Vancouver opens new affordable housing project

Dogwood Gardens, a new affordable housing site that is part of the City of Vancouver’s Cambie Gardens development, is officially open.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and Tikva Rental Housing Society along with the City of Vancouver partnered to make 138 new affordable homes available.

The project was developed through the city’s inclusionary zoning policy, which provides social housing to the city as a Community Amenity Contribution from the developer and it will be co-managed by S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and Tikva.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate the opening of Dogwood Gardens,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, who was in attendance at the launch event. “The City of Vancouver is committed to delivering much-needed quality housing while developing collaborative relationships with community partners. We applaud the work of S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and Tikva who have helped expand options for culturally appropriate housing across our city.”

The development will include amenity space, children’s play area, parking and storage. It is the first of four affordable housing buildings being developed at Cambie Gardens which will ultimately provide 540 new affordable homes.

Queenie Choo, CEO of S.U.C.C.E.S.S., explained the development was another critical piece in solving the affordable housing puzzle.

“We’re proud to be able to help find solutions to the housing affordability crisis in our region through innovative partnerships like this one,” said Choo. “The need in the community has increased exponentially since we began working in affordable housing in 2008. We’re thrilled to be able to bring more safe, accessible and affordable homes to Vancouver residents.”

Tikva executive director Anat Gogo shared that the Dogwood Gardens development would provide a new hub for the community.

“Tikva plays a fundamental role in meeting the unprecedented demand of our community for affordable housing and Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). The individuals and families who will make this building their home have a great opportunity to live, work and play close to Jewish schools, recreation centres and synagogues,” said Gogo.

Hines names two new CEOs for Americas regions

Hines has appointed two new chief executive officers to lead its real estate investment and development ventures across large swaths of the Americas. Steve Luthman assumes the role for Canada and the United States Midwest and Southeast, while Syl Apps takes the helm in South America.

Both of the new CEOs have been promoted from within and have a depth of experience in the Canadian market. “Steve and Syl have each made significant impacts on the firm during their careers and have demonstrated invaluable skills that drive our teams, projects, and operations forward,” says Jeff Hines, co-CEO of Hines.

Most recently, Luthman was a senior managing director overseeing financing, design and construction. He led the formation of two Canada-specific investment funds and was a driving force in the development of the innovative mass timber product, T3. In addition to his new South American responsibilities, Apps will continue to head up Hines’ investment business in Canada, which he previously carried out as a senior managing director.

“They’ve expanded our presence into new product categories and markets while continuously empowering employees at Hines to perform at the highest level,” says Laura Hines-Pierce co-CEO of Hines.

Hines currently has USD $12.7 billion in assets under management in Canada & U.S. Midwest and Southeast region, of which USD $3.9 billion (CAD $5.2 billion) worth are located Canada. It holds 19.2 million square feet of commercial real estate in South America, valued at 11.7 billion Brazilian real (USD $2.2 billion).

“I’m excited to explore growth across South America while building upon our success in Brazil,” Apps observes.

“It’s an honour to step into the CEO role with the ambition to drive strategy, new business, and platform growth,” Luthman concurs.

Office market setback a national trend for Q4

An office market setback in the fourth quarter of 2022 saw the national vacancy rate climb to 17.1 per cent accompanied with 2.1 million square feet of negative absorption. CBRE Canada’s newly released summary of activity across 10 major urban centres reports sublets are again on the rise and now comprise 18.1 per cent of vacancies, with the majority of newly shed space in downtown markets. Even so, national Class A net rent rose to $23 per square foot (psf) and national annual net absorption was more robust in 2022 than in the previous two years.

Toronto recorded an 120 basis point (bps) increase in overall vacancy and 180 bps jump in the downtown Class A vacancy rate, which rose to 12 per cent in Q4. The city was the prime contributor to national negative absorption, accounting for nearly 1.9 million square feet.

That’s roughly equivalent to the amount of newly completed space that came onto to the downtown market during the third quarter of the year. Just 84,250 square feet of new space arrived in Q4, all in the suburbs, but 5.2 million square feet of office is still under construction downtown.

Downtown average Class A net rent increased by $1.38 over the quarter to reach $36.71 psf. That’s in keeping with four consecutive quarters of year-over-year rent growth and a flight to quality that has pushed up the Class B vacancy rate.

“Faced with tenant relocations into new builds, long known future vacancies have finally come to market and had an outsized impact on Toronto,” CBRE analysts observe. “This impact was, however, amplified by the curbing of growth plans by several major tech companies.”

Vancouver continues to boast the lowest vacancy rates and highest net rents among Canadian markets. Citywide office vacancies grew by 120 bps, to 7.8 per cent, but the suburban rate actually tightened in Q4, dropping 40 bps to 5.8 per cent.

