Regina Construction

[Mayor Quimby]

Originally Posted by Migs

Actually he doesn't drink and he is one of the highest profile names in this city.....gotta love how people spin things to meet their arguments. Carry on..........

I enjoy reading about your own self importance and how you rub shoulders with power brokers in Regina. Your a regular Trump.

[swilley]

Originally Posted by Migs

Actually he doesn't drink and he is one of the highest profile names in this city.....gotta love how people spin things to meet their arguments. Carry on..........

Fiacco? Fiacco is a drunk?

[crooked rain]

Originally Posted by Chaps

Haven't you learned that Quimby is 99% full of shit?

Clearly he is full of crap...so why bother with it?

I used to be here more frequently but stopped last fall.

The quality of this thread has declined substantially. It is good to see some of the projects coming along, though.

[BrannyMuffin]

Originally Posted by swilley

I understood the point, I just don't see how one could perceive Regina to be miles ahead of Saskatoon. Even if more developments are discussed on SSP. And to be fair, a rumor from some drunk guy on a new tallest in Regina, should not be included in a 'Development list'.

If you are basing your opinions solely on what you see in this forum...then your opinions would be based on the developments being discussed on SSP, no?

[swilley]

Originally Posted by BrannyMuffin

If you are basing your opinions solely on what you see in this forum...then your opinions would be based on the developments being discussed on SSP, no?

Agreed, but does anyone really base their opinions solely on what they read on SSP?

[CCF]

Originally Posted by swilley

Agreed, but does anyone really base their opinions solely on what they read on SSP?

But that's what she was saying.

She was saying if one were to come to this forum, with no other knowledge of any developments in either city, and read both the Regina and Saskatoon construction, one would potentially ASSUME that there are more developments in Regina, which may or may not be the case. This is based only on the traffic of the threads.

[BrannyMuffin]

Originally Posted by swilley

Agreed, but does anyone really base their opinions solely on what they read on SSP?

Well, someone with absolutely no knowledge of either city might. But that's not the point. It's about what you would perceive if that actually were the case.

[babo]

I perceive thread derailment by Sasktoon.

[richmond]

Although I live in Saskatoon I visit this thread once & awhile hoping things are going well in our neighbour city. What exactly is going on in Regina? You guys had a wet dream a few pages back about a new football stadium even though the Riders have been plowing ahead with their own upgrades. So, I find that highly doubtful.

Regina has made some smart moves in the downtown through tax incentives to spurn condo conversions. I wish Saskatoon would do that. Besides that, you have the cool looking RCMP Museum by Arthur Erickson. After that, a bunch of new credit unions that span from lame (Affinity) to Jetson-like (TCU).

What else is going on that I'm missing? U of S has three $100mil projects coming down the pipe & I can't see how Regina would compare to that.

[Ruckus]

Originally Posted by richmond

Regina has made some smart moves in the downtown through tax incentives to spurn condo conversions. I wish Saskatoon would do that.

I believe the incentives for downtown living in Saskatoon are still available(5 year tax abatement or something???).

[CCF]

Originally Posted by richmond

Although I live in Saskatoon I visit this thread once & awhile hoping things are going well in our neighbour city. What exactly is going on in Regina? You guys had a wet dream a few pages back about a new football stadium even though the Riders have been plowing ahead with their own upgrades. So, I find that highly doubtful.

Regina has made some smart moves in the downtown through tax incentives to spurn condo conversions. I wish Saskatoon would do that. Besides that, you have the cool looking RCMP Museum by Arthur Erickson. After that, a bunch of new credit unions that span from lame (Affinity) to Jetson-like (TCU).

What else is going on that I'm missing? U of S has three $100mil projects coming down the pipe & I can't see how Regina would compare to that.

How many times does a list have to be posted?

[richmond]

Whoops ... I missed the lists on pg 91 ... I sometimes skip pages since there's lots of blabbing going on about Fiacco.

So, as an outsider, what's the status of the projects on the list? Under construction? Soon to be out for tender? Still finding financing?

