“The intent is to inspire more projects like this to increase sustainability projects within downtown Edmonton”
Edmonton’s SunRise building is getting a facelift and efficiency upgrades with the help of a new program from the Bank of Montreal (BMO).
“This project will allow us to target our housing demographic of essential workers,” said Daniel Veniot, Avenue Living’s associate vice-president of debt capital markets.
Article content
The former Capital Tower is a 10-floor building located at 10609 101 St., roughly two blocks north of the Ice District. Bought in 2015 by Avenue Living, the building was earmarked for refurbishment from the start. Recently, with the help of a BMO funding program that came online this year, Avenue Living is expecting the project to be completed by the end of 2024.
Advertisement 2
Article content
The building is currently vacant but once complete it will bring more than 170 residential units to the market with some commercial space on the bottom floor of the building. The units will be comprised of studio and one-bedroom units, targeting the young professional rental market.
Veniot said the $28 million used for the revitalization of the building was split towards refurbishment and efficiency upgrades. The group estimated that the building’s upgrades will contribute to a more than 60 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Some of the upgrades include heat pumps, triple-glazed windows, and new exterior wall insulation, among others.
One upgrade that Veniot was excited about is the dual-function mural on the north side of the exterior of the building.
“It’s a major highlight of the project. It will be a one-of-a-kind solar panel mural,” said Veniot.
The mural will be more than 25 metres tall and will operate as both an art installation and functional solar panel made by Mitrex. Mitrex is a solar panel company that specializes in building integrated photovoltaic systems, which are solar facades that generate solar energy without traditional-looking solar panels.
Headline News
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
The solar panel will hide beneath the artistic mural work of local Indigenous artist Lance Cardinal. Cardinal has worked with several businesses throughout Edmonton, including the Edmonton Oilers, Fort Edmonton Park, the Telus World of Science, and even Edmonton’s IKEA.
Since the building is located on Treaty 6 territory and sits near Edmonton’s Chinatown, Cardinal’s mural on the SunRise building is described by Avenue Living as depicting “the unity, coexistence, and cultural parallels between First Nations and Chinese cultures.”
Avenue Living said that it hopes the SunRise building revitalization prompts others like it.
“The intent is to inspire more projects like this to increase sustainability projects within Downtown Edmonton, which will attract more investment in the area and create a fresh lively atmosphere in the neighborhood,” said Veniot.
BMO’s funding comes from a program announced in partnership with the Canadian Infrastructure Bank in January. It helps by providing the necessary funds for commercial real estate owners to maximize efficiency in buildings. James Burrow, director of sustainable finance at BMO capital markets, said the initiative from the bank is a signal to their clients that they want to be a “leading partner” in their path towards net-zero and decarbonizing real estate.
Advertisement 4
Article content
Burrow said that the funds are available to commercial real estate owners who are retrofitting older buildings during redevelopment to increase sustainability, or to simply upgrade sustainability measures for existing buildings without redevelopment.
“This specific program has one other project announced so far — kind of a similar project of a similar size. We’ve got a bunch more in the pipeline across the country,” said Burrow.
Veniot said that the BMO program, in conjunction with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) MLI Select program, can help incentivize commercial real estate operators to commit to affordable, efficient, and accessible housing options when building or redeveloping.
The SunRise building will have several amenity features for its tenants, including a rooftop garden, library, fitness centre, movie theatre and more. Veniot said that once built, the units will be rented under the CMHC’s affordable metric for Edmonton at the time they hit the market.
Twitter/X: @ZacharyDelaney
Recommended from Editorial
Article content
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs expected to call provincial election today
Arch Manning to get first start for No. 1 Texas as Ewers continues recovery from abdomen strain
Sutherland House Experts Book Publishing Launches To Empower Quiet Experts
New Brunswick election candidate profile: Green Party Leader David Coon
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs kicks off provincial election campaign
Canada’s Probate Laws: What You Need to Know about Estate Planning in 2024
New Brunswick election profile: Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs
Quebec won’t fund graphite mine project tied to Pentagon; locals claim ‘victory’
Comments