The downtown Class A vacancy rate moved into double digits at 10.4 per cent — a 370 bps surge over Q3. However, fall saw 914,000 square feet of newly completed space come onto the downtown market, and Vancouver was one of just four surveyed markets to register positive net absorption for the quarter. Q4 also marked the 10th consecutive quarter of rent growth, with downtown Class net rents averaging $46.95 psf, nudging up from 46.36 psf in Q3.

“A divide is shaping up between Vancouver’s downtown and suburban markets as demand for space outside of the core continues,” CBRE analysts contend. “This has left the downtown to contend with several large sub-leases, as well as a surplus of direct vacancy from the delivery of two new towers this quarter, The Stack and Vancouver Centre II, which are not yet fully leased.”

Montreal’s overall office vacancy rate rose 50 bps to hit 17 per cent in Q4. However, the downtown market tightened slightly from Q3, with the vacancy rate dropping 10 bps to 16 per cent. Downtown Class A space commanded average net rent of $25.61 psf, up by 27 cents over Q3, while average Class A suburban net rents nudged down by 11 cents, to $16.40 psf.

Calgary experienced a 60 bps tightening of downtown Class A office space, pushing the vacancy rate down to 26.7 per cent, while average downtown Class A net rents climbed by 27 cents, to $17.42 psf. That contrasts with the trajectory in the suburban market, where the vacancy rate increased by 220 bps, to 22.6 per cent, and average Class A net rents slipped by 34 cents to $18.72 psf.

“The strongest year of downtown leasing activity since 2014 was offset by large occupiers rightsizing their suburban locations,” CBRE analysts note.

Across Canada, the construction pipeline has emptied to the lowest level since 2017 and analysts anticipate few to no projects will begin this year. Approximately 11 million square feet of new office space is still in the works, primarily in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal with small amounts in Winnipeg, Calgary and Ottawa More than 60 per cent of that is scheduled for completion in 2023.

“With developers largely placing all future projects on hold, the office pipeline could slow to its lowest level in over 20 years,” CBRE analysts project.

Study compares cost of renting vs. owning a home

A recent analysis looking at the cost of renting vs. owning a home reveals that Canadian homeowners spend 24 per cent (or almost $300) more than renters on monthly shelter costs. Conducted by Point2, the study includes breakdowns of the top Canadian cities with the cheapest and most expensive housing.

Findings show that 85 per cent of owned households spend less than 30 per cent of income on monthly shelter costs compared to almost 67 per cent of renter households. However, in cities like Kelowna, BC, Kingston, ON, and Richmond, BC, renters and owners spend almost the same on housing costs.

Record-high rates of inflation have also impacted monthly housing costs, putting more pressure on most Canadian household budgets. Whether it’s costs specific to renting vs. owning, Canadians have it cheaper depending on where they live.

Specific findings:

On average, Canadian homeowners spend 24% (or almost $300) more than renters on monthly shelter costs.

Major Ontario cities boast the most expensive housing costs: homeowners in 9 cities (including Toronto, Brampton and Markham) pay more than $2,000 a month.

Oakville, Vaughan and Milton, ON, are the only cities where all residents (renters, as well as owners) spend more than $2,000 on shelter costs.

Renters in 9 Québec cities (including Montréal and Québec City) pay less than $1,000 on housing costs; Trois-Rivières enjoys the cheapest housing costs for both homeowners ($956) and renters ($676).

Renters and homeowners in Kelowna, BC, spend almost the same on housing, while owners in Brampton, ON, pay $676 more than renters.

79% of Canadian households spend less than 30% of their monthly income on housing costs. In Lévis and Saguenay, QC, about 88% do so.

Renters who want to take on a mortgage to become homeowners in Canada need to spend almost 71% (or $857) more per month, but it’s cheaper to do so in metros like Winnipeg or Québec City

The bottom line is that 2022 was a rollercoaster no matter which side of the housing fence Canadians found themselves on. With heightened monthly expenses for utilities and other municipal services, the key difference between the two groups is that while renters have monthly rent payments, homeowners are responsible for property taxes, condominium fees and mortgages.

For more, visit: https://www.point2homes.com/news/

A sustainable approach to cold and flu season

Cold and flu season is well underway, and planning ahead will help keep guests and staff safe and healthy. Why not take a sustainable approach to your cleaning program to minimize the spread of germs, along with your carbon footprint?

Sinks and faucets can have up to 229,000 germs per square inch, so you want to remain vigilant with your cleaning protocols, especially in high-traffic areas or surfaces like bathrooms, doorknobs, desks, and phones.

There are several ways you can go greener, without compromising on infection prevention for your building.

Green cleaning

While 43 per cent of employees are still worried about the risk of illness when returning to work, 83 per cent would like to see more environmentally-friendly cleaning products used.