[darthrider]

Originally Posted by richmond

Whoops ... I missed the lists on pg 91 ... I sometimes skip pages since there's lots of blabbing going on about Fiacco.

So, as an outsider, what's the status of the projects on the list? Under construction? Soon to be out for tender? Still finding financing?

I don't blame you for skipping some pages as this thread tends to get de-railed by alot of Fiacco bashing.

As far as I know alot of the projects in Regina that have been mentioned have been approved and are in the waiting process. Waiting as there is a labour shortage and it is taking a long time to get construction projects started and finished. As a matter of a fact in this mornings Leader Post they were talking about the housing market slowing down but not due to the fact no one wants houses, it is due to nobody is around to build them.

Here is what I know, if I am wrong on some of it can others please correct me.

Downtown
Victoria Place Expansion... I work next door. The construction is going on now
Leader Building (Grocery store, arts offices, lofts).... under construction
Legion building (Performance Venue).... not sure
Wingate Hotel.......under construction, coming along nicely
STC Head Office and Depot.....under construction, coming along nicely
Broad Street Crossing.... Army and Navy mostly demolished and converting part of it to the new office building.
Potential Casino hotel....this is just a rumour at this point
Qu'Appelle Diocese Land, conversion of vacant land into residential for hundreds or possibly over 1000.... approved from what I know but lack of builders at this point
Cornwall Profession Building renewal...haven't been by it don't know for sure.
Other new shops/restaurants/etc...new stuff popping up all the time all over the city. Rock Creek is supposto be good, haven't been yet however.
Rumoured new tallest......rumour at this point. Regina has the 2nd lowest office vacancy rates next to Calgary in all of Canada makes you think this could be very true regarding construction of an office tower.
Sale of Former Superstore... sold, don't know at this point what is going in.
Core renewal plan.....working very hard on this. And before I get flamed on this by MQ, I will add that I am involved

Others may want to fill in the rest as I am not sure on alot of it.


University
U of R Lab building
Sask. Provincial Lab
New Research Park Building
Canadian Police Research Centre

Other
Terraces at River Heights Condos x2?
Lakeshore Condos
RCMP Museum
Huge renewal of IPSCO place
23rd Avenue Residential proposal (condos, single detached)
Various Proposals at YQR
Various proposals for Wascana Park

[BrannyMuffin]

Originally Posted by darthrider

I don't blame you for skipping some pages as this thread tends to get de-railed by alot of Fiacco bashing.

As far as I know alot of the projects in Regina that have been mentioned have been approved and are in the waiting process. Waiting as there is a labour shortage and it is taking a long time to get construction projects started and finished. As a matter of a fact in this mornings Leader Post they were talking about the housing market slowing down but not due to the fact no one wants houses, it is due to nobody is around to build them.

Here is what I know, if I am wrong on some of it can others please correct me.

Downtown
Victoria Place Expansion... I work next door. The construction is going on now
Leader Building (Grocery store, arts offices, lofts).... under construction
Legion building (Performance Venue).... not sure
Wingate Hotel.......under construction, coming along nicely
STC Head Office and Depot.....under construction, coming along nicely
Broad Street Crossing.... Army and Navy mostly demolished and converting part of it to the new office building.
Potential Casino hotel....this is just a rumour at this point
Qu'Appelle Diocese Land, conversion of vacant land into residential for hundreds or possibly over 1000.... approved from what I know but lack of builders at this point
Cornwall Profession Building renewal...haven't been by it don't know for sure.
Other new shops/restaurants/etc...new stuff popping up all the time all over the city. Rock Creek is supposto be good, haven't been yet however.
Rumoured new tallest......rumour at this point. Regina has the 2nd lowest office vacancy rates next to Calgary in all of Canada makes you think this could be very true regarding construction of an office tower.
Sale of Former Superstore... sold, don't know at this point what is going in.
Core renewal plan.....working very hard on this. And before I get flamed on this by MQ, I will add that I am involved

Others may want to fill in the rest as I am not sure on alot of it.


