Chris Markides

Urban Planner @ ZZap. UBC & Dal alum. Opinions expressed here are my own.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@Tim_Bousquet Older subdivisions. 2006 regional plan mostly did away with the ability to do subdivision like what is being affected today (there are a few yet to be built that are grandfathered though).

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

Dartmouth Harbour Walk is getting rocked right now!

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@LUrbaniste While I agree the process takes way too long, nothing the province has done, from a chapter amendments standpoint, has actually sped up that process by more than 3 weeks (and only for certain applications).

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@harbourdischar1 @Tim_Bousquet Absolutely. Already seeing it.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@Tim_Bousquet I’m not making any moral statement here, but w/o any subsidies, these rents are pretty spot on with the economic rents needed to achieve min viability (10% cash-on-cash return over 10 yes) for financing purposes.

CMHC has some good research on this: https://t.co/qpufW9DIWx

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@Rossitus Rite of passage I think!

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@tkcorbett10 @nsgov Having also worked on campus housing before, there is a lot of space on this campus, most of which is not directly on top of a well used trail system and perpendicular to prevailing winds. No need to cut out units, just some common sense site planning.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

I know we need housing, but the proposed student housing at NSCC Ivany campus is just brutal. 6 storeys and 130m long. It could at least be broken up into smaller buildings. @nsgov

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@downtownpaul @nsgov Yes, where a chunck of the existing parking lot is currently.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@Abolish_This @neil_lovitt @LUrbaniste From a labour compensation perspective, the shortage is certainly driving up wages. That’s both good and bad. I’ve seen projects recently cancelled because costs came in 60-70% higher than expected and financing falls through because of it. Everything exacerbates the situation

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@Abolish_This @neil_lovitt @LUrbaniste It really depends on the project. Approval times can vary wildly depending on the nature of the application. What I’m saying is that it doesn’t really matter if an as-of-right approval takes 6 months if trades can’t start for 12 months (or won’t even bother to bid on a project)

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@neil_lovitt @LUrbaniste Design consultants are also very busy! I keep saying the biggest reason housing can’t be built any faster is ~85% labour availability and ~15% financing difficulties.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@MoreHomesHRM We most certainly can’t. The limit at this point for new housing is not approvals, it’s person power to actually design and build units. Every single link in the chain of the design/development industry is at capacity in NS.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@neil_lovitt @WayeMason @AudreyBB 6,500 seems high. I think this number might be for all of NS? Regardless, need to get it up to ~9000 a year to achieve “affordability” by 2030 according to CMHC.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@LUrbaniste @Abolish_This This is specifically in ER zones. If they are not on separate lots then they would be considered a multi-unit building.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@LUrbaniste @Abolish_This They are not permitted to be stacked, but they are allowed to have “secondary suites”. Townhouses have to be on their own individual lots.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@neil_lovitt @kyleifax @LisaRobertsHfx Weirdly, permit fees for secondary suites are based on construction value but permit fees for backyard suites are based on gross floor area.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@LUrbaniste My hypothesis is that a sizeable portion of pre-1900 homes that are located in downtown or inner suburb neigbourhoods and benefit in resale based on location more than the actual home.

[Chris Markides @bizmarkides]

@neil_lovitt @LUrbaniste @yousafmshah @dharrisonMCIP Egg on my face. Should have looked a little closer at the chart before adding my 2 cents!