How can you get greener and sanitize for germs? Here are a few suggestions:

Carefully consider the ingredients in your products, cutting down on harmful chemicals or too much packaging.
Buy in larger quantities to cut down on your environmental impact and limit waste.
Look for certifications like ECOLOGO®, which verifies that it’s an environmentally friendly product.

Air quality

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air quality can be two to five times worse than outdoor air quality, causing symptoms like congestion, headaches, fatigue, and more.

Invest in indoor air quality monitors to stay on top of your levels. As well, switching out traditional products with fragrance and dye-free alternatives won’t add VOC’s to the air, are great for people with sensitivities, and are more eco-friendly. Also, practice rigorous indoor cleaning maintenance with vacuuming and dusting to minimize the spread of airborne particles and germs.

Education

Keep your team in the loop! Let them know the approach you’re taking so they know it’s important to your company. Getting everyone on the same page will keep these practices top of mind, and your staff may even have some ideas that can improve further on your plan.

As a bonus, sustainability is becoming more important for employees and along with helping the environment and keeping your facility clean, a greener cleaning strategy may also attract new, like-minded talent or customers.

Take a greener approach to your facility’s cleaning program to uphold your sanitization standards, lower your carbon footprint, and possibly attract new talent for your team during this cold and flu season.

Cleaning monitoring company invests to scale up

A Toronto-based sensor and analytics company has received a $1.5 million injection to support commercialization of its cleaning monitoring applications and further market expansion of its smart response product lines. Mero Technologies Inc. is one of four newly announced selectees for the Canadian government’s Jobs and Growth Fund, which provides interest-free loans of up to 50 per cent of eligible costs for businesses contributing to economic competitiveness, technological innovation, inclusion, resilience and low-carbon outcomes.

“Supporting Canadian innovators as they modernize and develop new processes, technologies and products to improve the way Canadians live and do business is critical,” asserts Filomena Tassi, the Minister Responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for southern Ontario.

Mero Technologies, which was founded in 2018, expects to add 30 new skilled positions to its employment roster as it deploys the federal funds. Commercial building operators have been adopting the company’s smart sensor and cleaning control products to gain a real-time reading of building occupancy, cleanliness levels, supply inventory and urgent requirements for maintenance response.

“Our made-in-Canada technology has the potential to make a significant impact in the commercial real estate industry, which has seen huge shifts since the effects of the pandemic,” maintains Mero co-founder, Nathan Mah. “The funding provided by FedDev Ontario’s Jobs and Growth Fund will be critical to our business scaling and reaching the heights we anticipate.”

When owners open a home-based business

While many companies are integrating work-from-home practices into their daily work week, others are mandating a return to the office full time. But for some businesses, the landscape has forever changed. During the pandemic, many restaurant owners were forced to cut their losses and close-up shop, with some shifting their business to the new at-home market.

In early 2022, an email came in from a concerned townhouse owner. The writer stated that a neighbour was operating a take-out restaurant from their unit and leaving their back and front doors open to let the heat escape.

Numerous cars were seen attending the unit to purchase and pick-up food. The writer was frustrated since the intense cooking smells meant they were forced to close their windows and doors and were worried the additional vehicles on-site presented a danger to children in the community.

When the unit alleged to be operating the restaurant was contacted, they did not deny anything, explaining that since COVID-19 they had closed shop and were cooking and selling from home. The owner stressed their compliance with public health inspectors who had been at the unit just the day before. business

Most declarations in a residential condominium will have a provision relating to the permitted uses of a unit. It will commonly state that a unit can only be used or occupied as a private single-family residence. However, as stated by Sonja Hodis of Hodis Law, “you have to pay close attention to the exact wording of the declaration, as the definition of “single-family residence” may have different meanings in different condos and in different contexts based on the particular wording of your condo’s governing documents.”

Hodis recommends that if you are trying to ban or control a commercial type of activity at a residential condo, “you would be wise to introduce specific language into your governing documents, beyond just the declaration occupancy provision, to address the types of activities you are trying to control.” Hodis further advises that not every home business or work-from-home arrangement is going to create a concern for condos. There may be some types of activity that a board is prepared to allow but there are other types of activity that the board refuses due to increased liabilities or costs for the corporation or a nuisance for other residents.

Hodis recommends that restrictions are focused on the activity that is not permitted rather than any particular type of business. She also advises that it is important to be precise in the language used in order to make it easier for the corporation to enforce the provisions in the governing documents. “Ambiguous language will make enforcement difficult, and any ambiguity will be held against the corporation as we have seen in recent CAT cases,” she said.

Further to this is the potential impact on insurance. Many declarations will stipulate wording such as, “No unit shall be occupied or used in such a manner as to result in the cancellation or threat of cancellation of any policy of insurance maintained by the Corporation.”

The threat of insurance policy cancellation is a point David Outa, BA, CIP, CRM, Commercial Account Executive, Condominium Practice Lead with Cowan Insurance Group says is particularly poignant when dealing with commercial businesses operating from residential units.

