[Saint John] 91 King Street | ?m | ?s | Site Prep

[Pugsley]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

What are the odds that he changes the design? We've seen it with other projects in the past. As for the height, would the reduction in interest rates be a factor? They have come down 75 basis points since June, and more cuts are expected. There are 2 more rate announcements this year.

I think the bigger element that will change the height or design to accommodate more units will be if the Liberals win the election and remove the HST off new builds. He's been pretty vocal on this being a cost-barrier.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by Pugsley

I still can't get over this design. Especially when I see a new one being proposed in Toronto which could have very well been placed on this same site. I like this one, as it looks a bit more modern but has some of the traditional elements that make the King's Square area so uniform. But oh well. Posting for fun I guess - obviously would need a design-reverse for the garage entry placement. I just liked the height and the simplicity:

18 storeys would look a lot better on top of the hill. Hopefully the Liberals win and Wilbur looks at building higher because of the promise to get rid of HST on new builds, along with lower interest rates.

[Ifyoubuildit]

Originally Posted by Pugsley

I think the bigger element that will change the height or design to accommodate more units will be if the Liberals win the election and remove the HST off new builds. He's been pretty vocal on this being a cost-barrier.

The Liberals are offering a carrot and stick solution. Removing the HST will help projects get off the ground but rent caps of 3% are not going to motivate future projects when they are making little to no return with property tax still going up 10% per year and most other operating expenses such as insurance, etc. Countless studies have shown that rent caps deter housing and actually compound the issues, but it gets votes!

[adamuptownsj]

No doubt the 3% rent cap would become a concerning barrier to for this project as soon as the HST was removed.

[Pugsley]

Originally Posted by Ifyoubuildit

The Liberals are offering a carrot and stick solution. Removing the HST will help projects get off the ground but rent caps of 3% are not going to motivate future projects when they are making little to no return with property tax still going up 10% per year and most other operating expenses such as insurance, etc. Countless studies have shown that rent caps deter housing and actually compound the issues, but it gets votes!

The cap is on the percentage of the annual increase so for a NEW project, the developer sets the initial rate based on what the market will accept. With very high demand and low supply, this means these units will likely be on the higher-end of the rent scale. Agree that with high-inflation, it is problematic to stay at 3%. Ideal inflation is 2% - something both the US and Canada are on track to get back to this year, with interest rates likely falling back down to respectable levels.

I guess I don't see how having an HST cut and a 3% cap is a problem for a developer of NEW structures, who can save significant money to build their units from the tax break and charge a premium based on low supply and high demand, but just be capped at 3% thereafter - which is very reasonable.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Rent caps are far less of a barrier to entry on new builds than the current HST on them is… cutting HST on new builds should spur on development considerably. Higgs didn’t want to follow PEI and NS, because he wanted to pad his surplus.

[MonctonRad]

Do the Liberals have a position on the removal of the double tax on non owner occupied residential properties?

We are the only Atlantic province with such a punitive tax regime. If we really wanted to grease the wheels on new residential development, this punitive tax should be removed.

Removing the tax would also likely have a beneficial effect on rent increases as well, as, ultimately, it will be the renters who end up paying for the double tax through their rents.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by Pugsley

The cap is on the percentage of the annual increase so for a NEW project, the developer sets the initial rate based on what the market will accept. With very high demand and low supply, this means these units will likely be on the higher-end of the rent scale. Agree that with high-inflation, it is problematic to stay at 3%. Ideal inflation is 2% - something both the US and Canada are on track to get back to this year, with interest rates likely falling back down to respectable levels.

I guess I don't see how having an HST cut and a 3% cap is a problem for a developer of NEW structures, who can save significant money to build their units from the tax break and charge a premium based on low supply and high demand, but just be capped at 3% thereafter - which is very reasonable.

Well said.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Do the Liberals have a position on the removal of the double tax on non owner occupied residential properties?

