GDS

Why does he have to use the word moribund? Smug Toronto prick. Toronto's vancacy rate was over 8% a year ago too.

Merci GDS!! C'est ce genre de rendu que je voulais. Par contre, je compte 31 étages, pas 18.

L'affiche a seulement 18 étages.

Je pense que le rendu sur l'affiche a seulement 18 étages.

Le secteur Marie-Victorin/Saint-Laurent appelé à se développer

Par Saîd Mahrady

Treize lots d’une superficie totale de 139 341,9 mètres carrés, situés dans le secteur Marie-Victorin/St-Laurent, devront, au cours des prochaines années, faire l’objet d’un développement résidentiel et de «commerce de voisinage intégré ou contigu à l’habitation de haute densité».

Ledit secteur, qui nécessite un programme particulier d’urbanisme (PPU), est délimité par le projet Village-Liberté-sur-Berges au nord (maisons unifamiliales en rangées construites dans les années 1990), par le fleuve Saint-Laurent à l’ouest, par le boulevard Marie-Victorin à l’est, et au sud par le centre Marcelle-Ferron.

Le secteur Marie-Victorin/St-Laurent va s’intégrer à un tout qui comprend également la rivière Saint-Jacques et le boisé de Brossard.

Le but ultime est de préserver et de mettre en valeur la rivière et le boisé, et également de déterminer la relation de ce patrimoine naturel par rapport au milieu urbanisé et la communauté.

«Il y a quelque chose qui fait défaut de façon importante, c’est l’accès au fleuve, aux parcs et aux berges aménagés. Saint-Lambert et Longueuil ont une piste cyclable qui longe les berges; la nôtre les bifurque et elle est traversée par des entrées de voitures. C’est très dangereux», observe le maire Jean-Marc Pelletier, en entrevue au Brossard-Éclair.

Le premier magistrat n’a pas manqué de critiquer «les conseillers indépendants» qui, dit-il, en voulant vendre les terrains du secteur Marie-Victorin/St-Laurent, prennent «le risque de perdre l’accès au fleuve».

Rencontrés après la séance régulière tenue le lundi 19 novembre, «les conseillers indépendants» relèvent des «trous dans les règlements» et disent que le PPU a été préparé pour «améliorer un accès visuel au fleuve».

Le document d’explication et d’analyse se rapportant au PPU indique que dans le secteur, la majorité des terrains ont été développés et comprennent des constructions de haute densité, mais au fil du temps, «les gabarits et les modes de tenure (condominium ou locatif) varient». En conséquence, «la construction des nouveaux bâtiments devra être réalisée de façon à assurer une intégration avec les bâtiments déjà en place». On s’attend donc à ce que «de nouveaux bâtiments de ce gabarit vont modifier le paysage et changer les possibilités de vues des constructions antérieures». Connaissant cela, «les nouvelles implantations pourront être situées de façon à maximiser les possibilités de vues de l’ensemble du secteur». Ainsi, les scénarios de développement retenus par l’administration touchent neuf sites, chacun muni d’un bâtiment à l’exception d’un seul site où l’on retrouverait trois immeubles. Parmi ces sites, on s’attend à un bâtiment en forme de U, muni de 10 étages et possédant une superficie de plancher à des fins commerciales ne dépassant pas 1000 mètres carrés, et ce, afin de répondre aux besoins de la population locale. Dans tout le secteur, le nombre minimum d’étages est fixé à 10 et le maximum à 19. «En complémentarité avec le centre Marcelle-Ferron situé au sud», on propose l’établissement d’un CHSLD.

UN DÉVELOPPEMENT À LONG TERME

La «vision stratégique», se basant sur le PPU du secteur Marie-Victorin/St-Laurent (une planification étalée sur 10 ans) et intégrant le secteur adjacent à la rivière Saint-Jacques entre la route 132 et le boulevard Taschereau, s’inscrit dans les orientations du conseil, lesquelles ont trait au développement du territoire municipal sur un horizon de 25 ans.

Pour ce qui est du secteur touché par le PPU, l’accès au site sera identifié par l’aménagement d’une porte d’entrée, ce qui lui donne un caractère particulier. Suivra aussi l’aménagement du boulevard St-Laurent et de deux nouveaux parcs d’une superficie de 7150 mètres carrés, soustraits à même trois lots de terrains. On note également que des couloirs d’en*viron 40 mètres existent entre les bâtiments des terrains riverains et que cette notion de couloir devra être encouragée pour tout futur projet. Le but étant de conserver des points de vue intéressants pour les bâtiments qui ne sont pas à proximité du fleuve.

