access to family doctors."

It isn't clear whether increased building costs are behind the unexpected bill or whether the physicians received a bad quote on the move.

News of the botched deal comes as some Calgary family doctors leave their practices because of the cost of operating an office in the city.

At least 41 physicians in Calgary have closed their offices within the last year. About 250,000 Calgarians are without a regular family physician.

Thursday's announcement also comes after some family physicians recently expressed concern about a new deal between government and the Alberta Medical Association that will boost their fees.

Some physicians say the fee increase of about 11 per cent over two years won't be enough to keep all Calgary family doctors in practice.

Representatives with the Calgary and Area Physicians Association said Thursday the situation facing Crowfoot Village Family Practice isn't as unusual as it sounds.

mlang@theherald.canwest.com
=========================================================

Memorial tree clones planted
Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

Calgary soldiers killed during the First World War were remembered Thursday as the city planted clones of the poplars originally planted in their memory in the 1920s along Memorial Drive.

Ald. Druh Farrell and Dave Breckon, the city's director of parks, planted three of 500 replacements cloned from the original trees in a special ceremony.

Farrell, who was joined by veterans and other community members, said it was the perfect way to remember the fallen soldiers.

"It was a re-enactment of the original May 10th in 1922," she said. "It's important we remember the commitment made by these young men and it continues that legacy."

The first tree was planted on Arbour Day 1922 in front of the home of a local midwife known as "Ma" Brown, who lived at 932 Sunnyside Blvd. -- the street that later become Memorial Drive.

A total of 3,278 trees were planted over seven years, but only half of those survived drought, vandals and car wrecks along the road.

The trees only have an 80-year life span, and so most of what were left of the degenerating poplars were removed in the spring of 2003.

"When the trees were removed, the community reacted with grief," said Farrell. But a program to clone the original trees from sample cuttings started shortly before the last cull.

The clones, with a direct genetic link to the original memorial trees, will be planted along the inner-city corridor from the community of Parkdale east at least as far as the Langevin Bridge.

Breckon said there will be a total of 500 trees planted this summer.

cderworiz@theherald.canwest.com
=========================================================

Jack Carter Chevrolet puts prime property up for sale
David Parker, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

Jack Carter left his home and business in Swift Current, Sask., in 1962 to move to Calgary after General Motors, recognizing his automotive business savvy, approached him to open a dealership here.

He bought the piece of land on the southwest corner of Glenmore Trail and Macleod Trail South just as its first set of traffic lights were being installed, and although Chinook Centre was being developed and Woodward's department store was his neighbour, the location was on the edge of town and it was predicted by many that he would never last.

Jack Carter Chevrolet Cadillac opened in 1964 and has been there ever since, and that corner has to be one of -- if not the busiest -- crossroads in the city. I can remember the other corner spots as home to the Tradewinds Hotel and a soft drink bottling plant, but they have since long gone in favour of Chinook Station and Sovereign Plaza.

But despite having the dealership remodelled and added to several times, and buying adjacent lands for a used-car lot and new inventory storage, the dealership has run out of space. Add the new traffic patterns at the intersection, which makes it tough for customer access and the time has come to make the big change. On Saturday, the almost two-hectare parcel will be advertised for sale in Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto.

No doubt it is valuable land that will probably be converted into more prime retail space, but with its closeness to the LRT it could serve as high density residential complex as well.

In anticipation of the need to move Jack Carter purchased 4.6 hectares on the west side of 29th Street S.W. in Douglasdale Business Park some five years ago. Located across from Woody's RV World and enjoying excellent visibility from Deerfoot Trail, the new 45,000-square-foot dealership has been designed by Gibbs Gage Architects to house a 16-vehicle showroom that includes a separate, dedicated area for Cadillac models.

The huge service shop will have 24 bays and six GM Goodwrench quick-service stations built on a separate, but attached pad. The site plan has been designed to provide 360 degree access around the building for as-free-as-possible traffic flow. The mezzanine floor will feature a well-appointed customer lounge and cafe.

Forth of the 550 surface stalls will be dedicated to customers and the intent is to have 300 vehicles on display at all times.

Graham Construction has been awarded the contract to build the new Jack Carter dealership; general manager David Deeth and his staff of 115 are looking forward to moving in within a year.

- - -

Calgary is home to some very talented architectural firms. One of them, Sturgess Architecture, has been recognized with three recent awards.

The First Street LRT Station that was designed in conjunction with Graham Edmunds Cartier won the Architectural Award of Excellence at the Alberta Steel Design Awards. Its design for a house on Bowen Island, B.C., got the Residential Award at the Alberta Wood Works! Awards. Cliff Bungalow Townhouses by Sturgess and its Bridgeland Riverside Community Centre were both recognized at the Alberta Masonry Awards.

After moving to Calgary from Toronto where she served on the board of the local chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society for four years, Nancy Arab quickly became involved in the Calgary chapter.

She has been on its board for three years and has just taken over the reins as president, succeeding Richard Truscott.

Arab has been with Mercer Human Resource Consulting for the past six years and heads up its Western Canada communications business. She has 25 years experience in media and communications and has also taught media relations in the continuing education program at Ryerson University. Arab is one of the few people accredited with both the CPRS and the International Association of Business Communicators.

- - -

One of this city's most stunning remaining residential development sites has just changed hands. The property at 700 1st Avenue S.W. in the prestigious Eau Claire district, the land immediately to the west of the first Princeton Tower, has been sold for $24.75 million.

It was owned by Denver-based Pauls Corporation that is in the final stages of completing the second highrise tower on the property alongside the Bow River. Concord Pacific, the Vancouver company that has done such a remarkable job in redeveloping the former Expo 86 lands on the north shore of False Creek, contacted Rob McElhoes of Colliers International's Calgary office to act as purchasing agent -- even though it was not for sale at the time.

