[Dartmouth] Harbour Isle | U/C

[Hali87]

From a couple weeks ago:


[url=https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7466/15933105525_2fef76e4f0.jpg[/url]


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[Aya_Akai]

Originally Posted by Hali87

From a couple weeks ago:
...

Those photos remind me of what Sochi looked like prior to the Olympics this year.

[Haligonian88]

The Hazleton is nearly full now, with the exception of the townhomes at the base of the building, and construction has resumed on two areas of the site. It appears an extension of Seapoint Road towards the water is the first step, fill has been being brought to the site for two weeks now, and an excavator was working today in the hole where the 3 story office/commercial building part of Magazine Landing will go.

I keep hearing that the Battered Fish will be putting up a building next to the Starbucks/Pita Pit. And it looks like CAA and AMJ Campbell will be moving into the base of the Hazelton on the side that faces Windmill Road.

[Aya_Akai]

Originally Posted by Haligonian88

The Hazleton is nearly full now, with the exception of the townhomes at the base of the building...

Really? I work with a couple who live on the 4th floor, and they were just talking a couple weeks back about what they were going to bring to the building's pot luck dinner because they "weren't sure what the other, like, 12 people that live in the building would like to eat" lol

[Haligonian88]

Originally Posted by HaliStreaks

Really? I work with a couple who live on the 4th floor, and they were just talking a couple weeks back about what they were going to bring to the building's pot luck dinner because they "weren't sure what the other, like, 12 people that live in the building would like to eat" lol

Haha, only about 12 people showed up for the potluck, but last I heard floors 1 through 4 or 5 are full, and I believe the top two floors are full. A month ago only 2/6 units on my floor were occupied, now there is only one vacant.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Hali87

From a couple weeks ago:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7466/15933105525_2fef76e4f0.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7571/15907314066_debe7960e6.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7558/15747084449_3b6aef6e7c.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7548/15313477253_3f23d3c5e1.jpg

I missed these when they were posted back in December. I am pleasantly surprised by how well it looks at ground level.

[Northend Guy]

Design work for the next high rise is under way. Not sure when it is intended to break ground though.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by Haligonian88

The Hazleton is nearly full now

Must be the developers buying the units as per a certain Colin's analyses. They are likely empty.

[Haligonian88]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Must be the developers buying the units as per a certain Colin's analyses. They are likely empty.

He must be buying cars to fill up the parking garage too.

A new sign went up today for condos www.gettheseapoint.com

Not much info on that site. Starting in the mid $200's. I did notice last night that work was taking place in the old Sheppards Island model suite, guess they're revamping it. There's a fair bit of heavy equipment on the site now, just site works taking place so far.

Northend Guy, is it Iredale doing the design work for the next building?

[Colin May]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Must be the developers buying the units as per a certain Colin's analyses. They are likely empty.

The developers are too busy trying to sell their own units....and not having much success according to the government agency PVSC.
At King's Wharf the Anchorage has 88 units and 36 are unsold. The developer last sold a unit on November 27 2014
At St Lawrence Place the sales are poor, 48 of 82 units are unsold, and only 3 have been sold since January 1 2015.
At the Trillium of the 85 units 11 remain unsold 3 years after the building was occupied. In the past 10 months 2 units have been sold.
In the 3 buildings the assessed value of the unsold units is in excess of $30,000,000.
And in other news, Scotian Homes has filed for bankruptcy and trades are owed a large amount of money. NSHBA claims contractors have been suffering from a dramatic reduction in home construction in metro and had moved out to the Enfield area to work for Scotian Homes
Other than these minor issues everything is rosy in real estate. Move along, nothing to see here.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scoti...ship-leaves-contractors-unpaid-1.3064221

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Colin May

The developers are too busy trying to sell their own units....and not having much success according to the government agency PVSC.
At King's Wharf the Anchorage has 88 units and 36 are unsold. The developer last sold a unit on November 27 2014
At St Lawrence Place the sales are poor, 48 of 82 units are unsold, and only 3 have been sold since January 1 2015.
At the Trillium of the 85 units 11 remain unsold 3 years after the building was occupied. In the past 10 months 2 units have been sold.
In the 3 buildings the assessed value of the unsold units is in excess of $30,000,000.
And in other news, Scotian Homes has filed for bankruptcy and trades are owed a large amount of money. NSHBA claims contractors have been suffering from a dramatic reduction in home construction in metro and had moved out to the Enfield area to work for Scotian Homes
Other than these minor issues everything is rosy in real estate. Move along, nothing to see here.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scoti...ship-leaves-contractors-unpaid-1.3064221

It doesn't surprise me that a company like Scotian Homes is hurting financially since construction is shifting in the Halifax area from single dwelling homes to multi-unit apartment style buildings (this seems to be occurring across Canada and North America).

In the case of the Trillium, I give the developers top marks for proceeding at a time when financing was difficult to obtain and construction was risky. At this point any additional units that they sell is probably almost entirely profit.

