652 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

The latter I imagine. Keep in mind that for 2/3 of the current CoV council, virtue signaling is everything.

[spanky123]

Why isn’t every build just strata titled even if they intend to rent all units. Does it cost a lot more to do that? Or is it just that rentals have a better chance for political approval?

 

I think the later. With rental units you get free bonus density, 10 year tax breaks and faster approval. Being able to market condos with 10 year tax exemptions just increases the profit for the developer at the expense of the taxpayer. 

[Victoria Watcher]

I’ve said it before. We should have all kinds of innovative ways to get people into ownership, not breaks for rental housing.

We should strive for Croatia level of ownership - 90% - not settle for our 66%.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 09 February 2024 - 10:23 AM.

[Mike K.]

Indeed.

 

But that means working against the continent's largest pension funds, that are heavily invested in rental housing.

[Victoria Watcher]

Take some of the Canada Child Benefit and put it into an escrow account that each 25-year-old can access for a downpayment.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 09 February 2024 - 10:30 AM.

[lanforod]

Take some of the Canada Child Benefit and put it into an escrow account that each 25-year-old can access for a downpayment.

 

Thats a nifty idea. Political suicide though.

[spanky123]

Thats a nifty idea. Political suicide though.

Would also severely dent revenue from the tax on booze and pot sales!

[aastra]

 

This happens time and time again. A developer promises the world to get a plan through council and then at the first opportunity tries to go back and change it.

 

But this comment has no logical relevance to the Northern Junk saga. No 6-story project anywhere has ever "promised the world". How could it? And in this particular case we're talking about a small-footprint neighbourhood-scale lowrise project that involves a significant heritage renovation component, not to mention public space and a waterfront walkway.

Come on, nobody ever had any notion of putting a few rental apartments on this neglected property beside the JSB until the later iterations of this very project. And lest we forget, ~15 years ago this project started off with a developer's intention to build condo units! Before that, nobody ever had any notion of putting any residential units on this neglected property, whether strata, rental or anything else.

If people really do believe in the precious potential of a handful of new rental units then shouldn't we be screaming bloody murder about the CoV's Blanshard/Fisgard property purchase? You know, that prime property where hundreds of new rental units will never be built?

An astute forumer posted the following comment on the very first page of the original Northern Junk thread:
 

 

Posted 22 April 2010:

You're expecting a negative fuss about this project? Wouldn't such a fuss confirm that Victoria has plunged into a mire of outrageous hypocrisy worthy of the end times?

 

[aastra]

Speaking of outrageous hypocrisy, has anyone heard any dogs barking about the hotel highrise concept for Government at Pandora? The first CHEK article was conspicuously devoid of anyone voicing the standard concerns re: height, density, traffic, and architectural appropriateness. Even though this would seem to be a rare case where such concerns would actually be relevant and/or valid.

Maybe the dogs will start barking eventually, but they sure don't seem to be in a rush about it. It reminds me of the early days of the JSB-replacement project.

[DavidSchell]

Maybe if council hadn't ****Ed around with the developer for a decade a more economically viable project would have been possible. The CoV council reaps what it sows.

Nailed It!

[Tony]

I’ve said it before. We should have all kinds of innovative ways to get people into ownership, not breaks for rental housing.

We should strive for Croatia level of ownership - 90% - not settle for our 66%.

 

It seems that one the the reason for many countries that have high ownership rates is government owned housing being sold off. For rxample  UK ownership rates went up when council flats were sold at low prices.

Romania tops the list with the highest homeownership rate globally, with over 96% of households owning their home. This results from a mix of tradition, great opportunities, and housing affordability. In 1990, following the communist era, 70% of apartment blocks were state owned.Aug 28, 2023

[Victoria Watcher]

UK has a plan where you can buy your council housing after so many years, sounds fine.

[GaryOak]

Yeah but the problem is that after the UK sold off all the council flats didn't bild anymore.

[Victoria Watcher]

Should government even be in the housing supply business? They are not in the food supply business.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 February 2024 - 07:13 AM.

[GaryOak]

I actually think government run food banks would be a great idea. I don't think private developers should be in the business of building affordable/below market units because then costs just get moved on to other people in the development making the rest of the homes even more unaffordable.

[Victoria Watcher]

But the government building under market housing makes my tax load less affordable and now I can’t afford market rents or housing purchases.

[G-Man]

The amount is so distributed that it would add up to pennies on your annual tax bill. How about we stop giving huge subsidies to oil and gas and manufacturing first, that would shave dollars off your tax bill. 

[Mike K.]

Borrowing $85 million with a debt carrying cost of $150 million, which the CRD is doing as its most recent funding pursuit for housing, will come at a cost of $1,000 per Greater Victoria household over the length of the loan.

And that’s just one funding stream out of so many. Consider how much money developers give to municipalities for affordable housing, on top of the regional, municipal, provincial and federal housing funds paid for via taxes. That’s all factored into the future rents and purchase costs. We’re talking $1,500 to $5,000 per unit just in municipal gifts for approvals, that all has to be paid off as part of the financing requirement either immediately for a condo or over time via rents.

[Victoria Watcher]

The amount is so distributed that it would add up to pennies on your annual tax bill. How about we stop giving huge subsidies to oil and gas and manufacturing first, that would shave dollars off your tax bill.

All these homeless > homes residences have ongoing operating fees though. If we keep building more the tax needs will increase.

[Victoria Watcher]

Borrowing $85 million with a debt carrying cost of $150 million, which the CRD is doing as its most recent funding pursuit for housing, will come at a cost of $1,000 per Greater Victoria household over the length of the loan.

Doesn’t sound like pennies.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 11 February 2024 - 08:29 AM.