Apparently Toronto's condo boom and the migration of people to the downtown core is increasing demand for core office space. One boom is helping to fuel the next boom:
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Toronto braces for new office tower onslaught
Toronto’s downtown office market appears poised to explode again with construction, as the commercial real estate industry waits for that one spark to kick start the office sector.
Rumours continue to swirl that Brookfield Office Properties will begin a new round of aggressive building in the country’s largest office market with an announcement that it will go ahead with the second tower for its Bay-Adelaide Centre which provided much of the impetus for a round of construction when its first tower was announced in 2006.
Accounting and consulting firm Deloitte Canada is said to be the big fish Brookfield is courting for its second tower while the CPP Investment Board is said to be looking for as much as 180,000 square feet of space.
“I think we are definitely at the point where we can justify new construction,” says Ross Moore, director of Research for Canada for CB Richard Ellis, about the current vacancy rate of 4.7% in Toronto’s downtown core.
Link:
http://business.financialpost.com/20...wer-onslaught/
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I realise there are a lot of conservative folks in Halifax who don't often read scientific literature about the environment -- and how the economy is dependent upon a stable environment -- and these folks do not agree with boundaries or greenbelts placed around cities to STOP urban sprawl... but...are there not financial reasons as to why HRM should strongly consider joining the growing group of cities that are taking such measures?
Halifax's downtown would receive infill much more quickly if we had tax reform and some form of boundary around the outer edges of its existing infrastructure. We need developers to use the available land inside the city, where taxpayers have already invested in (and are still in debt for) roads, utility lines, and water/sewer systems.
Halifax is clearly not doing an adequate job in halting its sprawl.
How much authority does HRM council yield in the planning and rezoning of the city? I do believe the province has considerable jurisdiction in this matter.