General Updates and News - Page 315

OldDartmouthMark · #**6281** Posted **Oct 22, 2014, 1:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziobrop

If you read 1960's planning literature it was all about how modern and scientific it was. It feels like modern planning has rejected that and is driven by social theory.

I'm inclined to say both are wrong, and the truth exists somewhere in the middle

I tend to believe the same.

kph06 · #**6282** Posted **Oct 23, 2014, 2:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziobrop

Got a shot on a run to wally world last night. (posted on http://heavyequip.tumblr.com/)
Your right, it is different. According to Pontain, these things have a 4 ton capacity. annoyingly they don't fit in frame very well.

Nice shot, I feel these cranes might become more frequent here, I feel they would be very efficient in the 6 stories and under range.

Colin May · #**6283** Posted **Oct 23, 2014, 2:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

I tend to believe the same.

I'm reading the 1965 City of Dartmouth Plan as well as the urban renewal studies for Halifax and Dartmouth. The population estimates were wrecked when the Minister of Sprawl gave the nod to the government development of Forest Hills and Sackville .
Guess who was the Minister of Sprawl ?

hokus83 · #**6284** Posted **Oct 23, 2014, 3:41 PM**

Anyone know the final outcome of the St. Patrick's-Alexandra jono developments deal. That was supposably dealt with on Tuesday in camera?

OldDartmouthMark · #**6285** Posted **Oct 23, 2014, 5:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin May

I'm reading the 1965 City of Dartmouth Plan as well as the urban renewal studies for Halifax and Dartmouth. The population estimates were wrecked when the Minister of Sprawl gave the nod to the government development of Forest Hills and Sackville .
Guess who was the Minister of Sprawl ?

Can ya give me a hint?

Keith P. · #**6286** Posted **Oct 23, 2014, 7:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Can ya give me a hint?

Googie. I suppose he preferred the suburbs to building commie blocks on the peninsula.

OldDartmouthMark · #**6287** Posted **Oct 24, 2014, 9:14 PM**

Interesting article in the Herald: "Halifax ‘office market is in deep trouble’ — real estate analyst"

http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/12462...t-is-in-deep-trouble-real-estate-analyst

Hmmmm....

OldDartmouthMark · #**6288** Posted **Oct 24, 2014, 9:26 PM**

And a somewhat strange one: "Developer George Armoyan banned from city buildings due to threatening behaviour"

http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/12462...y-buildings-due-to-threatening-behaviour

Colin May · #**6289** Posted **Oct 24, 2014, 10:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Googie. I suppose he preferred the suburbs to building commie blocks on the peninsula.

Googie - Minister of Housing in the touchy feelie hands on Regan government.
I almost puked a week ago when John O'Brien, former Herald employee, former CBC employee, former Buchanan mouthpiece, former Fitzgerald mouthpiece, former Kelly mouthpiece was interviewed on CBC TV at 5:35 pm telling viewers what a great leader Fitzgerald was.
And how Googie was responsible for the Harbour cleanup, apparently all the citizens who spent decades banging that drum were just a bunch of nobodies. And Walter was the main man behind our 'world class waste management system' - the one that Richard Butts tells council is not sustainable financially.

Yes, Walter Fitzgerald was a 'Great Leader'.
When he saw a parade he'd sniff the wind, run to the front and shout 'Follow me - to wherever you want to go'

If you wanted to know the reasons why Nova Scotia is in such a parlous state - they were all in the room at WTCC last week.
Backslapping was the order of the day. And don't mention the deficits. Reality is impolite.

Colin May · #**6290** Posted **Oct 24, 2014, 10:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Interesting article in the Herald: "Halifax ‘office market is in deep trouble’ — real estate analyst"

http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/12462...t-is-in-deep-trouble-real-estate-analyst

Hmmmm....

We knew that 6-9 months ago. And the same for the housing market.
Some posters here think all these projects can be viable. Cheap money can result in silly decisions.
Does anybody know if foreign students fill in Canadian census forms ?

worldlyhaligonian · #**6291** Posted **Oct 25, 2014, 12:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin May

We knew that 6-9 months ago. And the same for the housing market.
Some posters here think all these projects can be viable. Cheap money can result in silly decisions.
Does anybody know if foreign students fill in Canadian census forms ?

Right, but its private developers who face the risk... especially in the housing market.

Us young people can't wait for a crash so we can buy in. I bet you're a boomer.

Colin May · #**6292** Posted **Oct 25, 2014, 1:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Right, but its private developers who face the risk... especially in the housing market.

Us young people can't wait for a crash so we can buy in. I bet you're a boomer.

I live in a location where houses sell in a day or two at asking price. When prices 'crash' people don't move unless they are forced to leave.

counterfactual · #**6293** Posted **Oct 25, 2014, 4:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin May

We knew that 6-9 months ago. And the same for the housing market.
Some posters here think all these projects can be viable. Cheap money can result in silly decisions.
Does anybody know if foreign students fill in Canadian census forms ?