The deal is now complete and I will be most interested to see what kind of condominium design Concord Pacific presents to city planners for its newly acquired .9 hectare on the Bow River pathway.

- - -

Nonfiction Studio has hired Odette Ries Bustin as its new sales director/new business development. She has had 15 years of successful customer service in client relations and a proven background in marketing and public relations, most recently in public and investor relations with Marketwire -- formerly know as CCN Matthews -- the distributor of corporate news to media.

- - -

David Parker appears Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

He can be reached at 830-4622 or e-mail info@davidparker.ca
=========================================================

You know... I kinda agree with this one.

Call goes out for McCall
Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

Airport - Re: "Let airport be named after Fred McCall," June 18.

We agree with the comment that the Calgary airport already has a name, McCall Field.

This honour was bestowed on First World War fighter pilot Fred McCall.

Burlet is correct in suggesting the name simply be modernized to: McCall International Airport. Other airports are name in similar fashion, Pearson International Airport in Toronto for example.

More importantly, the Calgary facility was named to honour Fred McCall. We believe Calgary needs to reaffirm that commitment.

To remove his name is to revoke the honour bestowed upon him and is an insult and embarrassment to his family and friends.

We would urge Calgarians to speak out loudly in support of McCall International.

Doug and Donette Hyslip,
Calgary
=========================================================

My fello citizens, you are all very, very strange...

Kicking back
Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

Downtown - Re: "Calgaricity, Mile 0 and the grand urban laboratory," Swerve, June 1.

Why not upholster the entire streetscape of Olympic Plaza in lush, green, living sod for a 24- to 48-hour period? No cars or shoes allowed, and it must occur on weekday when downtown is at its busiest.

This instant lawn would be part outdoor living room, part misplaced suburban backyard, with something unique at every intersection (comfy couches with a plastic paddling pool, a playground for the kids at the W. H. Cushing Workplace School, a bocci court, putting green, art installation, mini-amphitheatre featuring presentations on urban sustainability, whatever).

It would be an oasis for Calgarians, a reprieve from the concrete jungle; an interruption to pause, reflect and feel a little grass between our toes.

Michael Willmott,
Calgary

atlas_inc

06-29-2007, 05:27 AM

City’s boom ‘more stable’
Slight cooling might be ‘a good thing’
GEOFFREY SCOTTON
CALGARY HERALD
With the midpoint of 2007 just days away, signs are increasingly clear Calgary’s breakneck economic growth of 2006 has subsided — slightly.

“It’s still booming, but there’s definitely a difference between this year and last year,” says restaurant manager Pritpal Saroya, who immigrated to Calgary in 2004, just in time to see the city’s economy escalate to an estimated seven per cent expansion in 2006.

“It seems a bit more stable now.”

Nonetheless, Calgary’s economy is growing faster than expected, an expansion that should top all Canadian cities for a fifth straight year, according to a report to be released Monday by Calgary Economic Development.

“At midpoint, 2007 looks very similar to 2006, but with a slower, more sustainable pace,” says Adam Legge, CED’s director of research and business information, who prepared the report.

“If 2006 was an economy in fifth gear, 2007 is more like the throw between third and fourth — a very healthy pace, but a slight slowdown,” Legge believes.

Frank Atkins, an economist with the University of Calgary, agreed.

“The pace of growth that we expect in 2007 may be sustainable, and so shifting to a lower growth rate may be a good thing,” Atkins said on Saturday.
“The economy in 2006 was growing too quickly,” Atkins added. “Things were out of hand — wage increases were going very, very quickly, inflation was very high — and that’s going to cool off now.

At the end of 2006, many analysts, including Legge, were expecting Calgary’s expansion to moderate to about four per cent. Increasingly, signs suggest growth will come in between four and five per cent, which would once again lead all Canadian cities.

“Taking stock, it appears our economy has slowed down, but not to the level forecasted,” Legge notes. “It is performing better than forecasted.”

The report, assembled in conjunction with the Calgary Herald, marks the first in a planned semi-annual series of assessments of the Calgary economy to be produced by CED and featured by this paper.

The State of the Economy: Calgary Semi-Annual Economic Review concludes that, in 2007, Calgarians have stopped trying to get everything done at once, an agenda that appeared to drive the frenzied pace of activity last year.

“Driving this difference is largely lower energy prices, which have scaled back the imperative of trying to get everything done at once,” says Legge.

However, sentiment isn’t the only moderating factor. Calgary has, in many respects, bumped forcefully up against the limits of growth in terms of labour force, supplies and pricing of housing along with office, industrial and commercial space; and the ability of businesses and consumers to absorb galloping price increases.

Inflation has accelerated to an average of more than 5.6 per cent in the first five months of 2007 from an average 4.6 per cent in 2007, new house prices and resale house prices continue to skyrocket and labour shortages are widespread and, in some sectors, critical.

“The intense level of demand and hence competition to get things done in 2006 created significant cost increases that are still being borne in a slightly slower economy,” Legge notes. “In 2007, businesses recognize that there are limits to what can be done.”

atlas_inc

06-29-2007, 05:31 AM

Stampede jumps ahead
Roundup Centre development starting three years early

Paula Beauchamp and Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, June 25, 2007

The $50-million redevelopment of the Calgary Stampede's Roundup Centre is expected to start this summer, with the city's planning commission to consider a permit application on Thursday.

The early start to the project -- three years ahead of schedule -- will deliver much-needed trade show space to the city.

City officials and tourism operators say Calgary desperately needs bigger, upgraded trade and exhibition facilities to compete as a viable host city for international events.

