As a gross generalization, there are probably two ways in which one can approach the building of a new building. The first is based on demand. You believe that there is demand for new housing or new office space or some other use, and so… Read More
All posts tagged “development”
Use-it-or-lose-it entitlements
One of the things that cities often try and stamp out is speculation. Homes should not sit empty (enter vacant home tax). Storefronts should not sit empty (enter vacant commercial tax). And development land should not sit undeveloped. To correct this latter problem, one idea… Read More
Weekend walking tour
I had a friend — who I know from architecture school — visiting from Detroit for the weekend, so we did a little building tour on Sunday morning. This is the elevated (and half-finished) CIBC Square Park that spans over the rail lines leading into… Read More
The definitive but crazy guide to creating more affordable housing
Okay, so maybe this isn’t an entirely definitive guide. But the intent is to make this post a kind of working post. As new ideas emerge (from my end or from your ends), I will endeavor to update it, so that maybe one day it… Read More
The pre-meeting is often better than most panel discussions
When you’re preparing for a panel discussion, one of the things you usually do is have a pre-meeting with all of the participants. The purpose of this meeting is, of course, to get to know everyone and decide on what you’re going to talk about.… Read More
We’re hiring, again
The development team at Slate is hiring once again for our Toronto office. We are looking for a coordinator/analyst to join the team and work on all aspects of our projects (which span the full lifecycle of development and are pretty cool if you ask… Read More
Being a real estate developer means asking a lot of questions
I was having coffee with a developer friend of mine this morning and we got onto the topic of asking a lot of questions. We joked that that’s what we do all day. Development projects happen because of teams of very smart people all working… Read More
No-cost affordable housing in Toronto
It upsets me when I read things like this (click here if you can’t see the embedded tweet above). I think it creates a false sense of a free lunch and ignores all of the nuances and complexities associated with inclusionary zoning. IZ is an… Read More
Innovation in real estate development
I am moderating a panel at the Toronto Real Estate Forum later this year (it’s on December 2 to be exact). The topic is innovation in development. There is a great panel of speakers (more info here) and the plan right now is to cover… Read More
Urban China’s empty homes
China Evergrande Group has been in the news lately for being one of the most indebted property companies in the world. The company is now looking to raise some $5 billion by selling a stake in one of its business lines. That seems like a… Read More