I know i was in college during the bad times of the 90's in Ontario...
Yeah, early 90s was rough. I can't really remember the downturn in the early 80s, although I recall it was a really bad time for housing prices (remember Nelson Skalbania?), and interest rates were like 20% or something... And I was in HK during the Asian crisis where property prices went down 75% from the peak over the course of 4-5 years.
This one feels different, though -- worse than the Asian criss since banking institutions you'd think were very safe are going under or being bought out. I think a lot projects on the drawing board are going to be shelved for the next 12-18 months because of the credit crunch.
Calgary has been losing them for quite awhile now, things aren't looking that good. The market in Toronto is also quite horrible.
I think "horrible" is quite an overstatement. Surely, the condo market has cooled off, but there are a myriad of projects still going ahead as planned as we speak. To name a few, there's the Trump, 4 Seasons, MLS, Telus, RBC, Ritz Carlton, and even a new office building that broke ground a few weeks ago.
Three Harbour Green? Any news on this project, is there a financial problem or are they just delayed for other reasons? This is what i am wondering, are there towers and projects (of the same magnitude) in other Canadian cities being delayed/halted/cancelled/falling into receivership at the same rate as Vancouver, or are we just getting the — end of the deal? For example are there large tower projects in Calgary or Toronto where crews have been told to go home mid construction/excavation like here?
There are towers in Chicago and New York that are half-built, that are holes in the ground, that are world famous (Chicago Spire) which are having incredible trouble getting off the ground, pardon the pun. Waterview in Chicago is a 28-storey empty concrete shell (out of 80 something stories) because the developer ran out of money before completion. This is really a worldwide problem.
Three Harbour Green? Any news on this project, is there a financial problem or are they just delayed for other reasons? This is what i am wondering, are there towers and projects (of the same magnitude) in other Canadian cities being delayed/halted/cancelled/falling into receivership at the same rate as Vancouver, or are we just getting the — end of the deal? For example are there large tower projects in Calgary or Toronto where crews have been told to go home mid construction/excavation like here?
There's a couple in Calgary that are in limbo recently, with some being just massive pits for the time being. Thankfully one of the sites may be bought and taken over by a new developer....
There are towers in Chicago and New York that are half-built, that are holes in the ground, that are world famous (Chicago Spire) which are having incredible trouble getting off the ground, pardon the pun. Waterview in Chicago is a 28-storey empty concrete shell (out of 80 something stories) because the developer ran out of money before completion. This is really a worldwide problem.
Not in China it isn't. There is literally a new supertall announced everyday.
Is the Ritz-Carlton tower up in the air?
Redesign, not money flow, is responsible, developer says
Wendy Mclellan
Province
Wednesday, October, 22, 2008
The 60-storey hotel and condo project was set to open in 2011
It was supposed to bring Manhattan to downtown Vancouver: a luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel with a twisting glass tower of high-priced condos above, topped with a huge $28-million penthouse.
Today, the future of the $500-million development looks uncertain.
The construction site at 1133 West Georgia was quiet yesterday and all advertising for the development was gone.
The site was boarded up, the nearby sales centre was closed, and no one answered the phone.
Calls to the developer, the Vancouver-based Holborn Group, were not returned. The privately held company is owned by local entrepreneur Simon Lim, who bought the property several years ago from Cadillac-Fairview.
Lim told CBC News yesterday that financial concerns were not behind the site's shut down on Friday.
He said the project has been suspended so that design changes can be made to the parkade. The sales office is still open, he added, noting that it's now by appointment-only.
Designed by renowned Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson, the site, which has been a vacant eyesore for more than a decade, was slated to become a 127-room hotel below 123 luxury condos priced between $2.5 million and $10 million.
It was to be ready for occupancy in 2011. The building would be managed by Ritz-Carlton and condo owners would have access to hotel amenities such as valet parking and room service.
Condo sales company Rennie Marketing Systems, which is selling the suites at the Ritz-Carlton as well as the soaring Shangri-La development across the street, did not return calls yesterday.
The condominium units are reportedly 50 per cent presold and buyers are being told that the suspension is because of a redesign.
Wait... so the sales center at RC being "closed" that the media has been going on about is a sensationalized report? It's just "by appointment only"? Well... welcome to whenever this project was first launched and available to be viewed by appointment only. Here I thought it was ACTUALLY closed.... sigh. It is strange they have removed all of the boarding, etc. though.
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Three Harbour Green? Any news on this project, is there a financial problem or are they just delayed for other reasons? This is what i am wondering, are there towers and projects (of the same magnitude) in other Canadian cities being delayed/halted/cancelled/falling into receivership at the same rate as Vancouver, or are we just getting the — end of the deal? For example are there large tower projects in Calgary or Toronto where crews have been told to go home mid construction/excavation like here?
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