“Clearly someone that owns a restaurant, that’s a commercial operation,” says Outa. “As soon as you bring it home, you’ve transferred a commercial operation to your home and typically, the residential insurance policy does not anticipate exposures relating to commerce. Cooking for your family is different than cooking for take-out deliveries—that means there’s a significant increase for risk of fire. The insurer won’t say, ‘well, we’re going to charge you more,’ they will simply say, ‘this policy is not intended for this type of exposure, therefore we need that to stop or else we are going to cancel the policy.’”

Would a home owner’s personal insurance provide any leeway? Unlikely, says Outa.

“There are two layers of insurance,” he explains. “There’s the corporation’s insurance, but also the unit owner’s. I can guarantee that the unit owner’s insurer will have the same concerns because the liability coverage you get on a home policy does not anticipate the chance of someone suing you because they got food poisoning from your commercial operations. Home insurers are very selective in the type of home/business exposures they will gladly insure—it’s a very limited scope.”

And what about yoga? Can a unit owner hold a yoga class—paid or not—on the common elements?

“Yoga is a little different,” says Outa. “However, remember the corporation is the occupier of the common elements which means that the liability which comes out of that can be assigned to the condo corporation. What the condo corporation’s insurer expects is that anybody using the common elements—if you’re a unit owner—that liability should follow you.”

“Unless the condo is the one putting on the yoga class, that’s a different issue, because then it is sanctioned by the condo. They (the corporation’s insurer) may not say they’re going to cancel the policy, but they will be looking to clarify that if something happens, that liability is going to be pushed back to the individual who is running that lesson.”

In terms of owners using common elements, Hodis cautions that this is another issue that needs to be clearly addressed in your governing documents, and condos must be careful what they allow owners to do on the common elements.

“Condominium corporations are ultimately legally responsible for what happens on their common elements,” she says. “As such, you do not want to permit an owner to carry on any type of activity on the common elements that will increase the corporation’s liability or costs or that will create a nuisance for other owners and occupants.”

Fine-tuning a declaration as well as your other governing documents is particularly important when negotiating commercial activity at your building. Decide if the wording is specific and clear. If you are not sure, it’s time to review with a condo lawyer.

Ross Boncori, RCM, OLCM, has 15 years’ experience of property management and is a licensed condominium manager with The Enfield Group.

How technology can revolutionize the governance of shared-ownership properties

Traditionally, one of the greatest challenges managers have had in terms of governance is getting simple responses from enough owners to make a positive difference. Board-by-default happens way too often because most owners are too busy to be bothered. Too often this leads to poor decision-making at the board level in governance over millions of dollars in assets and creates an inefficient and directionless management effort. Longer term, it leads to lower property values and much higher fees.

Apathy is high in governance, so much so that managers used to have to go door-to-door at the last minute to beg for proxy forms even to hold a valid AGM. That means fewer than 25 per cent of owners actively participated in the governance of their properties. With the development of AGMs by videoconference, largely thanks to COVID-19, we have seen an improvement at the local level. It is usually quite easy to reach quorum these days.

But that’s only part of the story. Often, individual board members hesitate to make decisions because they feel they don’t have a good grasp on what the community wants, or the responsibility seems too enormous. Besides, condo communities exist for the purpose of shared ownership, which requires shared decision-making, and when there are decisions to be made that will affect the wallets of hundreds to thousands of co-owners, it is difficult to consistently put the weight of those decisions on three-to-five people.

How do we take owner participation to the next level?

What if there was an easy way to improve participation in governance to achieve a higher standard, particularly on questions of significant importance?

If condos/strata are truly about community governance of shared properties, interested owners should have a way of providing meaningful input without spending time on a board of directors.

Enter the Decentralized Autonomous Organization, or DAO

A DAO in this case would be an association of condo/strata owners across a distributed tech network (think Internet) working together towards the same goal.

What are the technological components? Think of an Internet application platform such as Facebook. This would include a discussion forum to share ideas and ask questions, a secure electronic voting mechanism, and a mechanism to contribute funds for contribution to shared goals, such as optional common element fees for special projects, if applicable.

The role of participants

Participants in a DAO would include members, contributors and a board of governors. Members would provide input and expertise, make proposals for improvement, and vote on such proposals, including electing the board of governors.

Contributors would be members who complete work tasks (usually administrative) for the DAO. Governors would be elected members who facilitate the activities of the DAO and complete work for the DAO. However, governors would not have decision-making authority. All members could take part in creating solutions based on common cause.

How do DAOs operate differently from condos/strata?

Currently, an owner can email a suggestion to the board via management, to be discussed at the next board meeting. The board can decide to act upon the suggestion or can ignore it. If they decide to get input from other owners, they can run an informal poll (non-binding) on a local platform or via email requesting responses by a certain date. They may get a few responses, or even up to the 25 per cent threshold discussed above, or more. They can then ignore or implement the suggestion.