University
U of R Lab building
Sask. Provincial Lab
New Research Park Building
Canadian Police Research Centre

Other
Terraces at River Heights Condos x2?
Lakeshore Condos
RCMP Museum
Huge renewal of IPSCO place
23rd Avenue Residential proposal (condos, single detached)
Various Proposals at YQR
Various proposals for Wascana Park

Someone was telling me the other day that home sales were actually down last month (I think he said by 9%....though prices were way up), not for lack of demand, but because there is so little available. We're looking to buy a new house and there is absolutely nothing in any of the neighborhoods we're looking at. If something comes up, it's gone the next day. We thought about relocating within our neighborhood, but houses are being sold for thousands above asking price, within hours...the only one for sale right now, other than ours, is the one next door. We actually had an offer on ours the day it went up, without the guy even looking at it. Friends of my parents were told by the agent who sold them their house 5 years ago that they could get more than $100,000 above what they paid for it. And they could, easily...they went to look at another house in their neighborhood (it's bigger and they have 5 boys!) but it was sold before it was officially listed. Our real estate agent says it isn't even fun selling houses right now because it's so panicky. There's no sleeping on it to make sure it's the "right" house. He says you make lots of money but it's no fun....and money's no fun when you're working all the time! Executive Realty has an office on Vic just west of Arcola. I stopped to get coffee across the street at Robin's at 9:30 on Sunday night and there was a guy in that office doing paperwork. People are moving here to get away from those hours. If I hadn't changed my mind about real estate months ago, that would have done it, right there.

[ReginaGuy]

So Wheatpool won the bid for Agricore, making it the biggest grain handler in Canada

They said on the news that they havent decided where the new HQ will be... what? It had better be in Regina!

[Mayor Quimby]

Let's deal in reality not speculation,

Downtown
Victoria Place Expansion
Leader Building
Wingate Hotel
STC Head Office and Depot
Broad Street Crossing.

Pending
Qu'Appelle Diocese Land,
Cornwall Profession Building
Sale of Former Superstore.
Core renewal plan

University
U of R Lab building


Pending
Canadian Police Research Centre
Sask. Provincial Lab
New Research Park Building

Other
Terraces at River Heights Condos
Lakeshore Condos
RCMP Museum

Pending
Huge renewal of IPSCO place
23rd Avenue Residential proposal (condos, single detached)
Various Proposals at YQR
Various proposals for Wascana Park

A lot of proposals pending and some good ones going up, but don't over exaggerate. Many ideas have floated around this city that never came to bear fruit.

[swilley]

Originally Posted by BrannyMuffin

Someone was telling me the other day that home sales were actually down last month (I think he said by 9%....though prices were way up)

I saw that on the news last night. It surprised me, seeing as Saskatoon's starts where double that of 06.

[BrannyMuffin]

Originally Posted by swilley

I saw that on the news last night. It surprised me, seeing as Saskatoon's starts where double that of 06.

I think they're having a hard time keeping up with demand. People want to buy houses, but no one is selling, unless you're looking in Washington Park or Broder's Annex. There was a piece on the news I saw a month or two ago and they were trying to figure out why the average house price in Saskatoon was about $50,000 higher than Regina. What they found was that similar houses in either city were priced pretty closely (some were slightly higher in Saskatoon). The difference was the types of homes being sold. In Regina there were a number of run down homes or ex-rental places being sold in not so desirable neighborhoods. Still are, but those houses are starting to go up in price too, because nothing else is available. As for housing starts, I don't know what they're like right now. I do know that for the RPL home lottery, the draw for this years home is in June and they began on next years home back in April because it's taking so long to build houses. With the current subdivisions in the city, they are pretty much running out of room to build (Kensington Greens is about the only one I can think of that still has plenty of room to grow..and their first phase is pretty near sold out.) There was a bit (I think there was a link on here awhile back) on CJME about lots being released. 90 lots that were sold in 90 minutes...and those aren't cheap lots. A lot of older neighborhoods are seeing people tearing down those rundown houses and building new ones. I live in an older neighborhood and right now there are three new houses being built within a block of me.