À quelques centaines de mètres du secteur Marie-Victorin/St-Laurent, à vol d’oiseau, coule sur une distance de 25 kilomètres la rivière Saint-Jacques. Décrété par Québec comme «équipement d’intérêt collectif» et possédant un «potentiel écologique et récréatif intéressant», le territoire de la rivière Saint-Jacques tout comme celui du boisé de Brossard qui chevauche également Carignan et La Prairie, devront être conservés et confirmés à travers un statut de «parc régional». Toutefois, avant d’aller dans «l’exploitation du potentiel récréatif et touristique», il faut «assurer, note le document, la pérennité des peuplements forestiers les plus intéressants et la préservation des habitats fauniques».

Oui, mais la Banque Provinciale y a déméneger après que la Banque Royale a quitter.

C'est l'édifice a cote de Les Étoiles

I thought that was Les Etoiles.

A $45-million investment by Ivanhoe Cambridge - Place Vertu Gets a Makeover

MONTREAL, Nov. 29 /CNW Telbec/ - Place Vertu, owned and managed by

Ivanhoe Cambridge, is happy to announce a $45-million investment (including

all related fees) in the shopping centre, located in the borough of

Saint-Laurent in Montreal, to carry out a large-scale redevelopment project.

Construction work for this much-anticipated undertaking, designed to

revitalize the property and its retail mix, began in the summer of 2007 and

will wrap up in the spring of 2009.

"We are very enthusiastic about renovating Place Vertu. This project is

in keeping with our strategy to continuously enhance our properties and

strengthen their market position and share," said Jean Laramée, Senior Vice

President, Eastern Region, Ivanhoe Cambridge.

"This is excellent news for Place Vertu and its customers!" said Michael

Bonetto, General Manager of Place Vertu. "The project will enable Place Vertu

to take full advantage of its strategic location in the heart of

Saint-Laurent, one of the fastest-growing communities on the Island of

Montreal. Naturally, we will be doing everything we can to minimize any

inconvenience to our tenants and ensure that our customers can continue to

shop undisturbed."

The main highlights of the project are as follows:

<<

- Closing of The Bay, and relocation of Zellers into the vacated

premises, with its brand-new Zellers + concept (120,000 square feet

over two floors). Official opening scheduled for December 1, 2007.

- Expansion, reconfiguration and renovation of the food court to make it

more cosy and appealing. Expected completion: Spring 2008.

- Expansion of several stores and arrival of new retailers.

- Indoor and outdoor renovations and addition of decorative elements to

complement the centre's overall design. Construction of new entrances

and modernization of the façade along Côte-Vertu Boulevard.

>>

The project is already generating a great deal of interest among

retailers, and talks are currently under way with a number of potential

tenants. Leasing agreements were recently signed or scheduled to be signed

very shortly with Winners, which will occupy some 25,000 square feet as of

summer 2008, Browns Shoes Outlet, Lace Canada (a high-end women's fashion

retailer), La Vie en Rose/Aqua, Urban Planet and a 25,000-square-foot

specialized grocery store.

About Place Vertu

Located in the borough of Saint-Laurent in Montreal, a stone's throw away

from one of Canada's largest industrial parks, Place Vertu opened for business

in 1975. Today, it features four anchor tenants and some 155 stores and

services. Its gross leasable area, including an office component, is nearly

924,000 square feet and it greets close to 6.5 million shoppers every year.

Place Vertu is owned and managed by Ivanhoe Cambridge.

^^ tres bien dit.

 

Avant meme de penser a l'université, il faut que les jeunes finissent leur secondaire, des gens sans diplome de secondaire, c'est pas ca qui enrichi une société

http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/stat/Bulletin/Bulletin_32.pdf

Ca dit que les dévelopeurs de condo en Florida son dans la merde. Un projet de 7 tours en faillite.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Condo Meltdown

Historic failure in Kendall project

November 20, 2007 By: Paola Iuspa-Abbott

Gulfside Development principals Jackson Ward and Stefan Johansson say they can no longer afford to make payments on the $224 million construction loan and won’t fight a foreclosure suit filed two weeks ago in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

The project’s failure is the largest yet in the current real estate downturn, which has hit the overdeveloped condo market especially hard.

“It is a friendly handover,” said Johansson, principal of South Miami-based Gulfside Development. “We have been helping them in the transition for almost a month. There are no bad feelings, and we wish them good luck with a beautiful project.”

The handover is set to take place sometime this week, he said.

The development across the street from Dadeland Mall was planned to have 416 condos and 125,000 square feet of retail space in seven mid-rise buildings. Four of the towers were completed this year, but three still need some minor construction work before closings can start. The project was the centerpiece of redevelopment along Southwest 88th Street near U.S. 1.

