I guess I'll weigh in. I talk to some of these people occasionally and run into them all the time at 360.
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Originally Posted by bomberjet
What's with the fire suppression along the windows. Seems odd.
But yes, starting to come together!
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Separate addresses. The concourse is 360 Main and above is 330, so it needs it.
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Originally Posted by buzzg
I have heard recently from people in the industry very aware of this project, that the early rumblings were true – ARTIS is more or less out of money at this point and is desperately trying to sell off the entire property to keep the project afloat. Apparently all these steel delays with the bankrupted Chinese companies happened because they kept looking for the cheapest (often sketchy) suppliers they could find.
Sounds like ARTIS wasn't overly prepared for the amount of upfront capital required on an apartment complex vs. condos which you can pre-sell for more upfront cash. They were under the impression that things are looking very grim.
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Well, this is the kind of stuff I deal with and that's not quite. Well, maybe the industry grumbled but that's not Artis' situation.
They had an awesome quarter and have been selling non-core assets for a while... they have money, they just want more. They've been aggressively buying back stock and have favourable analyst reviews based on their performance. They've have developed stuff bigger than this too.
As for their desire to sell, that was public information for over a year. It's a non-core asset, and it's very normal for REITs and large funds to aquire and dispose of assets to enable new opportunities.. These are not abnormal circumstances in the REIT/Financial world.
As far as trade bankruptcies, a lot of local or Canadian bankruptcies contributed tons as well, and according to people on the job site the steel met Canadian standards.
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Originally Posted by plrh
I am sceptical of the project not going forward. They know what the ballpark costs are and when they will need to be paid. Every month of delay is 300-odd rent payments forgone, and if they can't sell it quickly then the only way to get money out of it is to get it built fast.
If they are losing money the only ways to mitigate it are to sell it fast or to get it built.
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Well, as you said, they know the costs, they know the revenues. You don't stop any of that midway through. This block has been for sale for a long time, and none of that was a reaction. Based on their statements, that was a plan.
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Originally Posted by Biff
Just to clarify so the speculation can continue - the budget is around $60 million for the tower.
My feeling is that it is just tough sledding for an inexperienced builder of a project of this scale.
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I can promise you the budget was not ever 60M.
As for the builder, they're not a monster like PCL, yet some of the bankruptcies involved in this project are, ironically, from companies bigger than them. That's a minefield to navigate. They've done big stuff also.
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Originally Posted by BuildUpWpg
Looks like a missed opportunity to have rooftop patio on top of the new earls? It's a perfect spot for it.
Yesterday down in the concourse, I overheard some construction workers talking, saying they are trying to find a way to create a temporary walkway to the skywalk over Graham, so that people don't have to go outside like they do now.
As for the financial problems Artis might be facing, you wouldn't know it based on the amount of activity going on site. Yesterday, from my perch across the street at BellMTS, I counted over 30 constructions workers in sight moving about on 300 and 330. This is the most I've every seen out there.
Next level of steel columns just started going up this morning!
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1. Agreed... I'd love a rooftop there. I guess Earl's or ARtis didn't. Boggles my mind.
2. Artis just had a killer quarter. They're alright. In fact, they've done great this last year. Hopefully we've slowed that speculation train down.
3. Time for that crane to get taller.