[governorgeneral]

Originally Posted by BrannyMuffin

A lot of older neighborhoods are seeing people tearing down those rundown houses and building new ones.

That's excellent! I didn't know that was taking off. Good for redevelopment, plus saves the City (and in turn the taxpayer) from having to build out more roads and pipes and lines.

From today's Leader-Post:

Labour shortage cooling hot home market
Maria Cootauco, The Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Regina homebuilders are having trouble keeping up with demand because of a lack of skilled trades workers.

"The market is quite aggressive," said Doug Schmidt, Dundee Developments vice-president. "The sales were greater this year than last year. Starts (are) the same because we can only build so many."

As hot as the home-buyer's market is, the scarcity of tradespeople is curbing potential sales -- something that housing starts do not fully reflect.

The thing that all builders, not just Dundee, are struggling with is that we could use more tradespeople," Schmidt said. "That's been a common theme for many years, but it is much worse now. What it has done is it has just limited the amount of houses you can sell."

Total housing starts in Regina were down almost 10 per cent last month, compared to the same period in 2006, while single-family housing starts are on par with last year, according to Canada Mortage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).

Last month, there were 56 single-family starts, compared with 50 in April 2006. For the year to date, there were 201 single-detached starts; during the same period last year, there were 205 starts.

But while the numbers say the single-family home industry has stalled, it is more a case of builders not being able to meet consumer demand.

Munro Homes in Regina, which has developments in Lakeridge and Regina Beach, stopped pre-selling homes on April 2.

"We have taken the unprecedented step of actually suspending sales," said Heather McGinnis, project consultant at Munro Homes. "We can only do what we can do because there isn't an ability for us to hire another painter or another carpenter."

According to McGinnis, Munro Homes has done about 75 per cent of their sales volume in 25 per cent of the year.

"Extraordinary -- that's the best word to describe (sales)," McGinnis added. "On a daily basis, even though we have suspended sales, we have continued to sell land ... People have been very patient and they are coming in and buying their lots knowing that we can't actually begin work on a house, but they want to tie up the lot."

Dundee Developments has some homes with possession dates that extend as far as next fall, and Munro Homes has possession dates of up to one year.

Consequently, the average price of new housing in Regina is $258,000, up 11 per cent from last year.

"There's a very strong up-surge in the average price," said Paul Caton, senior market analyst for CMHC Saskatchewan. "That makes sense when you're dealing with a scarcity of housing due to labour shortage and perhaps land shortages in some areas, and solid demand."

"We normally start 10 houses a month, build 120 houses a year. That's our norm," said Schmidt. "Sales though have outstripped starts. We might only be able to start 10 a month, but we are selling more than that."

Dundee Developments re-evaluates the market every month to forecast how many homes they can feasibly sell. Munro Homes says it will re-evaluate in mid-June.

"It's a unique position to be in, but would I say it's enjoyable? No," McGinnis said. "It's not enjoyable to have to say to people: 'I know you have the money, you have the time, the desire, but we can't build your house.' That's not fun."

[shake]

Well all the talk about housing inspired me to take some pics when I was out walking the dog today. I haven't posted pics before so I'm hoping these work.





Seems everyday there's a new house being framed, looks like they're filling in the little bit on the north edge... I'm sure Canadian Tire is a fine neighbour.



The Riverbend area, seems like they've been working this land for a couple years, any guesses for when they'll actually start building here?



More houses being built...



New U of R lab, took a stop by today... looks good.



And just an extra pic.



As far as housing shortage goes, I heard from a few people that a couple companies (can't remember the names right now) have stopped taking new house orders until maybe late fall maybe even december(?) just cause they have enough work already to keep them busy until then. But that's just hearsay tho. I also heard that because of the shortage of serviced land in the city that lots have been selling for $100,000+ ...but that seems awfully high to me.