Archive for January 2012

A record number of entries have been submitted for the 25th anniversary of the local SAM (Sales and Marketing) Awards.

The Canadian Home Builders’ Association–Calgary Region has received 745 submissions for this year’s awards, compared to 544 last year.

The awards honour association members for forward-thinking work in design, technique, marketing, sales and service. Winners will be announced April 14 at the Telus Convention Centre.

Calgary’s housing has moved into a “moderately unaffordable” position from a “seriously unaffordable” position, according to the 8th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey.

To determine housing affordability, Demographia establishes a median multiple by dividing a market’s median house price by the median pre-tax income, the result being the number of years it would take to pay for the house if all income was dedicated to the purchase.

Calgary’s median multiple for 2011 is 3.9, down slightly from last year’s 4.0, and lower than the average of 4.5 for all other Canadian cities with a population of 1 million.

A technical mistake led to the $100-million snub from a federal agency for four planned rec centres in Calgary, says a top ranking cabinet minister.

Calgary MP Jason Kenney on Thursday said the Conservatives made a decision early on to exclude rec centres from the list of eligible infrastructure programs to receive funding from P3 Canada, a Crown corporation created in 2008 intended for public-private partnerships.

Calgary applied for $100 million funding from the agency, spending $3 million in the process.

In November, P3 Canada told the city it’s not qualified to receive funding in spite of previous promises its project would get cash.

CALGARY — Months after the city spent $900,000 on wide-ranging budget consultations, aldermen are questioning the worth of the exercise.

A council committee went through a post-mortem analysis of the months-long process led by an Ottawa-based consultant. Most council members appreciated the project’s attempt to gauge public opinion and the precedent it set, but questioned how much useful feedback they really got.

“To what extent we would repeat it again — I’m not sure.” said Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart.

She said she would prefer future consultations to focus on more specific, pressing issues in different parts of Calgary.

$2.6 billion in transactions

CALGARY — Commercial real estate transactions in the Calgary region ballooned in 2011 with both dollar volumes and deal velocity significantly higher than the previous year.

The burgeoning local real estate market was buoyed last year by demand for office properties.

A report by RealNet Canada Inc. said total sales in Greater Calgary in the commercial real estate market reached $2.6 billion in 2011, up from $1.7 billion in 2010. There were also 326 transactions over $1 million. In 2010, there were 289 deals over $1 million.

Calgary condo sales have reached new heights after a luxury unit fetched a record $8.3 million, before construction has begun.

The 5,260-square-foot condo will cover the entire 12th floor of the 15-storey development called The River, located along the Elbow River, which flows through the southern portion of the city.

Already, more than $30 million in real estate has been spoken for in the project, which includes 38 residences — 27 units in the tower and 11 town houses.

Anne Clarke, director of sales for The River, said eight sales have been completed and three deals are pending.

Council did not make a final decision on the outcome of the Mission Road Innovation Project at the January 9th Public Hearing. It was decided by a majority of Council that the project merited further consideration but it was thought that perhaps more study was required on key issues prior to proceeding to final acceptance. Those voting against the first reading of the bylaw and as a result, the continuation of the project, were Ald. Stevenson, Chabot, Colley-Urquhart and Demong.

Our fourth ward profile brings us to East Calgary’s Ward 10 and Alderman Andre Chabot.

Ward 10 comprises the Central East side of Calgary, existing in both the northeast and southeast of the city. Ward 10 contains the existing communities of Abbeydale, Albert Park/Radisson Heights, Applewood Park, Erin Woods, Forest Heights, Forest Lawn, Franklin, Marlborough, Marlborough Park, Mayland, Mayland Heights, Penbrooke Meadows, Red Carpet and Southview. The new condo community The Gala, in Applewood, is currently under construction and will contain 386 condo units.

The Alderman | Andre Chabot

Andre Chabot moved to Calgary in 1971 from a small community in Saskatchewan. After high school, he spent seven years in the construction industry, then completed a four year program at Devry’s Electronics Engineering Technology Program, where he graduated at the top of his class. From there, he spent 18 years in the electronics industry.

While the Mission Road Innovation Project got all the attention at the January 9th Public Hearing; another land use item on the agenda also had interesting implications. See how Council voted and what it could mean to future redevelopment.

CPC2012-003 Land Use Redesignation (Windsor Park) and Bylaw 3D2012

As described in the CPC report, the subject parcel to be redesignated is located on a narrow parcel on Elbow Drive SW within the community of Windsor Park. The area is characterized by a mix of low density residential dwellings to the north and south and multi-residential dwellings to the east and the Calgary Golf and Country Club to the west.

The applicant was looking to redesignate the subject lands from R-C2 to Multi-Residential (M-CG) (M-CGd21) to accommodate a maximum of 5 dwelling units. So in other words, going from the already permitted 2 units on the parcel and adding a maximum of 3 more.

The economic forecast for Calgary is positive, says a federal expert who spoke to more than 650 members of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association–Calgary Region.

The city can expect strong employment growth for 2012 and increased net migration — both of which will contribute to a strong housing market, said senior market analyst Richard Cho of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

He spoke during a recent meeting of the association.