Warren Connell, the Calgary Stampede's vice-president of development, said extra funding from the province had allowed the development to move ahead sooner than planned.

Some $35 million -- part of the 2005 budget surplus -- was distributed last year, and another $15 million was allocated in this year's budget.

"We originally thought we'd be doing the next phase of the Roundup Centre in three years," Connell said.

The development permit application describes the Roundup Centre expansion as a "critical anchor for the park's transformation into a year-round gathering place."

The three-phase development is comprised of two 50,000-square-foot exhibition halls and a new Plus-15 connection.

The Plus-15 walkway will link the Roundup Centre to the Stampede Casino, new banquet and meeting rooms, and a new internal walkway system.

Stampede officials said work on one of the new exhibit halls would begin after the Stampede ends on July 15.

Ald. Ray Jones said he could not see any reason why the development permit application would be turned down Thursday.

He said it was a priority to get the revenue-producing components of the Stampede redevelopment on stream.

"Other cities in Canada are starting to expand their facilities, and people are bypassing us to go there," Jones said. "We've already lost (entertainers) Tim McGraw and Faith Hill to Edmonton."

Jones said starting the Roundup redevelopment sooner rather than later would save money because of spiralling construction costs.

Heather Lundy, spokeswoman for the Calgary Telus Convention Centre, said the Stampede's expanded exhibition hall capacity could attract big spenders into the city.

"The earlier it happens, the better. It's time," she said.

Lundy said the convention centre could potentially partner with the Stampede and use its expanded trade and exhibition spaces to accommodate larger groups.

"For us to be competitive, we need to expand facilities and keep pace with the economy and the way things are moving in the rest of the country," she said.

"Our biggest competitor is Vancouver, and they have much bigger facilities."

Calgary MLA Cindy Ady said the province is happy with progress on the redevelopment.

"It's ahead of schedule, and we are really happy about that," she said.

"You wish you could build four more (trade) halls. The demand is there and it is huge."

The Stampede's development permit application has the support of both the Victoria Crossing Business Revitalization Zone and the Beltline Community Association.

pbeauchamp@theherald.canwest.com
kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com
=======================================================

Halfway house gets reprieve

Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, June 25, 2007

A halfway house in Victoria Park will be allowed to remain for another year -- after the Calgary Stampede lifted an eviction order.

The John Howard Society, which runs Bedford House at 615 13th Ave. S.E., had been given until June 30 to find an alternative site.

But Calgary Stampede spokesman Doug Fraser has confirmed the group will be allowed to remain for an extra year because it will be at least that long before the Stampede needs the property for its redevelopment plans.

The facility had planned to relocate to Sunalta, but the move could not proceed because of opposition in the southwest neighbourhood.

atlas_inc

06-29-2007, 05:39 AM

From www.joconl.com

June 27, 2007
Beltline Heats Up
Permits top $1 billion for Calgary neighbourhood
Suzanne Zwarun
correspondent

A Calgary neighbourhood that has been the pits for decades is now hotter than Brad Pitt.

Active building permits for residential and non-residential construction in the Beltline – the belt of land just south of downtown – has topped one billion dollars for the first time, according to Calgary Economic Development.

With the Beltline’s overall office vacancy rate at 2.2 per cent – the vacancy rate for class A office space is at zero – construction cranes are on every corner. More than 300,000 square feet of new office space is slated to be completed this year, 286,000 square feet next year and 344,000 in 2009.

“That’s almost a million square feet of added inventory in the next two and a half years,” says Dan Harmsen of Barclay Real Estate whose company estimates there could be another 746,000 square feet of new development in 2010 and beyond.

With the Beltline already one of Canada’s densest downtown office areas, residential development also has taken off. There are an estimated 6,000 residential units planned or under construction in the Beltline which now takes in the old communities of Connaught and Victoria Park.

To try to get a handle on the growth, 150 architects, politicians, community and municipal officials recently got together at the Beltline Urban Forum, the first public event of its kind for the Beltline and one now scheduled to be repeated. Toronto architect Bruce Kuwabara, one participant, said so much is going on, it made him dizzy. “On a tour of the Beltline, three out of four corners of one intersection were under construction.”

Kuwabara, who is with KPMB Architects, praised the arriVa condominium tower now under construction on the far east side of the Beltline. That’s just one of several Beltline projects, worth an estimated $2 billion, by John Torode and his Torode Realty Advisors, a major initiator of the massive redevelopment in the Beltline.

Torode, involved in Calgary real estate development since the early 1970s, has been at the forefront of redeveloping the disintegrating neighbourhood of Victoria Park, where hookers oscillating like lawn sprinklers on every corner have been more common than the upscale condos now sprouting in their place.

Besides arriVa, Torode has a huge expansion under way around Hotel Arts on 1st Street and on Centre Street between 12th and 13th Avenues. Construction is about to start on a three storey retail-office complex with expansion and underground parking for the hotel on 1st Street. Construction is scheduled to begin in six to nine months on a 39-storey residential condo with a three storey podium and underground parking on Centre. Torode also has a 10-storey office tower under construction at 8th Avenue and 8th Street and is working on plans for a possible hotel and residential condo a block west of arriVa.

At the west end of the Beltline, Arcus Developments just announced plans to build Astoria on 10th, a 34-storey tower with main floor retail, two levels of office space and 31 of residential units. It is being designed by Kirkor Architects & Planners of Toronto and Tarjan Group of Calgary. Other condos announced for that area include towers on the site of the former Kai Mortensen store on 11th Avenue, towers called Lausanne and Montreaux at 10th Avenue and 14th Street S.W., and another development at the former Bennett Glass property on 11th Avenue.

atlas_inc

06-29-2007, 05:42 AM

Victoria rules
Project to revitalize Victoria Park
Marty Hope, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, June 23, 2007

Heavy equipment growled and slogged its way across a puddle-strewn, fenced-in construction site to continue the towering changes being made to the Victoria Park skyline.

