The IntraUrban Davies Station redevelopment will be a small-bay industrial strata facility in South Edmonton. (Courtesy PC Urban)
PC Urban plans to take an unused 100,000-square-foot warehouse in South Edmonton and redevelop it into its eighth IntraUrban small-bay, strata business hub.
The redevelopment at 6008 75 St. NW will create 13 commercial condo properties for the area’s small- to medium-sized businesses. When work begins at the site in May, PC Urban plans to strip the existing building down to its walls and roofs and completely “reimagine” the facility.
“We are transforming an under-utilized, dormant property into a new business hub in an up-and-coming area of Edmonton,” said Brent Sawchyn, the CEO of PC Urban Properties, in a release. “This is an area on an upward trajectory and businesses that become part of the evolution will share in its success.
“IntraUrban Davies Station is a rare ownership opportunity in a core location.”
The company plans to have units available for occupancy before the end of 2020.
About IntraUrban Davies Station
The development is in close proximity to transit and amenities for both customers and employees, and will build on an established industrial and commercial sector in the area. The south industrial district is already home to leading brands such as BMW, BMO and Ledcor Industries.
“We are very excited to see this warehouse transformation development at the Davies Station on the Valley Line LRT coming to market,” said Guy Boston, Edmonton’s transit-oriented development manager, in the release.
“The city’s investment in this LRT line was not only focused on moving people, but it was also intended to spur on this type of development.”
The facility will accommodate unit sizes from 5,300 to 12,400 square feet. The ability to combine these configurations will offer condo opportunities at a more affordable scale than previously available in this area.
Industrial business zoning at the property permits a wide variety of retail and industrial uses, including home improvement outlets, breweries, bars, warehouse sales, light distribution, restaurants, personal service shops, indoor recreation services and much more.
All units will have grade loading capabilities and larger units will feature both grade and dock level loading.
The building will offer 22-foot ceiling heights and high efficiency lighting and will be fully sprinklered and include features such as new glazed storefronts, glass overhead doors and rough-in service for washrooms on the main floor.
Prices will start at $220 per square foot.
“Strong” strata pre-sales
“The whole area of South Edmonton is now on the cusp of being reinvigorated and we’re thrilled PC Urban is coming in and investing in the region as we think it will be one of many investments in that part of the city to come,” said Malcolm Bruce, CEO of Edmonton Global, in the release.
“This area is predominantly older, leased industrial spaces and these new business condos available for purchase will add different options for small and medium businesses who want to stake a claim to their own space.”
Avison Young principal Thomas Ashcroft said continued low mortgage rates and relatively low industrial vacancy rates (below six per cent) mean businesses are more inclined to take advantage of the opportunity to buy their own space.
“There are a lot of industrial and retail businesses that want to shift to ownership and this allows them to buy property in an area they couldn’t otherwise find or afford,” Ashcroft said in the release. “Industrial strata is an emerging market in Edmonton because of the benefits of owning versus leasing.
“We’ve seen strong pre-sales with industrial strata projects, which is not typical in our market, and it is motivating business owners who are eager to buy in great locations like this one.”
IntraUrban Davies Station will be the eighth industrial condo project for PC Urban Properties. Its industrial condo developments in Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby have consistently sold out before construction completion.
About PC Urban
PC Urban is a Vancouver-based real estate development and investment company specializing in re-imagining commercial and residential properties. It has successfully re-imagined real estate projects across all asset classes – retail, office, industrial and multifamily.
Examples include the reimagining of a heritage industrial building in Mt. Pleasant and industrial condo developments in Vancouver, Kelowna and Calgary.
The company has more than 750,000 square feet of commercial and retail under construction, and 440 residential units, across Western Canada.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
