March 2012 Maritime Economic Fundamentals
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CMHC: Aparment construction likely to resurge in Halifax area
Apartment building construction in the Halifax area stalled in January after a remarkable December, but the sector is expected to remain robust throughout the year, an analyst said Tuesday.
`The statistics indicate zero starts in construction of rental apartment units for January 2012 after December 2011 had 383 starts, the most for a single month since the 1970s,` said Matthew Gilmore, a senior market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. in Halifax.
`This is really just a matter of timing, with developers not breaking ground in January for various reasons. However, we are expecting an elevated level of activity in this sector in Halifax this year."
Read the full article here.
Apartment building construction in the Halifax area stalled in January after a remarkable December, but the sector is expected to remain robust throughout the year, an analyst said Tuesday.
`The statistics indicate zero starts in construction of rental apartment units for January 2012 after December 2011 had 383 starts, the most for a single month since the 1970s,` said Matthew Gilmore, a senior market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. in Halifax.
`This is really just a matter of timing, with developers not breaking ground in January for various reasons. However, we are expecting an elevated level of activity in this sector in Halifax this year."
Read the full article here.
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Halifax developers want to aim high
Halifax regional council giving initial approval to projects that contravene view-plane height restrictions is a sign that the rules no longer apply, a developer says.
Last week, council rejected a staff recommendation to stop Skye Halifax, a $350-million proposal by United Gulf Developments Ltd. to build twin 48-storey towers, in favour of initiating a public hearing process on the matter.
On Tuesday, council made the same decision on a $22-million expansion of the YMCA at the corner of Sackville and South Park streets, a plan that includes relaxing the height restriction to 46 metres from the current 23 metres to allow the proponents to build a residential complex that would be about 15 storeys high on one portion of the lot.
Read the full article here.
Halifax regional council giving initial approval to projects that contravene view-plane height restrictions is a sign that the rules no longer apply, a developer says.
Last week, council rejected a staff recommendation to stop Skye Halifax, a $350-million proposal by United Gulf Developments Ltd. to build twin 48-storey towers, in favour of initiating a public hearing process on the matter.
On Tuesday, council made the same decision on a $22-million expansion of the YMCA at the corner of Sackville and South Park streets, a plan that includes relaxing the height restriction to 46 metres from the current 23 metres to allow the proponents to build a residential complex that would be about 15 storeys high on one portion of the lot.
Read the full article here.
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Halifax coping with the crane drain
TAKING A PEEK out the window is all one needs to get a glimpse into Halifax`s future.
Tower cranes are becoming a ubiquitous sight in almost every direction, whether it is Halifax, Dartmouth or Bedford, a sign that the pace of development in the region is picking up.
But the impending development boom, enhanced by the $25-billion Irving shipbuilding contract, will create a side effect that may cause headaches for developers and contractors alike: lack of available tower cranes.
Read the full article here.
TAKING A PEEK out the window is all one needs to get a glimpse into Halifax`s future.
Tower cranes are becoming a ubiquitous sight in almost every direction, whether it is Halifax, Dartmouth or Bedford, a sign that the pace of development in the region is picking up.
But the impending development boom, enhanced by the $25-billion Irving shipbuilding contract, will create a side effect that may cause headaches for developers and contractors alike: lack of available tower cranes.
Read the full article here.
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More retail space for Bedford
Looking to capitalize on growth in Bedford South, a development company will be working on multimillion-dollar retail and residential projects concurrently.
In April, Kiel Developments Ltd. will break ground on a $20-million, 50,000-square-foot commercial project, which will be comprised of one two-storey building and two single-level buildings.
The buildings will be located next to the Shoppers Drug Mart at the corner of Larry Uteck Boulevard and Nine Mile Drive, across the street from Sobeys and other retailers.
Read the full article here.
Looking to capitalize on growth in Bedford South, a development company will be working on multimillion-dollar retail and residential projects concurrently.
In April, Kiel Developments Ltd. will break ground on a $20-million, 50,000-square-foot commercial project, which will be comprised of one two-storey building and two single-level buildings.
The buildings will be located next to the Shoppers Drug Mart at the corner of Larry Uteck Boulevard and Nine Mile Drive, across the street from Sobeys and other retailers.
Read the full article here.
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Halifax's building boom: Anything goes
Development issues have come front and centre at city hall, with so much construction in the works that there`s a reported crane shortage in Halifax. And the much-celebrated ship building contract may or may not result in more and better paying jobs for the bulk of the population, but the building industry is anticipating high rents whether pay increases or not, and so we can expect still more apartment and condo projects in the months and years ahead.