In a condo-related DAO, owners would make proposals on the forum. Proposals would need to meet specific criteria in line with the condo declaration, by-laws and rules and with condo law. Otherwise, they would not be eligible for implementation. If a vote required funds to be spent, they would be automatically released based on the vote. The vote threshold for proposal implementation would be pre-set by the same process (voted on by membership, i.e. – 75 per cent of the vote is required for implementation) and vote results would be binding.

This would be more akin to direct participatory democratic procedure and would address complaints about the inability of interested owners to directly partake in the governance process. Prior to votes, education sessions could be held electronically and/or in person to ensure voters are aware of the implications of each vote.

When would a DAO most useful?

DAOs are most useful for solving problems as a community. If there is a challenge that needs to be overcome and the solution benefits the community, a DAO is a good way to meet that goal. It brings in expertise and suggestions from the wider community and allows the collective voice to make important decisions, taking the pressure off individual board members. It is in line with the ethos of community ownership.

Where would a DAO be most useful?

A DAO could be used on a local level by individual condos and/or it could be used by the wider condominium ecosystem to solve greater challenges. An association of condos/strata could include a membership made up of (and, therefore, receiving contributions from) owners across the country or even worldwide to provide solutions to common industry/real estate sector challenges. Because DAOs run on technological platforms or apps, there are no geographic restrictions to membership other than where incompatible laws may negate the implementation of a shared solution.

At a higher level still, a DAO of condominiums could be structured to give membership to condos/strata themselves, and individual owners from each condominium could contribute on behalf of their condo corporation.

The technology that makes a DAO possible

There is a technological innovation that has been developing since 2009 called blockchain. Blockchain is just now maturing and is creating the next iteration of the Internet, being adopted by governments, the world’s financial institutions (i.e. JP Morgan), supply chain management and retail companies (i.e. Walmart) and tech companies such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon.

DAOs are just one use for blockchain, and they are already revolutionizing the way many private companies govern themselves and manage assets. As blockchain applications continue to develop better user interfaces, adoption will undoubtedly grow to include other aspects of condo/strata management.

Douglas Baker is an Ontario Licensed Condominium Manager with seven years experience in the industry and is currently working remotely from Thailand. He has an educational background in technology and worked as a Programmer/Analyst in Toronto’s financial sector.

Dream Office REIT sells Class B Toronto building

Dream Office REIT has announced the sale of 720 Bay Street, Toronto, for $135 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.

Located in the Queen’s Park vicinity, the 248,000-square-foot, 11-storey, Class B office building is fully leased to the Ontario government. It was built in 1989 and is BOMA BEST gold certified.

The unmortgaged property is currently pledged as security for Dream’s $375 million revolving credit facility. The REIT intends to use net proceeds from the sale to repay debt and repurchase Class A units through its normal course issuer bid program.

Dream continues to hold about 3.5 million square feet of office properties in downtown Toronto.

Discount overnight power rate coming to Ontario

A deep discount on the overnight power rate could be on offer in Ontario as early as this spring. Under the program’s recently finalized rules, local distribution companies (LDCs) throughout the province must have the new optional time-of-use electricity rate scheme ready for residential and small business customers no later than November 1, 2023, but there will be flexibility to launch it six months earlier.

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) intends to set an ultra-low overnight (ULO) price for May 1. This will introduce a third option for customers billed via Ontario’s regulated price plan (RPP) along with the standard time-of-use and tiered rates.

While the incumbent time-of-use model is based on three price periods — on-peak, mid-peak and off-peak — the new ULO program has four periods and a much greater discrepancy between highest and lowest rates. The price of electricity during the on-peak hours of 4 to 9 p.m., Monday to Friday, will be 10 times higher than the daily overnight price from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

On weekdays, the ULO program will have 11 mid-peak hours, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 9 to 11 p.m., when prices will be equivalent to the mid-peak rate charged in the standard time-of-use program. On weekends and holidays, the ULO program price from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. will be in sync with the standard time-of-use off-peak price.

Customers must have smart meters to opt into the program. LDCs will be expected to provide enrollment mechanisms and have billing capability so invoices will show the breakdown of electricity usage in each of the four time periods.

The OEB has also promised to provide more information to customers in advance of the program launch, including updates to its online calculator that allows customers to estimate and compare their costs under the different program options. This is expected to be available on its website by early April.

New Oakridge rental tower planned

Gracorp Properties Ltd and Minto Group’s Apartments Division have partnered to re-develop three existing single-family homes at 427 – 449 West 39th Ave into an 18-storey rental community in Vancouver’s rapidly evolving Oakridge neighbourhood.