Ground has been broken on Nuera, a $170-million, twin-tower development by Edmonton-based Cove Properties.

It will claw its way out of the ground directly north of Cove's other two towers, Sasso and Vetro on 1st Street S.E. between 13th and 14th avenues.
From left: Doug Mazurek, John Sparrow and Angelo Mancuso of Cove Properties Ltd. join George Brookman of the Calgary Stampede and David Low of the Victoria Crossing Business Revitalization Zone at the sod-turning ceremonies for Nuera by Cove Properties.View Larger Image View Larger Image
From left: Doug Mazurek, John Sparrow and Angelo Mancuso of Cove Properties Ltd. join George Brookman of the Calgary Stampede and David Low of the Victoria Crossing Business Revitalization Zone at the sod-turning ceremonies for Nuera by Cove Properties.
Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald

The Nuera development, part of the larger Stampede Station project, will consist of a pair of 34-storey buildings holding 231 suites each. It will also have 25,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and 540 stalls in the four-level underground parking building.

"We've broken ground for the entire parkade and retail podium and we should be done in about 14 months," says Doug Mazurek, Cove's vice-president of construction. "I think we'll likely be starting tower construction next August for completion in 2011."

He expects occupancies in the first tower to begin in the fall of 2010. Suite sizes in both towers will be similar.

Floors two to 27 will feature one-bedroom units measuring 635 to 645 square feet and two-bedroom units ranging from 910 to 985 square feet.

The 28th and 29th floors will feature sub-penthouses from 890 to 1,165 square feet.

Floors 30 to 33 will have two-storey Sky penthouses ranging from 1,300 to 1,500 square feet.

The response to the development has been phenomenal, says John Sparrow, Cove's vice-president of sales and marketing.

"The first phase of Nuera comprised 79 residences and we were thrilled to sell out in one day," he says.

"So, due to the high demand, we decided to release an additional 80 suites as phase two, which also sold very quickly. Currently, we are 95-per-cent sold on units released to date."

Prices for the first two phases averaged between $460 and $500 per square foot.

Sparrow says third-phase reservations are now being taken for the remaining units in the first building, not including the penthouse floors, and 38 suites in the second building.

Prices have not been finalized.

Among the amenities available to residents of Nuera will be a fully-equipped gym with change rooms, showers and steamrooms. There will also be an owners' lounge and boardroom. Nuera is also going to be green, showing off 10,000 square feet of landscaped terrace above the retail podium.

"We've incorporated many LEED elements into the towers, such as a stormwater cistern in the parkade that will allow us to reuse water for irrigation on the property," says Mazurek.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which is a voluntary standard for creating sustainable, high-performance buildings. Other green aspects in Nuera will include high-efficiency plumbing components, energy-efficient air exchange system, low-offgassing paint, programmable thermostats, water-saving dishwashers, the use of recycled materials, and low-E glass. E stands for emissivity, a measure of heat loss.

Cove's four towers are contributing to an overall enhancement of the area south of downtown that Victoria Park officials see as a way of improving the area's appeal. "Nuera is part of the ongoing transformation here," says David Low, executive director of the Victoria Crossing Business Revitalization Zone. "Imagine in another three years the number of people who will be living in the four to six towers being built -- it will be unbelievable."

He isn't concerned that the pace of construction could lead to the area being overbuilt.

But the one problem that could crop up is the availability of land, he says.

Meanwhile, work will continue on several projects -- each combining residential with retail and office uses.
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"With more people using the streets and public spaces more appropriately, the streetscape here will change dramatically," says Low.

More people in the area, who will be watching what is happening, "is likely to reduce criminal activity," he says.

Sparrow describes Nuera buyers as young urban professionals who are looking forward to the numerous amenities in the surrounding area.

"They can live, work and play all right outside their doors," he says. There also continues to be a growing appeal to downtown living from empty-nesters making a change in their lifestyle.

George Brookman, chairman of the board and president of the Calgary Stampede, welcomes the newest additions to the area's development.

The added density is a "positive" for the events planned at Stampede Park, he says.

"All of the development going on, including Nuera, started after the Stampede's master plan was approved," he says. "All the developers have spoken to us and shown us their plans and we fully support everything that is happening."

The relationship between Cove and the Calgary Stampede will prove beneficial to residents, says Sparrow. "Now that the vast offerings of the Stampede grounds are being expanded, residents will be able to do something different every day -- and all within walking distance of your front door.

atlas_inc

07-03-2007, 03:18 PM

$550M tunnel plan skirts reserve
Cut-and-cover route could spare Weaselhead
Kerry Williamson Calgary Herald Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Proposed connector routeA $550-million option to solve the city's southwest gridlock problems will be taken to the public in the fall, a plan pitched as a saviour for close to 100 homes as well as benefiting the pristine Weaselhead delta.

The plan includes the construction of a sub-surface road through a narrow section of the Glenmore reservoir, extending from 37th Street in the north to Anderson Road in the south, and a separate road beneath a service right-of-way connecting up with Crowchild Trail. It replaces an older plan to build a tunnel under the Weaselhead natural area, a proposal that had been officially shelved because of high costs and concerns over damage to the wetlands. It is one of four options being looked at by officials uneasy about any deal with the Tsuu T'ina band and the province, a deal which has yet to be ratified by either side.