We are the only Atlantic province with such a punitive tax regime. If we really wanted to grease the wheels on new residential development, this punitive tax should be removed.

Removing the tax would also likely have a beneficial effect on rent increases as well, as, ultimately, it will be the renters who end up paying for the double tax through their rents.

The Liberal’s tax reform plan is to empower municipalities. That could absolutely include municipalities being able to set their own rate on non owner occupied rental properties.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

The Liberal’s tax reform plan is to empower municipalities. That could absolutely include municipalities being able to set their own rate on non owner occupied rental properties.

The province however collects the property tax, and keeps a significant portion for themselves. I doubt they would let individual municipalities decide on their own whether to eliminate the double tax, or make significant revisions to it. Issues of equity would pop up if some municipalities ended up contributing to provincial coffers more than others. Any new tax regime should be province wide.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The province however collects the property tax, and keeps a significant portion for themselves. I doubt they would let individual municipalities decide on their own whether to eliminate the double tax, or make significant revisions to it. Issues of equity would pop up if some municipalities ended up contributing to provincial coffers more than others. Any new tax regime should be province wide.

Sounds like you should consult with Susan Holt or your local Liberal candidate. Susan Holt does Q&A's quite regularly on social media, and she doesn't shy away from answering tough questions unlike old man Higgs.

[Pugsley]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The province however collects the property tax, and keeps a significant portion for themselves. I doubt they would let individual municipalities decide on their own whether to eliminate the double tax, or make significant revisions to it. Issues of equity would pop up if some municipalities ended up contributing to provincial coffers more than others. Any new tax regime should be province wide.

I think changing the tax "model" would be a big lift and would need a majority to do that. One thing I don't understand is why smaller developers don't take advantage of the small business tax credit for investors, which is unique in NB. Private investors get 100% of the investment as a tax deduction by investing in the business. So, I don't understand why we aren't building more apartments under such a scheme.

You could sell shares based on the unit, which for the investor would offer tax relief and would fund all or a portion of the company's development costs. I'm not an accountant but I would assume each development would need to be its own entity to sell shares. The investor wouldn't own the unit, they'd own shares in the entity that owns all of the units.

Unless I'm not fully understanding the terms of this scheme.

[Sabien]

Things are getting real!

[KnoxfordGuy]

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by Sabien

Things are getting real!

What is the trailer bed its on? Is this a crane that will go on a concrete base, or is that vehicle it’s on part of the crane set up?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

What is the trailer bed its on? Is this a crane that will go on a concrete base, or is that vehicle it’s on part of the crane set up?

Looks like a mobile "mini" tower crane to me. They may be starting off with one of these, and replace it later with a full tower crane. They've done this with several buildings at the Franklin Yards site in Moncton.

[adamuptownsj]

Would this just be for concrete pouring for the footings and foundation? There's a lot of it to do.

[sailor734]

Heard the other day that there are contractors not interested in this project due to subs having issues getting paid for the Wentworth and ending up settling for partial payments (I was told 75 cent dollars) long after completion. This was from somebody on the contractor side of the equation so I take it with a grain of salt as there are always two sides to a story but still............I wonder if it could be a real thing.?

......or is this kind of dispute just par for the course in developments?

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Heard the other day that there are contractors not interested in this project due to subs having issues getting paid for the Wentworth and ending up settling for partial payments (I was told 75 cent dollars) long after completion. This was from somebody on the contractor side of the equation so I take it with a grain of salt as there are always two sides to a story but still............I wonder if it could be a real thing.?

......or is this kind of dispute just par for the course in developments?

FYI, The crane is now up on-site. It doesn't look big enough for the full structural build, I'm thinking maybe it is simply for the foundation and underground parking level work at this point.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

FYI, The crane is now up on-site. It doesn't look big enough for the full structural build, I'm thinking maybe it is simply for the foundation and underground parking level work at this point.

Didn't someone say it had a concrete company's logo on it?