“West 39th is the start of an exciting new partnership between Minto and Gracorp. Minto has an extensive platform that brings an industry leading focus on the tenant experience. Gracorp is excited to partner with Minto and this relationship positively leverages the synergies between the two firms.” Bruce Black, vice president, Gracorp.

The character of the building will reflect a health, wellness, and healing theme. The building will use a low-carbon energy system for heating and domestic hot water, while providing air conditioning to all units to maximize occupant comfort. In addition, it will provide a diverse amenity package on both the ground floor and rooftop for the use and enjoyment of the residents.

Gracorp submitted a rezoning application in March 2022 which includes a provision for 20 per cent of the net residential area to be below-market housing in perpetuity. The project will add a net gain of approximately 142 market rental units plus 34 below-market rental units – 35 per cent of which are family units – to the City of Vancouver’s much needed secured rental stock. Phase 3 of the Cambie Corridor Plan aims to transform existing single-family neighbourhoods into walkable communities where more people will be able to live, work, shop, learn and play.

“Minto is proud to partner with Gracorp and looks forward to a long and productive working partnership in the Vancouver market. We feel very fortunate to work with such a prestigious and well-established company building the future of Canada’s west coast.” Michael Waters, CEO, Minto Group.

University of Calgary opens Mathison Hall

The University of Calgary announced the official opening of Mathison Hall at the Haskayne School of Business. The four-storey 10,000-square-metre Mathison Hall, attached to the school’s existing Scurfield Hall building, aims to achieve LEED platinum certification.

The building features 12 technology-enhanced classrooms as well as new spaces for study, group work, gathering, student advising, food services and events.

“At the University of Calgary, we say we’re a place to Start Something,” says University of Calgary president Ed McCauley. “With the official opening of Mathison Hall, we are going to help start hundreds and thousands of careers – ones that will make Canada’s most enterprising city even more so, propelled by the entrepreneurial thinking that runs through the university’s DNA. Through Mathison Hall, we are further committing to creating a place where business students will learn and thrive, and in turn, help Calgary’s economy continue to grow.”

The $90 million capital project was first announced in 2018 and was made possible by the generous gift of $20 million from Ronald P. Mathison, Calgary business leader, philanthropist, chairman of MATCO Group and building namesake. Since then, over 200 donors in the business community have contributed to the building, with Haskayne to date securing more than $33.7 million towards its $40 million philanthropic goal.

Through its purposeful, student-centric and sustainable design, Mathison Hall will transform business education in Calgary by providing students with the resources and environment necessary to successfully pursue their academic goals, gain valuable educational experiences and build a treasured social and professional network.

The vision behind the project was led by architects, Gibbs Gage and Diamond Schmidt. The project was completed by EllisDon on time and on budget, despite global supply chain shortages, a pandemic and inflationary pressures.

Elbow Park Kitchen, Calgary

This kitchen was renovated by Dolyny Design for a busy family of six including the pooch. The existing ﬂoor plan worked well in terms of the layout so it wasn’t necessary to remove any walls but it was very apparent the kitchen was dark and dated.

Queues were taken from the contemporary elements that formed the home’s exterior and repeated in the interior to create the same aesthetic. The client had requested a white kitchen but with a full wall of windows looking out to the back property, the best option was layering other materials to add interest and warmth to the space. To achieve this, the new countertops and backsplash boast a natural stone, rich with cream and bronze veining which enhances the warmth of the existing wood ﬂooring.

Additional wood elements were introduced on the face of the exhaust hood over the range, the island facade and seating, providing rhythm and repetition as your eye travels around the room. The carpet runner placed between the island and the back counter is not only beautiful but also adds a pop of colour and texture providing warmth underfoot while preparing a meal.

The upper cabinets are carried to the ceiling to give the illusion of a larger kitchen, providing additional storage and creating a cleaner look. The additional storage closer to the ceiling can be used for items that are not required on a daily basis. The quartzite natural stone from the countertop continues up the wall to form the backsplash, eliminating any tile grout lines and minimizing cleaning. To enhance the vertical scale of the upper cabinets, long simple pulls in a brushed nickel ﬁnish were used to dress up the larger scale ﬂat panel doors. The attractive cabinet hardware is like jewellery that completes the look and adds a bit of bling.

Lengthening the island provided more storage space for recipe books, more space for food preparation, informal dining with family and friends and most importantly serves as a daily gathering place. The existing pantry was reworked and an open area with recessed lighting was introduced at the top where the client’s collection of colourful crystal glassware can be displayed. The interior of the pantry is a place for dry goods and small appliances that are within easy reach while preparing a meal.

All the lower cabinets are designed with drawers instead of doors which make the contents more accessible. An in-depth study was done on all items that needed to be stored, from pots and pans, cutlery, plastic storage containers, linens etc so there was a place for everything related to the kitchen.