The immediate effect of this upturn in the building industry is two-fold. First, city council is being asked repeatedly to simply ignore HRM By Design, the five-year process that involved over 5,000 citizens and millions of dollars. The HRM By Design consensus was basically that the regulatory process around development be streamlined, so long as new projects fit into a set of design and height restrictions. The `streamlining` part of the consensus has been a huge success; city staffer Andy Filmore told council last week that projects now move through the bureaucracy in 60 days, which stands up as among the fastest approvals in the country.
Read the full article here.
Development issues have come front and centre at city hall, with so much construction in the works that there`s a reported crane shortage in Halifax. And the much-celebrated ship building contract may or may not result in more and better paying jobs for the bulk of the population, but the building industry is anticipating high rents whether pay increases or not, and so we can expect still more apartment and condo projects in the months and years ahead.
The immediate effect of this upturn in the building industry is two-fold. First, city council is being asked repeatedly to simply ignore HRM By Design, the five-year process that involved over 5,000 citizens and millions of dollars. The HRM By Design consensus was basically that the regulatory process around development be streamlined, so long as new projects fit into a set of design and height restrictions. The `streamlining` part of the consensus has been a huge success; city staffer Andy Filmore told council last week that projects now move through the bureaucracy in 60 days, which stands up as among the fastest approvals in the country.
Read the full article here.
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You're in the catbird seat if you plan to sell your nest
It could be low mortgage rates or simply optimism about economy helping to drive new home construction and sales of existing homes but, whatever the reason, there is no doubt the Halifax real estate is becoming a sellers market.
The federal housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., released statistics this week, which showed that construction of new single-family homes was on the rise in Halifax, up 42.5 per cent in February over the same month last year. Construction started on 104 single-family houses in February compare to 73 homes started in February 2011.
Matthew Gilmore, CMHC`s senior market analyst for Nova Scotia, says home construction in Halifax is really just getting back to where it had been. `What I`m expecting to see this year is a higher level of construction activity over last year and getting back to what we would consider the 10-year average.`
Read the full article here.
It could be low mortgage rates or simply optimism about economy helping to drive new home construction and sales of existing homes but, whatever the reason, there is no doubt the Halifax real estate is becoming a sellers market.
The federal housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., released statistics this week, which showed that construction of new single-family homes was on the rise in Halifax, up 42.5 per cent in February over the same month last year. Construction started on 104 single-family houses in February compare to 73 homes started in February 2011.
Matthew Gilmore, CMHC`s senior market analyst for Nova Scotia, says home construction in Halifax is really just getting back to where it had been. `What I`m expecting to see this year is a higher level of construction activity over last year and getting back to what we would consider the 10-year average.`
Read the full article here.
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Apartment construction booming in Halifax
Halifax is going through an apartment-building construction boom the likes of which the city has not seen since the 1970s.
The apartment buildings now under construction in Halifax have a total of 2,282 units, says Matthew Gilmore, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.`s senior provincial market analyst.
The national housing agency tracks construction from beginning to end, and Gilmore says this is one of the highest apartment unit totals under construction in Halifax that CMHC has recorded in nearly 50 years.
Read the full article here.
Halifax is going through an apartment-building construction boom the likes of which the city has not seen since the 1970s.
The apartment buildings now under construction in Halifax have a total of 2,282 units, says Matthew Gilmore, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.`s senior provincial market analyst.
The national housing agency tracks construction from beginning to end, and Gilmore says this is one of the highest apartment unit totals under construction in Halifax that CMHC has recorded in nearly 50 years.
Read the full article here.
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Count Halifax as real estate hot spot in Canada
Local real estate investor Richard Killeen-Payne isn`t holding his cards too close to his chest.
Instead, the co-owner of Invicta Property Investments will be flying the flag for Halifax and promoting the municipality as a hot real estate market that investors coast-to-coast should consider when he addresses the national membership of the Real Estate Investment Network in Toronto next week.
What the local real estate market has going for it is a long track record of modest growth, even before the shipbuilding contract came to town, Killeen-Payne said Wednesday.
Read the full article here.
Local real estate investor Richard Killeen-Payne isn`t holding his cards too close to his chest.
Instead, the co-owner of Invicta Property Investments will be flying the flag for Halifax and promoting the municipality as a hot real estate market that investors coast-to-coast should consider when he addresses the national membership of the Real Estate Investment Network in Toronto next week.
What the local real estate market has going for it is a long track record of modest growth, even before the shipbuilding contract came to town, Killeen-Payne said Wednesday.
Read the full article here.
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Springhill battery plant prepares to bid on ship contracts
SPRINGHILL ` The physics of storing energy in a bath of lead and acid haven`t changed since John James Surrette moved his battery manufacting company to northern Nova Scotia in 1959.
Raw materials still go in one door and head out another ready to crank 6,000 h.p. diesel train motors to life.
What`s changed is the alchemy between the bay doors.
