In this edition:
- Building Better Communities: A Guide to Mixed Land Use Planning
- Border strike averted after union reaches tentative agreement with Ottawa
- St. Catharines Council votes to move ahead with Municipal Development Corporation to help fast-track housing
- Nine Niagara restaurants among the best for outdoor dining
- Steady growth across Niagara real estate in May
- Canada’s building permits jumped 20.5 per cent in April
- Where can you afford to rent?
- Focus on Finance and Economy
Building Better Communities: A Guide to Mixed Land Use Planning
What’s the essence of a vibrant urban development? Find out with this LandPro Planning blog post. We’ll explore how mixed-use land planning blends residential, commercial, and industrial spaces to craft dynamic communities. Learn the strategic advantages for developers, including diversified revenue streams and increased property value. We highlight a compelling example on Garrison Road in Fort Erie,as it showcases the transformative power of mixed-use development. For developers and city planners alike, this guide offers valuable insights into creating sustainable, desirable communities.
Featured content by LandPro Planning Solutions
Border strike averted after union reaches tentative agreement with Ottawa
Today, a looming strike by Canada Border Services Agency workers was averted after the union representing over 9,000 employees announced they have reached a tentative contract agreement.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) were in intense negotiations with the federal government over a new contract that were extended last week to allow more time for talks. Both sides were facing down a 12:01 am Friday deadline, when the union said job action would begin if no deal was reached.
The union said details of the tentative agreement would be released after they are shared with members on Thursday.
St. Catharines Council votes to move ahead with Municipal Development Corporation to help fast-track housing
After a five-year journey, St. Catharines Council has approved the creation of a new group that aims to fast-track housing development.
Last night, St. Catharines Council approved the creation of a Municipal Development Corporation, which the city is hoping will be a strategic tool in delivering and implementing funding coming from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Accelerator Fund.
Mayor Mat Siscoe says work has started already on the arms-length group, with members of for-profit and non-for-profit organizations sitting on the board to look into how unused municipal pieces of property can be developed into housing.
The City was awarded $25 million in January from the feds to implement initiatives and projects to boost the housing supply in St. Catharines. One of the initiatives identified was the establishment of the ‘Municipal Development Corporation’, which will be funded through that investment for the first few years.
Nine Niagara restaurants among the best for outdoor dining
Open Table is helping Canadians embrace the warmer days ahead with the release of its annual top 100 restaurants for outdoor dining. The list is compiled by analyzing more than 1.1 million diner reviews and metrics, including diner ratings and the percentage of restaurants for which “Outdoor Dining” was selected as a special feature.
For Niagara, it included (in no particular order):
- Ridgeway – 335 on the Ridge
- Virgil – Bricks and Barley
- Vineland – Lake House Restaurant; Vineland Estates Winery Restaurant
- Beamsville – The Good Earth Vineyard and Winery
- Niagara on the Lake – The Winery Restaurant at Peller Estates; Tiara Restaurant at Queens Landing; Treadwell Cuisine; Zees Grill
Steady growth across Niagara real estate in May
It will be a few months before Niagara knows the impact of the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cut – its first since March 2020 – but for now, the local real estate market continues to head in an optimistic direction.
Steady growth has been a trend since the start of the year. For the fourth consecutive month, Niagara saw its benchmark price for a residential home and the number of new listings increase. It also saw decreases in days on market, a good market indicator for both buyers and sellers.
And following three months of rising sales, May numbers remained steady.
In Niagara Association of Realtors newly released monthly statistics, sales were unchanged from April to May at 602, and days on market decreased to 37 days from 40.
The benchmark price for a house increased one per cent to $653,900 in May, from $647,200 in April, and new listings jumped 12.3 per cent to 1,568 from 1,396 month-over-month.
Canada’s building permits jumped 20.5 per cent in April
In April, the total value of building permits rose 20.5 per cent from the month before to a seasonally adjusted 12.84 billion Canadian dollars, Statistics Canada said today.
The increase was much stronger than the 5 per cent rise expected for the month by economists, according to TD Securities, and marks a rebound after a downwardly revised 12.3 per cent drop in March. Construction intentions in the residential sector increased 21.0 per cent to $8.0 billion and the non-residential sector rose 19.6 per cent to $4.8 billion, with growth observed in all components.
British Columbia posted a record high monthly total value of building permits ($3.1 billion), leading the monthly increases in both residential and non-residential sectors in Canada.
Across Canada, 4,300 new single-family homes were authorized in April and 22,600 new multi-unit dwellings were approved through building permits, an all-time high.
Where can you afford to rent?
Canada is in a rental housing crisis, with affordable homes disappearing at an alarming rate across the country. According to a CBC News analysis of over 1,000 neighbourhoods across Canada’s largest cities, less than one per cent of rentals are both vacant and affordable for the majority of Canadian renters.
To gauge the extent of the rental housing crisis, CBC News combined 2021 census data with the most recent findings from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s rental market survey, conducted in October 2023.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation rental data covers urban areas with more than 100,000 people. After analyzing all of them, St. Catharines-Niagara is among metropolitan areas with a slightly higher percentage of potentially vacant and affordable dwellings. Yet, with a vacancy well below 3 per cent, there is a housing shortage.
Did you know?
Norway just discovered Europe’s largest proven deposit of highly prized rare earth elements, a welcome boost in Europe’s bid to break China’s dominance in this market.
Focus on Finance & Economy
Why are grocery bills so high? A new study looks at the science behind food price reporting
The Conversation; Philip Loring, Ryan Katz-Rosene
Rising food costs are squeezing Canadians around the country. Nearly everyone is feeling the pinch, and it’s not just an inconvenience – high food prices are a major threat to food security for many Canadians. Understanding why food prices are so high and why they are changing is critical to the well-being of our society.
Unfortunately, consensus on why food prices are so high is in short supply. Explanations given in reports range widely, from the war in Ukraine to supply chain issues to the carbon tax.
Here are the findings of a rigorous analysis of the most prominent reports that shape the narratives around food prices in Canada, including twelve years of Canada’s Food Price Reports and 39 reports from Statistics Canada.
Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
