As of the first quarter, a record 4,295 new condominiums were completed and unsold, more than double the figures from the previous year, while another 8,629 unsold new condos are still expected to hit the market in the coming years.

Only 246 new condominiums were sold across the GTHA in the first couple of months of the year, with sales down 54 percent over the previous year and a whopping 94 percent below the 10-year average.

“After the condo market sank to a new multi-decade low in the first quarter, it was encouraging to see a number of new initiatives announced that should help improve sales, reduce inventory and get more construction underway,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation. “However, with market confidence still very fragile and demand fundamentals slowing down, the recovery process is likely to begin slowly,” he said, which will see additional help from the government’s recently announced full HST rebate.

Developers have had no other recourse but to cut prices, with the average asking price for unsold new condominiums down to $1,189 per square foot, a decrease of five percent year-over-year and 13 percent below peak levels from three years ago.

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“The start of tunnelling is a historic milestone for the Ontario Line which, once complete, will help cut travel times for commuters across Toronto by 40 minutes,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Our government will continue to fight gridlock and keep workers on the job by leading the largest expansion of public transit in North America.”

Two tunnel boring machines are working away at twin tunnels that run as deep as 40 metres below the surface. Tunnelling will be conducted in phases, with the first tunnel boring machine digging the tunnel for the eastbound track, followed by the second tunnel boring machine, which will dig the tunnel for the westbound track. Once complete, the Ontario Line will span 15.6 kilometres from Exhibition Place to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road, offering connectivity to 15 stations and more than 40 transit connections to nearly 230,000 people who are within walking distance of the service.

“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’re getting the Ontario Line done to tackle gridlock and increase access to fast, reliable and affordable transit for millions of people across the GTA,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. “This major milestone moves us another step closer to delivering world-class transit for people across the GTA while supporting thousands of good-paying jobs.”

Exhibition Station is also under construction, with crews working away at building platforms and station entrances on both sides of the track where riders can be connected to GO Transit and improved service to the growing Liberty Village neighbourhood. During rush hour, more than 12,000 people are expected to use the station, including more than 6,000 transferring between GO Transit and the Ontario Line.

“The Ontario Line will help to transform the GTA, making it faster and easier for residents to reach home, school or work,” said Gregor Robertson, federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure. “By working together, we are building the first new subway line in Toronto in decades, and we are thrilled to see progress continue.”

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The Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County issued the judgment April 10, bringing a yearslong dispute over construction issues at the 51-story, 755-room dual-branded hotel to a resolve.

Tutor Perini won the $239 million contract for the hotel in 2015, which was eventually opened in 2021 after the developer sued the contractor over the construction issues and claims that the work resulted in more than 890 days of delays. Contractors are responsible for the work performed; therefore, Tutor Perini was liable.

“This award confirms what Chestlen has maintained from the start: accountability matters, regardless of the size of the contractor,” said Peter Sheridan, chair of the Construction Litigation practice at Los-Angeles based law firm Glaser Weil. The firm, along with co-counsel from Blank Rome and Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld, represented Chestlen.

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“I was down in Florida, and I toured a Habitat for Humanity little town site… they had built a little community there of 110 homes, roughly,” Neustaedter told CTV News. “It was a dream of mine to get people into homes. People were having such a difficult time getting to and saving up for a down payment.”

Through a partnership with a local construction company, Three Way Builders, and Steinbach Credit Union, they set forth and in 2017, construction began.

“We’ve got four single-family models to choose from, and they’re all from around 1,018 square feet to 1,040 square feet,” Neustaedter said. They’re finished on the main level only. ICF basements and then the lower level is ready for future development if they like, with three bedrooms upstairs.”

Over 500 homes have been built between the Lexington Village neighbourhood in Steinbach and another neighbourhood in Kleefeld, Manitoba, about 16 kilometres southeast of Steinbach, proving that the model is both scalable and expandable across Canada. Mitchell, Manitoba is up next with 223 more homes planned under the same program.

“People get vetted and they have to have jobs and be able to make the payment,” said Neustaedter, noting that every homeowner in the program has made their payments as expected. The loans function similarly to traditional mortgages, with the major difference being that Neustaedter backs the program financially, which gives buyers the ability to avoid costly mortgage insurance, typically required on down payments of under 20 percent.

The newer neighbourhoods feature mixed housing stock including townhouses, duplexes, and single-family detached homes, and prices range from $290,000 to $329,000 depending on size and style, though the homes are priced at eight percent below appraised value. “It really gets people into a home and into ownership when they otherwise wouldn’t have the means to do so,” said Neustaedter.

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Among the communities that will see investments are Petawawa, which is slated for 1,114 proposed new units, followed by Kingston with 960 units, Ottawa with 280 units, Borden with 210 units, and North Bay with 78 units. The plan is to move away from traditional single-family homes toward high-density, mid-rise apartment complexes.

Taking a modified design-build approach which involves an RFP based on a statement of work rather than a rigid performance specification, teams who make the cut will work collaboratively with the Canadian Forces Housing Agency (CFHA) to finalize the site plans and specifications before opening negotiations to establish a fixed construction price. Eight RFPs are planned for release, which will result in 19 distinct contracts, each structured by geographic region. Firms are not required to bid on every site within an RFP.

Each contract includes a mandatory “indigenous benefit” target percentage based on market data to ensure a minimum percentage of subcontracts are awarded to indigenous partners, and design-build teams are required to perform detailed feasibility assessments using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), such as modular or panelized factory-built options, to ensure housing is delivered at a faster pace.

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“I think it delivers economically. I think it delivers environmentally,” she said. “I think it delivers from an experiential point of view and a city building point of view, and I’m proud to support it.”

The plan is to build the vessel as a low-carbon, energy-efficient hotel with no generators or engines on board and a black water holding system that will be connected to the convention centre. “We will hold no oil or fossil fuels on board whatsoever,” Sunborn International CEO, Hans Niemi, said. “That will also mitigate and de-risk any environmental concerns of leakage of oil, or things that [one] normally would associate with vessels and maritime assets.”

The public will also gain waterfront access. Similar to a city park, the public will have access to the public seating areas and gardens, as well as the café and spa from the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

The company has had success building floating hotels in Gibraltar and London, the latter of which the Vancouver hotel will be most similar to, given its connectivity to the convention centre’s infrastructure.

Coun. Lenny Zhou said the hotel is an example of innovation “in how we think about land use, tourism and our relationship with the waterfront.” Zhou said in a city where land is very limited, demand continues to grow for housing and hotel rooms. “This project explores a new frontier, activating our marine space in a thoughtful and purposeful way,” he said.

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