It has been developed privately, with the support of Ward 11 alderman Barry Erskine. "In the absence of any deal with Tsuu T'ina, we have to look at other options. There are a number of options and they need to be explored," said Erskine. "We are facing severe gridlock. We can't leave this in limbo, doing nothing is not a solution. "We must find a solution that respects the residential housing and the environmental issues." The proposal will be taken to the public at an open house in September. The open house is expected to include other plans, including the long-discussed road through Tsuu T'ina land, a bridge across the Weaselhead, and the new proposal, called the Ultimate, which itself has several variations.

The Ultimate proposal would involve an eight lane "cut and cover" road or causeway with connectors to Glenmore Trail both east and west. A second cut and cover road would be built on an electrical service lane near 66th Avenue S.W., connecting with Crowchild Trail, enabling the burial of utilities and the development of a green space. The plan would allow the development of a constructed wetland, and stay well away from the Weaselhead, a point of contention with residents and environmentalists. Proponents say the wetland would improve the quality of Calgary's drinking water, putting off the need to expand the city's water treatment plant. Engineers involved in the project peg the cost at about $550 million, and claim it would protect 99 homes and about 200 condo units near 37th Avenue S.W. that could be lost if the road is developed in other ways.

Members of the Lakeview Community Association were given a 90 minute briefing of the proposal last month. It comes six months after several aldermen called for a detailed review of alternatives to the Tsuu T'ina ring road. Talks between the band and the province continue. The two sides are waiting for a land appraisal, something that was expected to be completed six months ago. Morten Paulsen, spokesman for the band, said talks "are fruitful and continuing, but it's a complicated process." Scott Blasken, president of the Lakeview Community Association, told the Herald that a ring road through Tsuu T'ina land remains the preferred route, however a sub-surface road would be the next best alternative. "Our stance is that the provincial/Tsuu T'ina ring road is still the priority way to go," said Blasken, who hopes to meet with Erskine about the plan. "But compared to a surface road, we would much rather prefer having something underground. In that regard, we would prefer to have a trench and cover."

Blasken said consultation with all communities involved is key to getting the job done properly, "but ideally, we'd like a ring road." Blasken said his community would jump at the chance to take part in an open house to discuss all possibilities for the route. "I have no idea where this thing is sitting at this point. Whoever it is that's planning this or financing this, they need to drive that fact and keep the constituents involved," he said.
"We are sleeping with the elephants -- if they roll over in the middle of the night, we are going to feel it." Maurice Tims, of the Better Way to Go association -- formed in 1995 to combat the city's plan to widen 14th Street S. -- supports the new proposal. He said it will save houses and benefit the environment through the constructed wetlands. "A surface route and a bridge would impact a lot of people, especially in Lakeview and this one they won't even see," said Tims. "And the crossing of the delta would put in a little dam which would effectively give you a wetlands."

kwilliamson@theherald.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

07-25-2007, 06:13 PM

Towers, hotel to rise on Eau Claire landmark
Nearly seven blocks to be reshaped
Colette DerworizCalgary Herald Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Blaise McNeil, owner of the 1886 Cafe at Eau Claire for 22 years, says he was left out of the loop on planning for redevelopment of the area.A bold plan to demolish the beleaguered Eau Claire Festival Market and replace it with several new buildings -- including up to six highrise towers -- is drawing some anxiety from its neighbours. City council signed off this week on the sale of 2.85 hectares of municipal land to Harvard Developments Inc. of Regina. The deal, worth $12.4 million, will kickstart the redevelopment of nearly seven blocks with a hotel, residential units, restaurants, retail outlets and a grocery store.

"A lot of people have had high expectations for the Eau Claire Market, and it never really delivered," said Ald. Druh Farrell, whose ward includes the area. "But we still have those high expectations." When the city agreed to sell the land, it included a clause that allowed council to sign off on the drawings for the redevelopment. "They have to be of extraordinary quality," Farrell said. "It can't just be an ordinary development."

A Herald review of the plans -- part of a land-use amendment before the city's planning commission on Aug. 9 -- show the redevelopment saves only the historic smokestack and a building from the Eau Claire Lumber Co.
The building, which has been home to a trendy cafe for nearly 30 years, will likely be relocated closer to the Bow River and its busy pathways.
"We're going to be here," said Blaise McNeil, owner of the 1886 Cafe. "That's all we've heard. . . . It's stressful, it's stressful for everyone." The plans show a pedestrian-friendly environment with tree-lined streets and outdoor patios, with underground parking lots and bicycle stalls. All of the buildings, which include everything from apartment units to a high-end hotel, are covered in modern glass and light-coloured finishes. McNeil, who has owned the 1886 Cafe for 22 years, said he's been left out of the planning loop. "It'd be nice to know what is going on," he said as he sat on the patio outside his historic cafe, across the street from the brightly coloured market, which he agrees wasn't designed well. "It's a beautiful big space, but it's wasted," McNeil said.

Another business owner who leases two spots inside Eau Claire Festival Market said he's looking forward to the redevelopment. "Having a high-end living environment in the area will bring better revenues into the businesses and a better environment to the downtown core," said Nino Acosta, owner of Latin Corner Dance Studio and NA Dance Wear. But he worries the long-term gain will come with some short-term pain for businesses during the construction phases, which must be finished within 11 years or the developer risks losing the land back to the city. Harvard Developments told the Herald this week that, with all of the proper approvals, they plan to start development between December and June 2008. Visitors to the market Tuesday said they're concerned the area will lose its charm once highrise towers and underground parking lots replace the festival market building. "It's quiet, it's not like Chinook (Centre). It's a more peaceful environment," said Calgarian Wayne Bennett. "It's an artsy environment."

