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