Brittany Campbell-Koch’s Post

Big news in Bellevue's real estate scene! The Bellevue City Council is poised to extend the Spring District development agreement with Wright Runstad & Co. by 10 years, shifting the completion target to 2037. This major mixed-use project, spanning 36 acres, has encountered various changes, including REI selling its headquarters to Meta in 2020. As eight of the 27 parcels remain undeveloped, plans include a mix of lodging, multifamily, office, and retail spaces, despite current challenges in the office and multifamily housing markets. The extension is supported by the City Council, with a public hearing scheduled for Dec. 11. Interesting to note: The JV has contributed over $10.7 million in fee-in-lieu payments under the existing agreement, with future amendments set to increase these rates significantly. Stay tuned for how this substantial development shapes Bellevue's landscape and market dynamics in the coming years! #smartcap #redmond #kirkland #bellevue #springdistrict #development #mixeduse #meta #REI #office #commercialrealestate

Metrotown continues to be an active market for major mixed-use developments for a number of reasons, although the economic situation is starting to slow things down, Mark Goodman, principal with Goodman Commercial Inc. in Vancouver, said. "Metrotown is a well-established neighbourhood and offers all the conveniences developers look for in an urban market: excellent transit connections, a large concentration of amenities in the form of retail and services, and close proximity to large employment hubs both within the neighbourhood and nearby in Vancouver and other parts of Burnaby," Goodman told RENX in an email. "It also has a relatively clear and consistent community plan so developers can acquire sites and move forward with confidence. The City of Burnaby in general has done a better job than most in trying to incentivize developers," Goodman said. Market conditions now eating into transactions However, most development projects moving forward now are sites acquired prior to the spring of 2022, Goodman said. "There has certainly been a slowdown in new acquisitions given the headwinds facing the development community: significant increases in interest rates, ongoing construction cost inflation, more and higher charges levied on new development from all levels of government, lengthy approvals processes and increasingly complex building codes and design criteria." Citing his firm’s 2023 Mid-Year Review, Goodman said not a single multifamily property transaction was recorded in all of Burnaby in the first six months of this year. In 2022, there were 20 transactions, 12 in the first half of the year. Most of those sales would be purpose-built rental apartments, but some of them could eventually be redeveloped. "While sales have slowed and prices adjusted to the new reality, there is still strong demand from developers who are forward-looking and recognize we are in the midst of a severe supply shortage with record-high population growth,” Goodman said. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/g_CE-SBt Ian Brackett Cynthia Jagger

One of the largest secured purpose-built rental housing proposals within the City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan is for the site of 22-55 East 12th Avenue, reported Daily Hive. "A new rezoning application JTA Development Consultants — on behalf of property owners Five Mile Holdings and TKT Holdings — calls for the redevelopment of most of the city block at the northwest corner of the intersection of Quebec Street and East 12th Avenue." "With a walking distance of seven minutes to SkyTrain’s future Mount Pleasant Station (just to the north at the corner of East Broadway and Main Street), and its practical adjacency to Main Street’s bus stops, this is a prime transit-oriented development site." "Currently, the site is occupied by two low-rise apartment buildings, built in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with a combined total of 77 units. The redevelopment proposal calls for a 19-storey east tower and a 21-storey west tower, including a shared seven-storey base podium between the towers." https://lnkd.in/gbXfV6Nv #vancouver #residential #development #mountpleasant

Michael Christen, Austin Business Journal. The Austin City Council has granted final approval for a zoning change in the North Burnet/Gateway area, near The Domain, opening up a 121-acre tract for potential high-density residential and high-rise office projects. The new zoning allows for diverse developments, including entertainment complexes, retail outlets, and civic uses. The land, currently hosting businesses like Dave & Buster's Inc., Regal Cinemas, and Whole Foods Market, can now have a floor-to-area ratio of up to 10:1 and a maximum building height of 350 feet. Developers can participate in a bonus program, offering affordable housing or paying a fee for exemptions. The decision aims to encourage denser development in the area, following other rezonings. #thedomain #austin #development #zoningchange #highdensityhousing #officeprojects #realestate #urbanplanning #citycouncil #northburnet #gatewayarea #mixeduse #commercial #affordablehousing #rezoning #entertainmentcomplex #retail #civicuses #austinbusiness #growth

We are excited about this new redevelopment in the City Of Reynoldsburg. This will offer the residents of Reynoldsburg another brand new housing opportunity with commercial space on the first floor. As Columbus continues to grow, it is critical that we have housing for the people here and those moving here. "After CMHA came on board, it developed a plan to construct a four-story building with 77,000 square feet of residential space on the upper levels and 8,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. CMHA would develop 100 units of mixed-income housing. Twenty-five of the units would be covered by a project-based voucher, which Joe Begeny said is for individuals on "severely limited income," as well as veterans, the elderly and disabled. The remaining units would be for those making between 30% and 80% of the area median income. The end user for the commercial space is still under consideration. Begeny said the city would like to see an income-tax generating business such as a medical office, though it would also consider a retail or restaurant user that would provide another amenity for downtown Reynoldsburg." NOTE: You do not need a Columbus Business First subscription to read this article. https://lnkd.in/gdRavB5Q

