As a general rule, building a new building is easier than trying to do surgery on an existing one, because you never know exactly what you're going to find when you start the latter. But there are instances where surgery is necessary.

According to Bloomberg, developers in London are becoming increasingly interested in the airspace above existing buildings, and it supposedly started because of some policy changes:

In 2020, then housing minister Robert Jenrick introduced reforms that relaxed rules to add airspace builds above existing buildings. Owners can now construct additional residential stories to either expand their own dwelling or to create new units altogether without going through full planning permissions, which are often a long and costly process. This was part of a broader set of reforms to boost housing supply, and the current Labour government has not shelved these changes.

Here's an example site listed for £150,000:

The site currently comprises the roof and airspace above a 3-storey mixed-use residential-led block (Block B) within The Glassworks Development.

The existing development was constructed in 2017 and comprises 23 residential apartments plus ground floor commercial space, all of which are sold off on long leases.

I had an old boss who was very interested in this idea. For him, it was "free" land and a way to further extract value from an existing real estate portfolio. Of course, it's also a way to build new homes in already built-up cities. Some industry people think that London could accommodate up to 180,000 new homes using this strategy.

But these are not simple builds. Can the existing structure and foundations support additional levels? How do you modify the existing elevator(s) while the building below remains occupied? How do you do the mechanical tie-ins without impacting the suite(s) below?

All of this makes me wonder how feasible it will be for London to build 180,000 new homes in this way. If it can, that would be a great accomplishment, and one that other cities should aim to emulate. But regardless, I'd love to get under the hood of one of these projects.

Cover photo by Travis Fish on Unsplash

Whistler is out, the Interior of BC is in. Huge real estate deals are out, powder chasing is in. If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you'll know that I do a ski and snowboard trip with a group of friends each year around this time.

Our last three trips were to Park City (where it snowed so much we lost power); Trois Vallées (which also served as my bachelor party and which involved equal parts snowboarding and dancing on tables); and Hokkaido (where it looked like Toronto looks right now).

This year — for annual number fifteen — we're headed to Revelstoke and Kicking Horse in the Selkirk and Purcell Mountains.

On some trips we like to combine an urban trip with the mountains, so that we can also gawk at architecture and urbanism. That's what we did in Japan last year. But this year's trip is not about that. It's about unadulterated time in the mountains.

It has been a weird season for snow. The west coast has been too warm with not enough of it, and the east coast has been too cold with unusual amounts of it. I have no idea what's in store for us this week, but here's to hoping it looks like the cover photo of this post.

In some related real estate news, Extell Development Company and Hilton just announced that they'll be opening a Waldorf Astoria Resort and Residences in the new Deer Valley East Village.

It's going to have 132 hotel keys and 105 one- to six-bedroom branded residences ranging from 1,099 to 5,155 square feet. Of the 105 branded residences, 56 will be "hotel residences" located above the hotel, and the remaining 49 residences will be in a more exclusive standalone residential building.

Architecture for the project is by KPF and the interiors are by AvroKO.

If you missed my recent post about the East Village and the new Four Seasons that is also currently under construction, click here.

Cover photo by Zach Wear on Unsplash

I arrived in BC yesterday for ICSC Whistler. This is my first time here for this conference. I came around this time several years ago for a Slate investor day, but I never participated in ICSC activities per se. So, I’ve come to realize that I don’t really know the proper protocols. I’m an ICSC newbie. Most people I know don’t attend the actual conference. My loose understanding is that you wear Patagonia, ski and snowboard all day, après at Longhorn, and then real estate deals and capital get thrown at you from all angles. I’ll try this and see what happens.

If you’re around, drop me a text or email me at brandon.donnelly@globizen.com.

As a general rule, building a new building is easier than trying to do surgery on an existing one, because you never know exactly what you're going to find when you start the latter. But there are instances where surgery is necessary.

According to Bloomberg, developers in London are becoming increasingly interested in the airspace above existing buildings, and it supposedly started because of some policy changes:

In 2020, then housing minister Robert Jenrick introduced reforms that relaxed rules to add airspace builds above existing buildings. Owners can now construct additional residential stories to either expand their own dwelling or to create new units altogether without going through full planning permissions, which are often a long and costly process. This was part of a broader set of reforms to boost housing supply, and the current Labour government has not shelved these changes.

Here's an example site listed for £150,000:

The site currently comprises the roof and airspace above a 3-storey mixed-use residential-led block (Block B) within The Glassworks Development.

The existing development was constructed in 2017 and comprises 23 residential apartments plus ground floor commercial space, all of which are sold off on long leases.

I had an old boss who was very interested in this idea. For him, it was "free" land and a way to further extract value from an existing real estate portfolio. Of course, it's also a way to build new homes in already built-up cities. Some industry people think that London could accommodate up to 180,000 new homes using this strategy.

But these are not simple builds. Can the existing structure and foundations support additional levels? How do you modify the existing elevator(s) while the building below remains occupied? How do you do the mechanical tie-ins without impacting the suite(s) below?

All of this makes me wonder how feasible it will be for London to build 180,000 new homes in this way. If it can, that would be a great accomplishment, and one that other cities should aim to emulate. But regardless, I'd love to get under the hood of one of these projects.

Cover photo by Travis Fish on Unsplash

Whistler is out, the Interior of BC is in. Huge real estate deals are out, powder chasing is in. If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you'll know that I do a ski and snowboard trip with a group of friends each year around this time.

Our last three trips were to Park City (where it snowed so much we lost power); Trois Vallées (which also served as my bachelor party and which involved equal parts snowboarding and dancing on tables); and Hokkaido (where it looked like Toronto looks right now).

This year — for annual number fifteen — we're headed to Revelstoke and Kicking Horse in the Selkirk and Purcell Mountains.

On some trips we like to combine an urban trip with the mountains, so that we can also gawk at architecture and urbanism. That's what we did in Japan last year. But this year's trip is not about that. It's about unadulterated time in the mountains.

It has been a weird season for snow. The west coast has been too warm with not enough of it, and the east coast has been too cold with unusual amounts of it. I have no idea what's in store for us this week, but here's to hoping it looks like the cover photo of this post.

In some related real estate news, Extell Development Company and Hilton just announced that they'll be opening a Waldorf Astoria Resort and Residences in the new Deer Valley East Village.

It's going to have 132 hotel keys and 105 one- to six-bedroom branded residences ranging from 1,099 to 5,155 square feet. Of the 105 branded residences, 56 will be "hotel residences" located above the hotel, and the remaining 49 residences will be in a more exclusive standalone residential building.

Architecture for the project is by KPF and the interiors are by AvroKO.

If you missed my recent post about the East Village and the new Four Seasons that is also currently under construction, click here.

Cover photo by Zach Wear on Unsplash

I arrived in BC yesterday for ICSC Whistler. This is my first time here for this conference. I came around this time several years ago for a Slate investor day, but I never participated in ICSC activities per se. So, I’ve come to realize that I don’t really know the proper protocols. I’m an ICSC newbie. Most people I know don’t attend the actual conference. My loose understanding is that you wear Patagonia, ski and snowboard all day, après at Longhorn, and then real estate deals and capital get thrown at you from all angles. I’ll try this and see what happens.

If you’re around, drop me a text or email me at brandon.donnelly@globizen.com.