His grandsons, John David and James Surrette, have retooled for efficienct production and flown to the world`s corners in search of new markets.
Read the full article here.
SPRINGHILL ` The physics of storing energy in a bath of lead and acid haven`t changed since John James Surrette moved his battery manufacting company to northern Nova Scotia in 1959.
Raw materials still go in one door and head out another ready to crank 6,000 h.p. diesel train motors to life.
What`s changed is the alchemy between the bay doors.
His grandsons, John David and James Surrette, have retooled for efficienct production and flown to the world`s corners in search of new markets.
Read the full article here.
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Labour issues at the door as House opens
There is a shortage of workers in certain skilled trades within the province and within the country, resulting in international hires to cover the labour needs on large projects.
This labour shortage was part of the government`s throne speech, as the provincial House of Assembly opened this week.
The speech Monday promised a new Workforce Development Secretariat for the province and programs, supported in this year`s budget, to help local trades apprentices move to certified journeyperson status in their chosen trades.
Read the full article here.
There is a shortage of workers in certain skilled trades within the province and within the country, resulting in international hires to cover the labour needs on large projects.
This labour shortage was part of the government`s throne speech, as the provincial House of Assembly opened this week.
The speech Monday promised a new Workforce Development Secretariat for the province and programs, supported in this year`s budget, to help local trades apprentices move to certified journeyperson status in their chosen trades.
Read the full article here.
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Nova Scotia wins rights to manage own emissions
The federal government will allow Nova Scotia to manage its own emission regulations for coal-fired power plants, with an exemption from federal rules that will serve as a precedent as Ottawa moves to impose new greenhouse gas targets on the energy sector.
Environment Minister Peter Kent was in Halifax on Monday to announce the two governments have agreed in principle on an `equivalency` arrangement in which a province can opt out of federal regulations so long as it has its own measures to achieve the same results.
Read the full article here.
The federal government will allow Nova Scotia to manage its own emission regulations for coal-fired power plants, with an exemption from federal rules that will serve as a precedent as Ottawa moves to impose new greenhouse gas targets on the energy sector.
Environment Minister Peter Kent was in Halifax on Monday to announce the two governments have agreed in principle on an `equivalency` arrangement in which a province can opt out of federal regulations so long as it has its own measures to achieve the same results.
Read the full article here.
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Nova Scotia upswing not expected until 2013
Atlantic Canada`s private sector is showing signs of a revival this year, but Nova Scotia won`t feel the effects until 2013.
The latest RBC Economics provincial outlook report projects real growth in Atlantic Canada`s gross domestic product of 1.6 to 2.8 per cent this year.
Craig Wright, a senior vice-president and chief economist with the bank, called this a `modest but steady improvement.`
Read the full article here.
Atlantic Canada`s private sector is showing signs of a revival this year, but Nova Scotia won`t feel the effects until 2013.
The latest RBC Economics provincial outlook report projects real growth in Atlantic Canada`s gross domestic product of 1.6 to 2.8 per cent this year.
Craig Wright, a senior vice-president and chief economist with the bank, called this a `modest but steady improvement.`
Read the full article here.
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Steele promises income tax cut in spring budget
Nova Scotia's finances and its economy have improved to the point that a tax cut is in order, Finance Minister Graham Steele announced Tuesday in a pre-budget speech that sounded more like an election-style rallying cry.
``At the same time that our provincial finances are strengthening, the economic news is also promising,'' he told a meeting of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.
``Yes, the Canadian, American and European economies are not as robust as we'd like them to be, but the signs of recovery are there.''
Read the full article here.
Nova Scotia's finances and its economy have improved to the point that a tax cut is in order, Finance Minister Graham Steele announced Tuesday in a pre-budget speech that sounded more like an election-style rallying cry.
``At the same time that our provincial finances are strengthening, the economic news is also promising,'' he told a meeting of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.
``Yes, the Canadian, American and European economies are not as robust as we'd like them to be, but the signs of recovery are there.''
Read the full article here.
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NTT to create 250 jobs in Halifax
NTT Data Canada Inc., formerly known as Keane Canada Inc., said Tuesday it will create 250 jobs in Halifax over the next five years.
Keane Canada had been operating out of Halifax for the last 15 years before it was purchased by Japanese information technology firm NTT Data Corp. in January 2011.
Over the next five years, NTT Data Canada Inc. will add 250 employees to the 400 it has as it looks to diversify its existing client base in Canada and the United States.
Read the full article here.
NTT Data Canada Inc., formerly known as Keane Canada Inc., said Tuesday it will create 250 jobs in Halifax over the next five years.
Keane Canada had been operating out of Halifax for the last 15 years before it was purchased by Japanese information technology firm NTT Data Corp. in January 2011.
