Here’s a snapshot of where large-scale residential projects (defined as those over 100 units) are currently being built:

By Paul Brent

There was a time when Concert Real Estate Corp. could operate under the industry radar given its West Coast base of operations and traditional focus on building, retaining and operating multi-residential properties.

Any anonymity Concert may have clung to has all but disappeared following two significant deals in recent weeks: the purchase of a trophy office asset and a joint venture for a mega development in the red-hot Vancouver market.

“We have been busy lately,” said David Podmore, Concert’s chairman and chief executive. “We are really positioning the company for some pretty significant growth. Each of these fits in with our plans very nicely.”

Last week, Concert announced the purchase of Sun Life Financial‘s Canadian headquarters located at 227 King Street South in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Huge and historical, the acquisition immediately became the largest office property in Concert’s portfolio. The property consists of an 18-storey, single-tenant office complex totalling 745,247 square feet and associated parking comprised of a five-storey parking structure and a surface parking lot for a combined total site area of 15.9 acres.

Unique office complex

This unique office complex consists of multiple connected buildings, constructed in several different time periods, ranging from 1912 to 1986, …read more

Source:: RENX

A development application has been filed by a partnership including Dayhu Group for a 30,816 SF C-2 zoned site at Dunbar and 27th on the Westside of Vancouver. The site is part of a land assembly put together over several years, concluding with the acquisition of a large portion of the block (4253-4275 Dunbar Street) in January 2014 for $8,010,000.

The plan calls for a 4-storey mixed-use building at the Northwest corner of Dunbar and 27th that will include a relocated Stong’s Grocery store. Details include:

• 46 residential units
• 20,800 SF of ground floor retail space (including relocated Stong’s Grocery)
• A density of 2.48 FSR
• 165 parking stalls in two underground parking levels

Existing Streetscape

By Paul Brent

It is likely not news to any commercial real estate industry veteran, but Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are expensive places to do business when it comes to taxes.

A recent study from the Real Property Association of Canada (REALpac) confirms that fact, finding those three cities continue to sport the highest commercial to residential tax ratios in the country. The trio all have commercial to residential tax ratios higher than 4:1, while the average tax ratio for all Canadian municipalities was 2.79.

However, there is some good news in the report. Toronto’s commercial to residential tax ratio continues its slow but steady decline over the 11 years REALpac has been keeping track. The ratio declined to 4.01 from 4.07 a year ago. That’s part of the city’s deliberate effort to cut commercial taxes and reverse the exodus of business to the suburbs. Its goal by the end of the decade is to trim its commercial to residential tax ratio to 2.5.

In contrast, the study found Montreal’s ratio increased for the 10th consecutive year, even though there were decreases in both commercial and residential rates over the past two years. In fact, Montreal’s …read more

Source:: RENX