Condo and Apartment styles vary widely from basic to luxury as do the prices. The ones that are competitively priced will likely sell the easiest (such as Southport in Halifax), however even the higher priced YMCA/CBC development has seen brisk sales since it is in a desireable location.

In the case of the Hazelton, the website - http://www.harbourisle.ca/homes/apartments - and the first-hand account of Haligonian88, both indicate that it is almost fully occupied.

In short, I don't believe that "the sky is falling!" on condo and apartment sales in the HRM.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

It doesn't surprise me that a company like Scotian Homes is hurting financially since construction is shifting in the Halifax area from single dwelling homes to multi-unit apartment style buildings (this seems to be occurring across Canada and North America).

I think there are a couple of demographic and economic shifts happening at once. The population is ageing (not as much in cities as people think, but it is) and younger people have lower economic prospects and are having fewer children. More people want to live in the city too; not as many aspire to live the classic suburban lifestyle. All of this means less demand for houses and more demand for apartments and smaller condos.

There isn't just one housing market in Halifax, there are different segments. A high-end condo in one neighbourhood might be hard to sell while an affordable one downtown might get snapped up. The observation that one development has not sold does not necessarily indicate that another won't sell. It also doesn't necessarily indicate that the development was a financial failure. I bet margins are pretty good on $500k+ condos.

The final issue I have with these carefully, expertly doled out nuggets of market wisdom is: so what? Most people on here like to talk about urban development from an architectural and urban planning perspective. I don't really care if developers risk their money building things that don't sell as long as they are nice buildings, and in any case we do not have the same information about financing and profits that the developers themselves do so we are just guessing at the motivations and outcomes.

[Haligonian88]

There's a new overall site plan up on the website. It's interesting because the new Seapoint Condo does not yet have an approved DA, whereas the two buildings to the north (16 story apartments) are already approved. I like the new layout, it'd be great to see a hotel go up to have an alternative to the lovely Burnside Motel. With the new Wright's Cove transit terminal to be built at the south end of Marketplace Drive this should transform into a pretty busy area over the next 5-10 years.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Haligonian88

There's a new overall site plan up on the website. It's interesting because the new Seapoint Condo does not yet have an approved DA, whereas the two buildings to the north (16 story apartments) are already approved. I like the new layout, it'd be great to see a hotel go up to have an alternative to the lovely Burnside Motel. With the new Wright's Cove transit terminal to be built at the south end of Marketplace Drive this should transform into a pretty busy area over the next 5-10 years.

Very interesting. Hopefully the Halifax area will continue to generate enough jobs to support all of these towers and other large developments such as King's Wharf (it is best to take an optimistic viewpoint, in my opinion).

There is a higher resolution drawing on the Harbourisle.ca website - http://www.harbourisle.ca/sites/default/files/files/121-26850-Overvall_Site_Plan_May_2015.pdf

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Haligonian88

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With the new Wright's Cove transit terminal to be built at the south end of Marketplace Drive this should transform into a pretty busy area over the next 5-10 years.

I found mention of the Wrights Cove terminal in this report - http://www.halifax.ca/regionalplanning/publications/documents/ccwrightscovereportjan3006v2.pdf. Are there definite plans for this terminal or is still conceptual?

[Haligonian88]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

I found mention of the Wrights Cove terminal in this report - http://www.halifax.ca/regionalplanning/publications/documents/ccwrightscovereportjan3006v2.pdf. Are there definite plans for this terminal or is still conceptual?

I recall someone telling me it was definite and that design work on it was underway already. I found this surprising given that the new transit plan is still out for public review. I guess they won't expect many to complain about a new terminal in an industrial park. Not too much NIMBYism here.

[curnhalio]

Originally Posted by Haligonian88

I recall someone telling me it was definite and that design work on it was underway already. I found this surprising given that the new transit plan is still out for public review. I guess they won't expect many to complain about a new terminal in an industrial park. Not too much NIMBYism here.

They are planning for it to come online between 2019-21. I think it will be a benefit overall, but there are issues related to how buses heading outbound on Windmill will make the left into where the terminal facility will be, especially at peak times.

[Northend Guy]

Originally Posted by Haligonian88

Northend Guy, is it Iredale doing the design work for the next building?

Here is a quote from the Herald today:

"Partners in the project include architect Paul Skerry of Paul Skerry Associates Ltd., managing partner John Ghosn, Denise Hermanson of dh Design and Keri Koch of Design360."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1285522-burnside-condo-plan-extolled

[Haligonian88]

Here's a rendering of the next building from Enqore's website.

[DigitalNinja]

I went into the open house for Seapoint today, building looks like it will turn out well, I really like the design of it. They had a model out for people to look at and if they use the materials shown in the model and renderings I think it will turn out well.
Prices on the other hand... There are only a few small 1br condos starting in the mid 200's the majority are between 350k and ~450k or so. There is a lot of competition in that price range and people who were looking there were mentioning other projects around the city that are also in those price ranges or less and more centrally located.

I have to wonder how much of an effect that low interest rates have on the pricing of condos and homes, would these prices be the same if mortgage rates were higher? I'd assume that they would have to price them lower but I'm not sure.