Over the next five years, NTT Data Canada Inc. will add 250 employees to the 400 it has as it looks to diversify its existing client base in Canada and the United States.
Read the full article here.
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Wooshii sets up continental HQ in Halifax
A British video production company that has a global network of creative content providers is setting up its North American headquarters in Halifax.
Wooshii, founded in Manchester in 2009, is doing more than creating a hub in Halifax; it`ll be implementing a global development centre and moving a large part of its operations here.
`For all intents and purposes it`s going to really be the hub of what we do in the company as a whole,` said CEO Fergus Dyer-Smith in a phone interview Wednesday. `So we`re actually going to try and shift almost 80 per cent of our workload over here.`
Read the full article here.
A British video production company that has a global network of creative content providers is setting up its North American headquarters in Halifax.
Wooshii, founded in Manchester in 2009, is doing more than creating a hub in Halifax; it`ll be implementing a global development centre and moving a large part of its operations here.
`For all intents and purposes it`s going to really be the hub of what we do in the company as a whole,` said CEO Fergus Dyer-Smith in a phone interview Wednesday. `So we`re actually going to try and shift almost 80 per cent of our workload over here.`
Read the full article here.
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Halifax 4th most livable city in Canada
Halifax has vaulted to one of the top spots in an annual ranking of Canada`s most livable cities.
In its rankings released Tuesday, MoneySense magazine named Halifax No. 4 out of 190 cities and towns, up from 21st place last year.
Culture, employment rates, pollution levels and the ability to walk or bike to work were categories in which Halifax shone. The city also stood out for its ratio of doctors to population, ranking ninth in that category.
The magazine looked at 22 categories, weighting them by assigning each a certain number of possible points. Each city could score a possible 105 points overall, but none came close.
Read the full article here.
Halifax has vaulted to one of the top spots in an annual ranking of Canada`s most livable cities.
In its rankings released Tuesday, MoneySense magazine named Halifax No. 4 out of 190 cities and towns, up from 21st place last year.
Culture, employment rates, pollution levels and the ability to walk or bike to work were categories in which Halifax shone. The city also stood out for its ratio of doctors to population, ranking ninth in that category.
The magazine looked at 22 categories, weighting them by assigning each a certain number of possible points. Each city could score a possible 105 points overall, but none came close.
Read the full article here.
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Apartment leases auctioned on eBay
In just a few weeks, student apartments will soon be vacant and one of the Maritimes' biggest rental companies is auctioning apartment leases to fill those spots.
Killam Properties Inc. has placed four apartments on eBay ` two in Halifax, one in Fredericton and one in Sussex.
Read the full article here.
In just a few weeks, student apartments will soon be vacant and one of the Maritimes' biggest rental companies is auctioning apartment leases to fill those spots.
Killam Properties Inc. has placed four apartments on eBay ` two in Halifax, one in Fredericton and one in Sussex.
Read the full article here.
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New Brunswick port lands major shipping firm for first time in 25 years
SAINT JOHN, N.B. - The port in Saint John, N.B., is welcoming it's first global container service in more than 25 years.
Port officials announced Wednesday that they will be working with the Mediterranean Shipping Company, which is the second largest container shipping line in the world.
Port CEO Jim Quinn says the deal will give New Brunswick companies increased access to global markets.
Read the full article here.
SAINT JOHN, N.B. - The port in Saint John, N.B., is welcoming it's first global container service in more than 25 years.
Port officials announced Wednesday that they will be working with the Mediterranean Shipping Company, which is the second largest container shipping line in the world.
Port CEO Jim Quinn says the deal will give New Brunswick companies increased access to global markets.
Read the full article here.
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Halifax ranked third for cost-effective business dealings
Halifax ranked as the third most cost-competitive city to do business in for Canada and fourth worldwide, according to a report released Thursday.
The report, released by business consulting firm KPMG, looked at 26 business cost elements, including labour, taxes, real estate and utilities. When put together, Halifax earned a cost index of 92.7 in 2012.
That number was narrowly behind Fredericton and Moncton, who finished with an index of 92.5 and 92.3, respectively. Rounding out the top five of 16 featured Canadian cities, comprising mid-sized to larger centres, is Trois-Rivieres and Charlottetown.
Read the full article here.
Halifax ranked as the third most cost-competitive city to do business in for Canada and fourth worldwide, according to a report released Thursday.
The report, released by business consulting firm KPMG, looked at 26 business cost elements, including labour, taxes, real estate and utilities. When put together, Halifax earned a cost index of 92.7 in 2012.
That number was narrowly behind Fredericton and Moncton, who finished with an index of 92.5 and 92.3, respectively. Rounding out the top five of 16 featured Canadian cities, comprising mid-sized to larger centres, is Trois-Rivieres and Charlottetown.
Read the full article here.