Bennett and his wife, Joyce, said the developer shouldn't tear down the market. An out-of-town visitor, however, said that while it has character, the building definitely needs work. "There's not much in there," said Ottawa resident Gae Taller. "But I would hate to see more highrises. "I think you have enough." Farrell, however, said the redevelopment plans have the potential to create a vibrant urban village in Eau Claire. "That was a concern -- that they would build the residential towers, and the market would stay as it is," she said. "But the market needs to be redeveloped for it to contribute and be what it should be." The Ward 7 alderman added that the community has never had the amenities to allow it to thrive.

On Monday, city council also approved changes to the land use for a controversial redevelopment proposal on the corner of 4th Avenue and 8th Street S.W. The changes will allow the city to apply for a development permit for a 220-unit apartment building, which includes 88 units of affordable housing and a fire station.
cderworiz@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

07-31-2007, 04:04 PM

Population to rocket 225,000 in a decade
staggering growth strains infrastructure
Kim GuttormsonCalgary Herald Tuesday, July 31, 2007

It will cost Calgary more than $7 billion over the next decade to build enough roads, fire halls, police stations and rec centres to keep up with the rapid pace of a city expecting to grow by another 225,000 people during that time, a civic report says. More critically, two-thirds of that future bill remains unfunded, while another $4.4 billion is needed for maintenance and upgrades to existing infrastructure, the annual accommodating growth report states. In the next five years alone, Calgary's population is projected to hit 1.1 million people, requiring another 31 square kilometres of land to house them -- the majority in new communities on the city's edges. Those 100,000 people, equivalent to a city larger than Lethbridge, will need five new park spaces, nine pathway projects, three more police stations, nine rec centres and nine additional fire stations, states the report. "The numbers speak for themselves," said Mayor Dave Bronconnier, who asked that a price tag be attached to the infrastructure deficit outlined in the report. "Critical, strategic decisions need to be made. "It may be a reality check or a wake-up call for some people to realize the cost of growth."

David Watson, the city's general manager of planning, said the accommodating growth report, a snapshot of the challenges the city faces over the next five to 20 years, has been put together every year since 2002. "It gives a really good sense of where the priorities are and, perhaps, where the shortfalls are," he said. "It doesn't say how we're going to solve it." Bronconnier has been waging a war with the province over Calgary's boomtown needs, and says this report simply underscores the point he's long made. "We know what the cost of growth is, we know how much money's going to be needed in the future, what we don't have is the identifiable funds in terms of a long-term funding agreement with the province," he said. While the Stelmach government, in its April budget, unveiled a municipal infrastructure deal that will provide $400 million to Alberta communities this year, the mayor and others have argued too many strings means it can't be spent on local priorities. It will ramp up to $1.4 billion by 2010-2011. But more than three months after the money was announced, the province is still finalizing guidelines for how the first-year money can be spent.

A spokesman for Municipal Affairs Minister Ray Danyluk -- who was attending a session in Vermilion on Monday on what rules municipalities would like to see in future years -- said the first-year guidelines are expected by early August. The city maintains that it needs a commitment on how long it can expect the funding -- set to be the equivalent of what the province collects in education property taxes -- to continue. Funding individual projects as they come up, rather than putting money in place that can be drawn upon for longer-term programs, would be a "recipe for disaster," Bronconnier said. Alex Broda, the city's director of transportation planning, said major projects -- whether the Glenmore-Elbow-5th Street interchange or the proposed west leg of the LRT -- need time to plan before the first shovel goes in the ground. "These things don't happen overnight," he said. "With any funding, as long as it comes through in a manageable fashion, we can plan for it and so can the industry plan for it."

And while much of the attention gets focused on what's missing and needs to be built, it's also costly to maintain what's already here, recreation director Kurt Hanson said. "I think we've got a mutual challenge in keeping up with what we already have and meeting growth demands," he said. The recreation department needs $153 million in new infrastructure over the next five years, while only $30 million of that is funded, the report says. The existing rec centres and pools require $139 million in maintenance and upgrades, while just over a third of that has financing. Broda said buses and LRT cars are a good example of the need to balance between new and what's here. As the city tries to move the tens of thousands of new people around the city, it purchases more buses and light rail vehicles. "More buses means more mechanics are needed," Broda said. "We need maintenance facilities to accommodate LRT cars. Currently some are stored outside, it's not good for the vehicle. They don't last as long, they need to be replaced sooner. "It's a snowballing effect. The more and more infrastructure we have, the more and more maintenance it needs."

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com

City Growth Fast Facts
- Population: Calgary is expected to grow by 225,000 people over the next decade.
- Infrastructure: More than $7 billion will be needed for new roads, fire halls, police stations and rec centres.
- Land: In the next five years, another 31 square kilometres will be needed for housing.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

Calgary's suburban development 'unethical'
Urban sprawl expected to grow 40% by 2026
Deborah TetleyCalgary Herald Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Moving to the 'Burbs: In the four years between 2002 and 2006, new suburban communities exploded by about 137,000 people -- representing nearly 120 per cent of the city's population growth. Those numbers are expected to continue to soar along the outermost fringes of Calgary until 2026, when the suburbs' population will spike by 40 per cent to 577,000 people.; Dark areas on map of Calgary represent areas of expected growth in each segment of the city.; Source: Accommodating Growth 2007, Monitoring Growth and Change Series
Photograph by : Darren Francey, Calgary Herald

From the front step of her new home in Evanston, Tassy Gavet looks out onto a brown, barren and dusty scene. While she awaits someone from the city to grade her property, she is kept from laying sod or planting trees, leaving the dust flying through her screens during the season's hottest and driest month. For Gavet, a dusty home during construction in her cul de sac comes with buying "more house for less money" in a new community -- and the only downside she sees to living in the sprawling suburbs. That, and the constant teasing from her downtown-dwelling sister. "She jokes that I live in Evanston, Alberta, because I live so far from downtown Calgary, it's like I'm in another city," Gavet said. Gavet, her husband, Nigel, and their two children number four of the 145,230 people living who are living in new suburban Calgary communities in 2006 -- representing 15 per cent of the city's population of 991,759 last year.