In keeping with the overall seamless look, the fridge and freezer drawers were integrated into the cabinetry as well as the fridge drawers that were located close to the table for retrieving beverages easily. Double ovens were also built-in for the convenience of cooking the main meal in one, and a dessert in the other.

Upgrading the lighting was achieved by introducing additional recessed pots in the ceiling, under cabinet lighting and large scale sculptural pendants over the island and another ﬁxture over the seating area, providing both drama and brightness.

Calgary Winter City Design winners revealed

The City of Calgary has announced the winners of the second annual Winter City Design Competition.

Calgary designers, artists and post-secondary students were asked to use their creative curiosity to dream up activations, designs and experiments. The two winning projects, titled Illumine and Chinook-ery, will be constructed at Stephen Avenue and 1st Street S.W., and in the Beltline’s Barb Scott Park on 12th Avenue, respectively.

“Calgary has an amazing design community and we’re excited to provide creative opportunities to help bring their ideas to life,” says Kate Zago, lead of the competition. “We can’t wait to showcase these designs in February and have people enjoy the new experiences to help create vibrancy, better social connections and increase overall social wellness during the winter months.”

The two winners that will receive funding to build and install their designs in February 2023 are:

Illumine comprises three glowing frames, each containing movable and interactive elements, focused on public interactions and constant creation. The project team includes Paul Miller and Miles Abesdris.

“As an architect, the decision to participate in the competition was driven by the desire to contribute to an engaging public realm and the greater community,” says Miller, principal with Mion Architecture. “I believe even a small, temporary intervention can materially enrich the life of a street and can become a catalyst for greater human connection.”

Chinook-ery is inspired by the landscape with modular structures including benches, slides, lights and tunnels that can be organized to support various activities and experienced differently with the fluctuating weather conditions. The project was designed by Giovanni Carano, Vince Ellis, Kayla Royce, Marcia Eng, Jenn Comrie, David Kowel, Leighton Ginther, Jon van Heyst, Kim Crews.

“We loved the opportunity to work across professional disciplines, to think creatively about a local park and to celebrate playful designs that enhance the experience of being outside during the winter season for residents, workers and visitors of the Beltline,” says Royce, transportation engineer with Urban Systems.

Working together for affordable housing

The affordable housing crisis in Canada has been a contentious subject for decades. From policies like inclusionary zoning, to rent caps and tax incentives, bringing more affordable homes to market is a complex endeavour with no single solution. Making matters worse is the general lack of clarity surrounding the business of operating rental apartments. For many landlords, large and small, this lack of understanding has contributed to their portrayal as gauging, heartless entities making windfalls of money at the expense of tenants.

Enter some of Canada’s largest publicly traded residential REITs: Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (CAPREIT), Boardwalk REIT, Killam Apartment REIT, InterRent REIT and Minto Apartment REIT. In late 2022, the five powerhouses banded together to form ForAffordable.ca, an initiative intended to bring clarity to the business of rental housing while detailing viable ways to generate more housing supply where it’s needed.

“Canada is experiencing the worst crisis of housing affordability and supply in a generation,” said Mark Kenney, President and CEO of CAPREIT. “Put simply, there just haven’t been enough new homes built to match the country’s population growth.”

According to Kenney, this is the main reason housing has become less affordable for an increasing number of Canadians. While governments across Canada are focused on finding solutions, he believes some of the productivity has been muddied by misperceptions about how REITs and other housing providers do business.

At ForAffordable.ca, visitors can find key facts and figures pertaining to how large housing providers operate, where and how they invest in their buildings, and how they are taxed compared to other asset classes. The newly launched website also tackles some misperceptions about “renovictions” (no, these REITs don’t do them) and the percentage of affordable units that make up their rental housing portfolios. Surprisingly, half of the group’s 120,000 suites are rented at rates that meet the government’s definition of affordable (i.e., less than 30 per cent of local median renter household income). Also of note is that rents across their collective portfolios have only grown an average of 2 per cent per year over the last ten years; meanwhile they’ve all been committed to bringing more affordable housing supply to in-demand regional markets.

Essentially, the group says achieving the goal of more affordable housing relies heavily on building partnerships and working with other organizations to deliver the spectrum of housing needed. Sam Kolias, Chairman and CEO, Boardwalk REIT, put it this way: “There is an old saying: Alone we go fast, together we go far. We come together to go far in providing Canadians with more affordable housing. How? Over the last several decades, we have seen how sound public policy like no rent controls produces the most affordable housing. Alberta and Saskatchewan are the best examples where for decades rent control has been absent and are now regions where the most affordable rents are found in Canada. Education is essential for voter and policymakers to be able to make the best policy decisions.”

Expanding on that, Kolias said working with others to ensure the best data and case examples are used to create the best public policy is an integral part of the ForAffordable.ca mission. Specifically, the platform espouses that eliminating price controls, reducing capital costs with capital grants; reducing taxes with higher capital cost allowances; and making rent supports available to those who need them most will help remedy supply issues.

