Barnaby
Active Member
Surface parking lot to residential/mixed use conversions should be incentivized before anything else. I'm not in favour of grants, I'd rather see tax holidays and permitting discounts within a defined area.
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Edmonton Real Estate Market
- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
Kosy123
Senior Member
This was interesting to see because it's nice to finally see the proportion of office space taken up by the government and crown corps. Take this with a grain of salt (since it's just my area), but there's a lot of hiring happening within the provincial government. The issue is, we're kinda running out of space for in-office spaces. I don't know if this means we're going to get pressure to lease more, but space constraints are starting to occur from my own experience/observation.
thommyjo
Senior Member
Agreed. I’d rather an empty office building with an apartment next door vs a converted office (likely somewhat ugly) with a surface parking lot next door.
The former also brings in more taxes still. Even if the business building declines in value. And I don’t think the C tier stuff staying empty impacts the A and trophy type stuff, does it? Not really competition when they’re worlds apart (can anyone confirm this? Just what I’ve heard).
The prior incentive program that got us that little boom should 100% be done again.
David A
Senior Member
Well Alberta's population has grown a lot in the last few years, so that probably means some growth in the provincial government will have to happen now too.
The good news is no shortage of office space in downtown Edmonton, if they need more, but they might actually have to start looking at some of the buildings that are not Class A.
There are several buildings close to the government district I am familiar with that have quite a bit of vacancy. Some may need some fixing up, but if the provincial government offers to fill them, the landlord would probably gladly spruce it up.
policyenthusiast
Active Member
MEDIA ADVISORY - FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO MAKE HOUSING ANNOUNCEMENT IN EDMONTON
EDMONTON, AB, March 3, 2025 /CNW/ - Media are invited to join the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre -- on behalf of the Honourable Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, and Lindsay Munn, Vice President of Property Portfolio Management at Civida
| Date: | March 4, 2025 |
| Time: | 9:00 am MST |
| Location: | 10707 117 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, T5H 3W3 |
Based on Civida attending, I expect they're announcing a mixed-income housing project somewhere in the Edm. Centre riding.
MacLac
Senior Member
There's a smash down at this address and a suitable already empty lot across 107.....
Barnaby
Active Member
Hopefully it's somewhere along the VLW.
Something extremely substantial would be nice, otherwise I don't see the point of a press conference.
Something extremely substantial would be nice, otherwise I don't see the point of a press conference.
policyenthusiast
Active Member
I think the reason it's at this address is that it's an affordable housing property operated by Capital Region Housing Corp.There's a smash down at this address and a suitable already empty lot across 107.....
Maybe the Feds are kicking money to its remediation? Or to opening a Civida-operated facility on the lot next to it?
thommyjo
Senior Member
Honourable and this guys name should never be together. How is he not in jail yet
policyenthusiast
Active Member
Maybe "The Honourable" has a better ring to it than "That Guy From the News".
policyenthusiast
Active Member
Have an update, it is quite substantial:
News From Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC):
Federal government invests in 1431 homes in Edmonton
EDMONTON, AB, March 4, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Government of Canada announced more than $46 million in contributions and low-cost repayable loans to build and renew 1431 homes at 21 housing projects located across Edmonton.Today's announcement was made by the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, Alberta, on behalf of the Honourable Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, alongside Lindsay Munn, Vice President of Property Portfolio Management for Civida.
The announcement took place at Central Village, a low-rise 42-unit apartment building owned and operated by Civida, which received $24,300 funding through Canada Greener Affordable Housing (CGAH) program as part of today's announcement.
The projects announced today are supported by various initiatives under the National Housing Strategy (NHS) and are designed to meet needs across the housing continuum, with a focus on Edmonton's most vulnerable populations.
The funding announced today includes:
- $37,179,550 in contributions and loans through the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), which will help create 124 units across 2 projects.
- $8,836,337 in contributions and loans through the Canada Greener Affordable Housing (CGAH), which will help renew 1307 units across 19 projects.
CplKlinger
Senior Member
I wonder if the renewal funding is going toward the renewal work already underway, or if it covers new stuff. I'm also looking for details on where those two new projects are located.
edm13
Active Member
Can someone explain to me how it makes sense to spend $37 million to create 124 affordable housing units? This works out to almost $300k per unit. Wouldn’t it be better to just purchase the zillions of condos we have priced under $300k and convert the to affordable housing? I know these would be new supply, but at $300k per unit, it seems expensive
constance_chlore
Active Member
Wouldn't buying up a bunch of condos make condos less affordable (for those not eligible for official affordable housing), keeping people in the rental market and making rentals less affordable? I don't know what's a reasonable cost, but it makes sense to me that you have to increase supply to have a real impact on affordability.
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policyenthusiast
Active Member
One obstacle is the decentralization of condo sales. It's unlikely that Civida wants to run 100 units in 100 buildings, as the administrative burden makes a dedicated building more fiscally responsible.
I'm speculating though.