In the four years between 2002 and 2006, new suburban communities exploded by about 137,000 people -- representing nearly 120 per cent of the city's population growth. And, according to an annual report on growth released by the city, those numbers will continue to skyrocket along the outermost fringes of Calgary until 2026, when the suburbs' population will spike by 40 per cent to a staggering 577,000 people. The figures are contained in a report entitled: Accommodating Growth 2007, Monitoring Growth and Change Series. The northwest, where Gavet moved in December, is one of the city's fastest-growing and most heavily populated areas.

While the population is a little more than 170,542 in new and established neighbourhoods combined, it's expected to grow by more than 9,000 over the next two decades. An urban planner with the University of Calgary calls the march to the fringes "unethical." The mayor and other city officials call it "necessary." The ward alderman vows the planning will be "complete and thoughtful." Helen Larocque said while the massive growth is predictable, yet unavoidable, steps are being taken to build higher-density areas and put appropriate infrastructure in place. "Unlike in the past, when we built communities in the north before amenities, fire halls and libraries, we are taking a very thoughtful approach to planning," Larocque said Monday.

To the east, west, north and south, new suburban developments and established communities are filling out and will continue to do so for the next two decades. In the north, for instance, the new community of Sherwood in Symon's Valley is encroaching on the MD of Rocky View toward Airdrie. Bev Sandalack, co-ordinator of the urban design program at U of C, said "it's a shame that we're gobbling up all of Calgary's gorgeous landscape" to accommodate growth, rather than building more mixed-use, high density communities. "It is unethical to be continuing to develop the way this city is," Sandalack said.

Mayor Dave Bronconnier said that while the city is trying to put more people into established areas, with the rate Calgary is growing, there are no real alternatives to growing out. "With as much intensity as we're putting on the existing communities, people still want the ability to live in the suburbs, raise their families, so that puts other pressures, whether it be on rec facilities, schools, on extensions of LRT lines," he said. But the city is also increasing the density of those new suburbs. "What we've done, as a policy decision, is force the density to go almost double that of suburbs that were built 20 years ago," Bronconnier said. "Double the density, but it still means that growth will occur." The mayor said the city is also lobbying the province to make legislative changes that would make it easier for growth to pay for itself, such as applying development charges.

While the city now negotiates with the development industry about what new communities should pay toward their new roads, police stations and rec centres, Bronconnier would like to see it legislated, so the fees better reflect the actual cost. Gavet said despite the number of people living in her northwest corner of Calgary, her neighbourhood has retained a small-town feel. "I can go the park with my kids and meet up with 15 other moms," she said. "It's definitely a big city, and we are really far from the heart of it, but we have everything we need."

dtetley@theherald.canwest.com.

© The Calgary Herald 2007

atlas_inc

08-04-2007, 10:50 PM

Toronto, Calgary next targets for Opus boutique hotels

Room rates at Vancouver site average $329 to $339 per night

With Vancouver and Montreal now covered, Opus Hotel owner John deCourcey Evans has his sights on Toronto and Calgary to complete a Canadian quartet of upscale boutique hotels bearing the Opus brand.

Evans' Trilogy Properties bought the three-year old Hotel Godin in Montreal last month and changed the 136-room property's name to Opus Montreal -- five years after the first 96-room Opus Hotel opened in Yaletown.

Evans said new Opus hotels in Toronto and Calgary are the next obvious goals because those are the markets that can afford the rates Opus needs to run five-star boutique properties. He expects Opus Vancouver will achieve average room rates of $329 or $339 this month.

"The top-performing properties in the hotel industry today are boutique properties," Evans said in an interview. "It's an entirely different business when you fill just 90 rooms a night, rather than 400. It's all about rate so we won't sacrifice rate for revenue."

Trilogy entered the hotel management business almost by accident in 2002 because the Yaletown property was supposed to be a limited partnership operated by U.S.-based Kimpton Hotels.

But the units didn't sell out so Trilogy scrapped those plans and took over the property ownership and management itself. Five years later, it sees itself as a national brand.

"In the U.S., many one-off boutique hotels have become global brands and expanded their operations," Evans said. "Given the awareness of our brand, we have an opportunity to do the same thing."

He mentioned the 60 Thompson Hotel in New York -- which recently bought the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles -- and the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles as examples of individual hotels that have expanded into national brands.

Evans prefers to build new hotels but made an exception with Montreal because it was a unique opportunity to expand quickly into a vibrant market. He said the hotel suffered from not having liquor licences in place from the outset and it was taken over last year by its lenders -- the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec.

Evans wouldn't reveal a purchase price but said it was less than the estimated hotel replacement cost of $35 million. Opus Vancouver was a $24-million project and Evans said future Opus hotels will likely be financed by non-Canadian lenders.

"It's hard to finance hotels in Canada because chartered banks here are quite risk averse and only in the market in a limited way," he said. "U.S. lenders are more open to getting involved in the Canadian hotel industry."

Evans feels true boutique hotels can't have more than 150 rooms because they lose their intimacy if they become any bigger. He also feels they should be stand-alone properties, not 10 floors of a 40-storey highrise, and he has scoured the Calgary market unsuccessfully for two years now looking for a great building site.

Evans said four Opus hotels in Canada would be enough because he's not looking for economies of scale. Each property has to work on its own.