Oh, more doom and gloom.

Time for prices to come down. Excellent. Cheaper rents, cheaper condos, more people can afford to live downtown.

worldlyhaligonian · #**6294** Posted **Oct 25, 2014, 6:06 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin May

I live in a location where houses sell in a day or two at asking price. When prices 'crash' people don't move unless they are forced to leave.

It doesn't effect owners... they are already paying the agreed price. Interest rates are at all time low. A market would recover within the period of their mortgage.

This housing oversupply will be condos, which will lead to a fall in condo prices... allowing younger people to buy in an a lower price.

That's not a bad thing for consumers. The risk is entirely on developers, there is no public money in any of this.

worldlyhaligonian · #**6295** Posted **Oct 25, 2014, 6:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by counterfactual

Oh, more doom and gloom.

Time for prices to come down. Excellent. Cheaper rents, cheaper condos, more people can afford to live downtown.

Exactly, supply and demand... with the risk borne by developers... I hope they continue to build, build, build and the market crashes so consumers can get a good deal instead of the rip off prices that exist in the Halifax market.

And for the office market... its clear that rents are too high for buildings constructed 30+ years ago. Maybe then, SMEs will be able to rent downtown office space while the big players move into the new spaces.

OldDartmouthMark · #**6296** Posted **Oct 25, 2014, 12:13 PM**

While you would be happy to see the market crash and brings prices down, could this also result in a halt in new developments? Could Halifax go into another 20-year slump of little-to-no new building projects downtown all over again? I would be surprised if anybody here would like to see that happen.

Drybrain · #**6297** Posted **Oct 25, 2014, 1:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

While you would be happy to see the market crash and brings prices down, could this also result in a halt in new developments? Could Halifax go into another 20-year slump of little-to-no new building projects downtown all over again? I would be surprised if anybody here would like to see that happen.

I don't think that would happen, because the current boom is about more than just filling pent-up demand. But certainly we could see a few years with less activity than we have in the past couple. I wouldn't want to see a straight up crash though. But I think the building activity will pull back before that happens. Commerce Square is already on hold, after all.

But they're also talking about office projects, not residential, right? This is probably why residential projects seem to keep coming online, but Commerce Square has been deferred.

It might (and this is highly theoretical) be good for office rents to come down a bit, if it encourages companies currently located in the burbs simply due to cost to move downtown. But who knows if that'd happen.

Colin May · #**6298** Posted **Oct 25, 2014, 4:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by counterfactual

Oh, more doom and gloom.

Time for prices to come down. Excellent. Cheaper rents, cheaper condos, more people can afford to live downtown.

The CMHC forecaster at VivaHalifax has received no press. I presume his report will be online. Well worth reading. One banker familiar with the market told me the tighter lending criteria instituted by the federal government has kept many first time buyers out of the market.

Looking at PVSC the number of residential property transfers in Halifax in September were almost the same as September 2012 - 183
Non-related transfers were 117 compared with 119 in 2013, and 125 in 2012 and 182 in 2011.

counterfactual · #**6299** Posted **Oct 26, 2014, 2:24 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin May

The CMHC forecaster at VivaHalifax has received no press. I presume his report will be online. Well worth reading. One banker familiar with the market told me the tighter lending criteria instituted by the federal government has kept many first time buyers out of the market.

Looking at PVSC the number of residential property transfers in Halifax in September were almost the same as September 2012 - 183
Non-related transfers were 117 compared with 119 in 2013, and 125 in 2012 and 182 in 2011.

Maybe. But the reason why commercial development is happening now, is the low interest rates. Developers taking advantage to build cheap. Most Canadian provinces face little inflation (other than Alberta) and some experiencing deflation. No interest rate hike for a while.

Not surprised downtown office market is in bad shape. New office space will compete with old, driving down prices-- it's about time landlords reduced rent on some of these ridiculously old 1970s properties. It's time for downtown to compete, price wise, with sprawl office spaces.

spaustin · #**6300** Posted **Oct 26, 2014, 12:22 PM**

Probably a bad time to own properties that would have been regarded as Class A space like Scotia Square and the RBC and BMO Buildings. Several possible futures for them.

(1) They lose the banks, insurance companies and law firms and become cheaper locations attractive to smaller companies. Kind of 1970s versions of what the Roy Building on Barrington was.
(2) They get converted to residential uses. Has happened in the past. The Radisson Hotel began as an office building as did the Canada Permanent Insurance Building (now residential). This could end up being a major long-term plus for Downtown as it would add a considerable number of residents. Imagine Scotia Square as Scotia Village instead!
(3) They get demolished or renovated to keep up with the competition. This seems to be what Theil is doing with his aging office buildings. TD is done, but it might be too late to make it work in this economic cycle with RBC and BMO.

Expect some of the office buildings that haven't started construction yet or were in the proposal phase to remain there.