“Studies show how rent supports help keep everyone in housing and is much more economic and beneficial than homelessness,” he said. “Past history of lowering capital costs and taxation have also proven to produce much more quality supply of rental housing, thus lowering rental costs with more competition.”

Proposed tools & solutions

Here, from the perspective of Canada’s five largest residential REITs, are some feasible ways the government might stimulate the creation of new affordable rental housing:

1. Create supportive financing and a funding program for cooperatives and non-profits to acquire existing market-based affordable housing from REITs and others at market prices and preserve affordability through community land trusts. “We agree with the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) that this solution should be added to the National Housing Strategy.”

2. Expand the Canada Housing Benefit to help more families and introduce an emergency support benefit to prevent homelessness. “We are supportive of expanding the CHB to help more families make ends meet, and of developing emergency supports to help people avoid losing their homes in times of crisis.”

3. Create a national standard for land-use by aligning land use policies with national housing, infrastructure and immigration goals and investments. “Canada’s population is growing, but housing isn’t keeping up. We need to dramatically increase housing supply. The federal government should use the Health and Social transfers, infrastructure, and other funding streams to nudge provinces, territories, and municipalities to align land-use policies to create a national standard.”

4. Maintain the existing tax treatment of REITs, as per a Fall 2022 study by Ernst & Young which demonstrates how changing it could disincentivize needed investment in residential supply, put upward pressure on rents, and have a marginal—or possibly negative—impact on government revenues. “Just as putting a price on carbon reduces greenhouse gas emissions by making it much more expensive for all consumers, taxes on housing, and affordable housing in particular, discourages construction by making it too expensive for Canadian consumers to afford and builders to build. All governments must align their taxation policies to promote new construction. Historic best case examples in the 60s, 70s and 80s clearly show how lowering taxes increases the supply of affordable housing.”

Learn more about the coalition’s mission to bring more clarity and solutions to the housing crisis at ForAffordable.ca.

U.S. prepares to prohibit non-compete clauses

A proposed ban on non-compete clauses would unshackle an estimated 30 million workers in the United States. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed notice that it intends to decree such employer-imposed conditions are unfair competition, which would rescind current non-compete agreements and prohibit them in the future.

The proposed rule has been posted for public comment until March 5, 2023. Accompanying background from the FTC maintains that workers are effectively coerced into non-compete agreements due to employers’ disproportionate bargaining power. In turn, this serves to suppress wages through contrived control of job turnover and to inhibit the launch of new businesses.

“By design, non-competes often close off a worker’s most natural alternative employment options: jobs in the same geographic area and professional field,” observes a joint statement from FTC chair Lisa Khan and commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. “These restrictions can undermine core economic liberties, burdening Americans’ ability to freely switch jobs.”

Non-compete clauses are common across U.S. industry sectors and job levels, from service sector roles to technical and professional fields to senior management positions. As part of the public consultation exercise, the FTC is seeking input on whether low- and high-wage workers should be treated equally under the rule and whether senior executives should be exempt.

What is IoT and how can it help you better manage your building maintenance?

Are you part of the 59 per cent of facility managers planning to invest in technology to improve efficiency? If so, you need to take a look at IoT.

IoT (internet of things) technology is a rapidly growing tool for building owners and managers as a way to level up your data integration.

IoT technology is a new way to connect your web-enabled devices so that they work together to manage inventory, scheduling, and more. This technology integrates your processes to save time, money, and get you the data you need at your fingertips.

There are a lot of things you can do to get your maintenance management to the next level, and IoT is a 2023 trend you don’t want to miss out on.

Getting started

With any technology, a learning curve is to be expected, so implement these tools one step at a time to ensure you are getting the most out of your investment. Experts suggest starting with traffic counting as a simple step to monitor building occupancy. Accessing this information alone can lead to better security, more efficient staffing, improved maintenance scheduling, and more.

Next, look for other opportunities to integrate data to improve performance. Could you use better inventory management? More accurate shipping and receiving schedules? Improved energy efficiency or water use?

This may seem like an overwhelming endeavour at first but taking it one step at a time and scaling it to your building will allow you to get the tools you need and be able to use them to your advantage.

What about security?

With all your data integrated, what about a security breach? Research indicates that 45 per cent of facility managers are concerned about security with this new technology, and that is definitely something to consider. In implementing this technology, you will also need to invest in cybersecurity to protect your data and your company.

This is something to consider as part of your budget planning when looking at overall costing. Factor in a security system to stay protected as you adopt new technology.

IoT can help you maximize efficiency, from maintenance to security to building automation, and beyond. Accessing real-time insights and tracking your processes will allow you to manage your building’s maintenance for better performance.

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