He feels it's a great time to expand in the Canadian hotel sector because the economy is strong and the country continues to attract many high-end international travellers. The high Canadian dollar has hurt U.S. traffic to Canada, but Evans feels that trend can be overcome.

"We have to change the thought that you only come to Canada because it's a good deal," he said. "You have to come to Canada because it's a world-class experience and we're going to charge for it because we're not a discount destination."

So could there ever be an Opus property in the U.S.? "I guess you never say never," Evans said.

Building permit values down
June figures still second highest ever after May's

Geoffrey Scotton, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, August 04, 2007

Building permit values in Calgary and Alberta dipped in June -- in the wake of a massive permit issued in May for EnCana Corp's new headquarters -- but construction intentions continue to climb in both jurisdictions, paving the way for annual records.

In fact, June's $697 million of permits in Cowtown was the second-highest level ever after May's $1 billion-plus, an all-time record was set in Edmonton at $402.8 million and, province-wide, residential permit values surged 46.4 per cent from May to a record $983 million.

Statistics Canada said Friday the value of permits issued in Alberta in June was $1.5 billion in June, off 15 per cent from the $1.7 billion recorded in May. However, on a year-to-date basis, the record $8 billion in permits issued in the first half of the year was 27.6 per cent higher than the first six months of 2006.

May's figures included a $600 million-plus permit for EnCana's The Bow building in downtown Calgary and the lack of a repeat in June was felt in numbers locally, provincially and even across Canada, where permits edged down 0.4 per cent in June to $6.9 billion. Nonetheless, it was the second-strongest month ever (after May), with non-residential permits off 10 per cent to $2.8 billion while residential climbed 7.4 per cent to $4.1 billion.

Analysts were unanimous in their assessment that despite the decline June's figures were incredibly strong, further evidence that Canada's construction industry is going full-out and more fodder for advocates of raising interest rates to soothe a frenzied Canadian economy that is operating above capacity.

"This is in fact an incredibly strong report and yet more evidence that the construction sector is absolutely on fire," said BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. deputy chief economist Doug Porter. "That permits were basically unchanged in June is an impressive show of strength."

Most forecasters had expected a 9.7 per cent decline, said RBC Financial Group senior economist Dawn Desjardins.

"The firm tone in permit demand in the second quarter underlines the economy's strong momentum and supports the case for the Bank of Canada to keep pushing the overnight rate higher," said Desjardins.

In Alberta, a 166 per cent increase in multiple-unit residential permit value lifted the overall Alberta residential figures to a record and elevated national residential permit value above $4 billion for only the second time.

gscotton@theherald.canwest.com

Average home price surpasses $500,000
Market has likely hit plateau, say analysts

Geoffrey Scotton, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, August 04, 2007

A flurry of sales of million dollar-plus homes in July pushed Calgary's average monthly single family home price above $500,000 for the first time, the Calgary Real Estate Board said Friday, as other indicators suggest broader prices may have plateaued.

The board said the average price of a single family home in metropolitan Calgary rose more than 1.8 per cent from June and nearly 21 per cent from July, 2006 to $505,920.

"I don't think it will represent a psychological barrier to buyers at all," said Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. senior analyst Richard Corriveau of the half-million-dollar marker.

He noted longer-term mortgages are keeping higher-priced homes manageable for many, while "those people that don't need a mortgage and have the luxury of paying in cash, that $500,000 milestone isn't going to make them blink."

Ron Stanners, president of CREB, said the $500,000-plus figure is an "anomaly" caused by 59 $1-million-plus homes changing hands in July versus 45 in June.

Still, Stanners, who predicted earlier this year that the average monthly price would not surpass $500,000 in 2007, was somewhat chagrined Friday.

"They say eat (crow) when it's warm, it's a lot easier to swallow," Stanners said, nonetheless standing by his belief prices generally are set for a slowdown. "I think it will bear out over the balance of the year. If we see the million dollar sales drop off in August, that average will drop down."

Sales volume in July was 1,495, down from the 1,757 recorded in June and roughly comparable to the 1,425 seen in July 2006.
However, the average days on market has mushroomed to 35 from 29 days in June and 18 in July 2006.

Stanners noted that Calgary's median price slipped by more than $4,000, or nearly one per cent, in July to $435,000. The price, which indicates the level at which an equal number of homes sold above and below the figure, was still up 13.25 per cent from July 2006.

"My guess is that prices are actually levelling right off and they may even slightly decline a bit. I think we'll see it next month and at the end of the year we still will be below $500,000.

"If the crow gets bigger I'll just have to swallow more," Stanners said.

He also argued that the median price is a far better benchmark for measuring the level and tone of the market than average price, which can be thrown off by high-priced sales and has a bias upward due to market structure.

"It's more realistic, it's more telling of what's really going on out there," said Stanners.

Amongst condominiums, the average price fell to $318,582 from $323,269 in June, a decline of 1.4 per cent, but still more than 15 per cent higher than July, 2006. The August median condo price was $297,900, up nearly 14 per cent from July 2006, but down 2.3 per cent from the $304,900 recorded in June of this year.

The CREB noted that inventory hit a peak for the year, rising to 8,972, however, new listings were waning, falling more than 23 per cent from June to 2,548 in July, a level 6.25 per cent below the additions made in July 2006.

In marked contrast to Stanners, Corriveau doesn't see much of a slowdown on the horizon.

"There's a lot of talk about price stabilization, but they're still up quite strongly and still increasing on a month-to-month basis," said Corriveau.

"There's no question that the market has softened and we've seen modestly weaker sales and a steep escalation in active listings -- but nonetheless, prices are still climbing. Month-to-month, we just saw a $10,000 increase."

gscotton@theherald.canwest.com