Vancouver’s plan to remake Broadway has prompted a wave of proposals for 20- to 30-storey towers, including several that will displace more than 200 tenants, and is driving a debate about whether the scale of growth proposed for the busy east-west corridor is too great, reported The Globe and Mail. "The flurry of development is connected to Vancouver’s Broadway Plan, which city council approved in June, 2022. It allows for significant new density on 500 blocks near the planned Broadway subway line, which will be built from Clark Drive in the east to Arbutus Street in the west." "Building applications reviewed by The Globe and Mail show 21 new rezoning applications within the Broadway Plan, all for towers ranging from 18 to 29 storeys. Two are for office buildings and one is for a condo project, while the rest are rentals. In contrast, there are no proposals for smaller developments such as multiplexes, small apartment buildings or even larger mid-rise projects." "The Broadway Plan has received pushback from housing and renters’ rights advocates, as well as from people living along the corridor, which is currently a mix of detached homes, low-rise apartments and commercial buildings." "The city’s very vocal pro-housing groups continue to say the massive wave of Broadway Plan development is much needed in a city that has built up a housing deficit for decades. But there are growing – and mobilizing – opposition groups urging the city to reconsider some of what they describe as damaging effects of the plan’s policies, including the displacement of hundreds of tenants." https://lnkd.in/gStPbs-w #vancouver #broadwayplan #development #residential #mixeduse #commercial #office

With everything from affordable housing to sprawling master-plans to eclectic towers in the pipeline, the landscape along Eglinton Avenue is in store for nothing short of a major overhaul in the years to come. And the flurry of development activity is arguably well-founded: Eglinton starts at Highway 407 and runs through some of Toronto’s most potential-packed pockets, including the city’s midtown, Scarborough Village, and the Greater Golden Mile, reported Storeys. "Hazelview Properties is one of the latest to hone in on Eglinton, according to a zoning by-law amendment application that hit the city’s desk in mid-March. The associated planning materials describe 44-, 35- and nine-storey rental buildings planned for the eastern portion of the subject site at 123 Bellamy Road North in Scarborough." "That trio of towers would abut an existing 12-storey rental apartment building that has a “tower in the park” typology and is currently managed by Hazelview Properties. As such, Hazelview’s proposal poses something of an in-house opportunity to up the residential ante on the site — something that is nothing if not timely, considering the state and severity of the housing crisis." https://lnkd.in/gTMT6CMH #residential #development #GTA #toronto

The transformation that the Eglinton Line 5 Crosstown LRT is bringing to Midtown Toronto is simply astounding. From its western terminus at Mount Dennis to its eastern terminus at Kennedy, tens of thousands of new residential units are planned along its route as part of a long list of master-planned communities, all of which are looking to transform the many under-utilized properties along Eglinton into complete transit-oriented neighbourhoods, reported UrbanToronto.ca. "One such property is SmartCentres’ Westside Mall, located at 2400 Eglinton West near Caledonia Road, where SmartCentres REIT, under its residential sub-brand SmartLiving, have big plans to establish a new transit-oriented community directly adjacent to the new Caledonia transit station." "The property is currently home to Westside Mall, a big box retail plaza housing several establishments including FreshCo and Canadian Tire. SmartCentres is planning to transform the existing retail plaza with a phased development that includes 8 new mixed-use residential towers ranging in height from 24 to 60 storeys and two new 8-storey residential mid-rises, along with a new public park proposed to be over one acre in size. In total, 4,045 residential units are planned, with a variety of local and large-format retail spread out across the podiums of the towers." https://lnkd.in/g5MnSqRj

The developer behind a proposal to build three residential towers along Vancouver’s Broadway corridor near Commercial Drive have submitted yet another version of their plans with even higher towers – but this time composed entirely of rental units rather than condos, reported The Globe and Mail. "The proposed site, on what is now a Safeway grocery store that would also be redeveloped, is important because it is next to the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station, which connects two of Vancouver’s rapid-transit lines. It’s also in the heart of the Commercial Drive neighbourhood on the city’s east side and has the potential to transform it. The question is how it will transform the area." "The proposal at 1780 E. Broadway from developer Westbank Corp and landowner Crombie REIT now includes three towers at 35, 36 and 39 storeys above a retail podium level. A little more a year ago, in 2022, they were at 31, 34 and 38 storeys, which was already several storeys higher than what was proposed in 2019. There have been several updates to the plan." "The increase is to accommodate 981 secured purpose-built rental units, says architect Peter Busby. The new focus on rentals is a response to policies that have come along in recent years designed to incentivize greater density around transit hubs." https://lnkd.in/g75EWgAu #vancouver #development #transitorienteddevelopment

The second #Austin "Downtown," is on its' way -- near the North Burnet/Gateway area (North Austin/just west of Domain). "That's because City Council on Jan. 18 gave final approval to a zoning change for the 121-acre tract, which is just south and west of The Domain in the North Burnet/Gateway area and is bounded by MoPac Expressway to the east, U.S. Highway 183 to the west and Capital of Texas Highway to the north. The tract had been zoned for mixed-use commercial, but the change will allow for high-density housing, high-rise offices, entertainment complexes, destination retail outlets and large-scale civic uses. ...Developers now are allowed to build with a floor-to-area ratio, or FAR, of up to 10:1, and a maximum building height of up to 350 feet — or about 35 stories — if they dedicate some space to affordable housing under the city's developer bonus program, or if they pay a fee in lieu of offering residential housing at below-market rates. For rental units, developers seeking to participate in the bonus program would need to offer some of the dwellings at 60% of Austin’s median family income, or MFI, for a period of at least 40 years. If building housing units for sale to occupants, developers would need to offer some of them at 60% MFI for a period of 99 years. ...The decision also follows a set of other rezonings to encourage denser development for the area, which is anchored by Q2 Stadium and The Domain." #CRE #AEC #urbanplanning #urbandevelopment #texasjobs