The complex at 7250 N. Kendall Drive was supposed to be completed early this year, and sale proceeds were expected to pay off Goldman Sachs’ loan. But it didn’t work out that way.

Construction delays pushed back the closing of nearly 40 percent of the units in the unfinished buildings. When the partners realized a few months ago that their revenue was going to come up short, they asked Goldman Sachs for an extension, Johansson said.

“But they said no, and we knew it was time to move on,” he said.

The partners missed an October payment, and Goldman sued Downtown Dadeland Residential Condominiums, whose principals are Johansson and Ward, on Nov. 2.

In the complaint, the Dallas-based lender, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, the second-biggest U.S. securities firm by market value, demanded full payment of the loan balance and requested a court-appointed receiver to oversee completion of the project.

The receiver was to collect rent from the retail space in the 7.5-acre Downtown Dadeland and use the money to help pay down the debt.

The lawsuit didn’t specify the mortgage balance. Johansson said he did not know how much was owed because he made payments to Goldman Sachs as sales in the first four buildings closed.

A Goldman Sachs spokeswoman declined comment.

The completed buildings account for 60 percent of the condos in the Downtown Dadeland project. Forty units in the remaining three buildings are for sale, Esslinger Wooten Maxwell president Ron Shuffield said. His firm markets the project. Ten sales fell through due to construction delays, he said.

Real estate insiders consider Gulfside’s default a landmark.

“If not the largest one, it is one of the largest defaults in all time in Miami-Dade County,” said David Dabby, president of Coral Gables-based real estate research firm Dabby Group.

Defaults during the savings and loan crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s were generally under $50 million, he said.

At least two other South Florida projects have run into financial trouble with lenders this year.

In July, Wells Fargo Bank sued Boca Raton developer BelAire at Boca, claiming the troubled condo conversion was in default on a $91 million loan.

Miami-based Ocean Bank filed a $50 million foreclosure suit last summer against the condo converter of Villa Mare Beach & Yacht Club in Boca Raton.

Goldman Sachs has gotten into the business of taking over distressed debt, having a third party turn the project around and profiting from it, according to Dick Bove, a banking analyst with Punk Ziegel & Co.

Acquiring “distressed debt is a very good business,” he said.

In May 2006, Goldman Sachs helped the developers repay construction and mezzanine loans held by other lenders and finance the remaining construction of the seven buildings.

At that time, Gulfside Development and former partner Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund obtained $180 million from Goldman, and the balance was to be funded as construction moved along.

The plan was to begin closings in the first buildings that summer and complete them early this year. But the first closings were delayed until December 2006, and nothing has closed in the remaining buildings.

Ward said a portion of the loan eventually went to buy out Canyon-Johnson, which partnered with Gulfside in 2004.

“They wanted to pursue other business opportunities,” Gulfside’s Ward said of Canyon-Johnson.

A call to Canyon-Johnson was not immediately returned Monday.

Canyon-Johnson is a venture between basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s Johnson Development and Canyon Capital Realty Advisors. The fund invests primarily in projects likely to spark a wave of redevelopment in ethnically diverse neighborhoods.

Johansson and Ward shared the same goals. The pair lobbied Miami-Dade County officials to change the area’s density and fashion guidelines to help create a vibrant, 24-hour, downtown-style community, Ward said.

Following several public hearings, a downtown district was born. The change allowed Gulfside to transform the former Williamson Cadillac site into a mixed-use community close to Metrorail and bus stations.

“Downtown Dadeland is an outstanding success for what it represents,” Johansson said. “It is a statement for New Urbanism and the way of the future: using mass transit.”

After the zoning changes, a construction boom in the area ensued, Esslinger Wooten Maxwell’s Shuffield said. His company began marketing Downtown Dadeland in 2002.

Gulfside started construction in 2004 and planned to be done in spring 2005.

But construction suffered a series of setbacks: the flooding of a two-story underground parking garage, general contractor Miller & Solomon closed shop and work stoppages during the 2004 hurricane season, Johansson said.

“It was the perfect storm for the completion of the project,” he said. “We also had to deal with the contracting community of South Florida. That’s all I am going to say. People who read the article will know what I am talking about.”

Downtown Dadeland was the partners’ first development in South Florida. Most of their past projects were in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Johansson and Ward aren’t sure what their next move will be. For now, they just want to relax.

“It is a great time for us to take a little bit of a break,” Johansson said.

Paola Iuspa-Abbott can be reached at piuspa@alm.com or at (305) 347-6657.

7250 Kendall Dr. photo by A.M. Holt

Je pense que ce lot est a Industrial Alliance.

I guess this could also go in the cancelled section. This is what RioTintoAlcan was considering before they decided to sell their head office and move their entire staff into a new tower