Category: Kamloops Real Estate News

This article appeared in the Kamloops This Week on January 3rd, 2013 and was written by Andrea Klassen.

For the first time since 2008, Kamloops has handed out more than $200 million in building permits in a single year.

The city’s latest statistics show $202-million in permits were given out in 2012, compared to $162.5 million in 2011.

City staff had originally predicted they would hand out between $130 and $150 million in permits this year, but a number of major projects drove the estimate up.

Among those was the Telus data centre. Its $30-million permit accounted for nearly all the $31-million in commercial-building permits issued in December 2012.

“That’s the one that put us over,” said city director of development and engineering services Marvin Kwiatkowski, who expects the big-ticket projects to continue into 2013.

“There’s still some others coming through the door, so I think we’re going to have a good start this year as well.”

Among the projects on the horizon are an $8-million permit for interior work on the new law building (the revamped Old Main Building) at Thompson Rivers University, a new $2.2-million John Deere dealership and a $60-million permit for the new clinical-care and parkade building at Royal Inland Hospital.

“It’s positive, because it’s putting people to work,” Kwiatkowski said. “When you’re having large projects of that nature, you’re having a lot of activity in the city. So, that’s a positive for our economy.”

After two years of relatively flat residential-construction numbers — 350 units of new housing were built in 2012, compared to 400 in 2011 — Kwiatkowski said that sector will probably pick up this year.

“We’ve got three larger multi-family projects, totalling just over 200 units. It could be close to $20 million with these three projects alone,” he said. That is more multi-family units than were built in the city in all of 2012.

For 2013, Kwiatkowski is predicting the city will hand out about $160-million in permits. Taking into account the projects he’s already aware of, Kwiatkowski is confident that target will be met.

“If you throw in all these projects here, including the hospital, we’re close to $100 million. And, if I put in residential like we’ve had the last couple of years, that’s another $40 million,” he said.

From there, smaller projects should fill the $20 million gap.

Kwiatkowski is also hoping to see more single-family home permits handed out in 2013 — a trend that often follows a period of heavy commercial construction.

Only 131 permits for single family homes were given out in 2012, two fewer than in 2011.

This article appeared in the Kamloops This Week on December 4th, 2012 and was written by Andrea Klassen.

The clock is ticking down, but director of development services Marvin Kwiatkowski is confident the city’s building-permit numbers for 2012 are going to break the $200-million barrier before the end of December.

With the release of November’s statistics, the city is standing at $167 million in permitted construction, up from last year’s overall total of $157.6 million.

One major project the city has been expecting all year — the $30-million Telus data centre — will apparently finally go through before the calendar rolls over.

“I’d put money on it,” Kwiatkowski said when asked if the city would end the year above the $200-million mark.

It would be only the second time Kamloops has doled out permits at that level.

In 2008, the record year to date, the city ended the year with $207-million in permits.

Overall, the city gave out permits worth more than $10 million for the month of November, compared to more than $11 million in November 2011.

Of that, residential projects totalled $6.6 million, down from $8.4 million in November 2011, while commercial endeavours were worth $3.2 million

November saw the city issue 15 single-family home permits, a higher than average number for 2012.

Kwiatkowski said the sudden rise comes as a new B.C. Building Code is about to go into effect on Dec. 20.

“Whenever you have a change of code, people want to get in the door,” he said.

Those who snap up permits before the 20th have two years to build under the old code, without having to worry about changes found in the new document.

While the city is set to exceed both its initial and revised construction-value estimates for the year, it’s still slightly below projections on residential units.

So far, 341 units have been permitted this year, compared to 383 at this time in 2011.

Development and engineering services had estimated there would be 350 units.

This article appeared in the Kamloops Daily News on July 6th, 2012.

Commercial and institutional construction is keeping builders in Kamloops busy while residential work is lagging slightly from last year.

City acting chief building inspector Bruce Barclay said Friday the first half of this year has seen construction values surpass $100 million. Last year at this time, those values were at $84 million.

The main driver behind that is business and institutional projects, he said.

For example, there’s a new $12.2-million seniors’ residence going up on Tranquille Road in Brocklehurst.

Single family construction is at $20 milion halfway through the year, while it was at $21.3 million at this point in 2011. Multi-family is down a bit, too, but expected to move upward as demand in that market rises.

Barclay said by the end of the year, he expects the construction-value total to be around $175 million. Pretty good, given an average year in Kamloops is between $120 and $140 million, and that the economy is still considered to be relatively flat.

“We’re on for a very strong year,” he said.

There are still some big-number projects expected to come through City Hall for permits this year, including Telus’s $30-million data centre, $6 million for Walmart’s expansion and $6.5 million for Target’s renovations to its Zellers location.

Kamloops has always paced itself well where commercial and residential construction is concerned, Barclay said.

“We’ve never done a Kelowna or a Vancouver to build it and they will come,” he said.

Instead, the buildings have been constructed as they’ve been needed.

“That’s the way most of our builders work. They’re not going to build without there being something there.”

City community development manager Randy Lambright said the numbers are encouraging, especially given the economy is being described as sluggish to recover from the 2008 recession.

“It’s all good and it can only get better, depending what happens with new industry coming into town with or without Ajax mine,” he said, adding there’s interest from other businesses in coming to town.

“It’s a manageable rate of growth.”

Housing prices are driving a growing interest in multi-family housing, which is raising more questions at City Hall about density and what should be encouraged for infill.

But, overall, all the construction figures for this year are positive, even on the housing side, he said.

This article appeared in the Kamloops Daily News on May 2nd, 2012 and was written by Mike Youds.

For a neighbourhood nervous about a proposed strip mine just over the hill, a City open house on Wednesday seemed, well, more like a walk in the park.

West Highlands will be Kamloops’ newest city park once it’s developed next year, and there was no doubt at Aberdeen elementary Wednesday night that the park will be a crowd pleaser.

“It’s a good thing,” said Vance Ardell, one of about 75 people, many of them area residents, who attended the session. “I’d like to see people using it, I like to see the dogs out using it and the kids using it, too. I like the whole thing.”

The 14-hectare, donut-shaped green space is an urban redevelopment project that practically fell into the City’s lap when Aberdeen Highlands Development Corp. decided to close Aberdeen Links last fall.

The golf course simply wasn’t sustainable, said Glenn Grant, a neighbourhood resident.

“This will be more widely used by residents around there,” he said.

Responding to a survey that showed overwhelming support for a park, the company sold a parcel of the land to the City for $2.3 million and donated other portions. With another $2.5 million earmarked for park development, the City got the planning process underway Wednesday by asking for input.

Conceptual plans include redeveloping the former clubhouse as a possible community centre flanked by a couple of playfields, expanded parking, community gardens and preservation of the existing pond. A 1.7-kilometre linear path would weave through the grassland section of the park, which encircles an existing subdivision.

Erynn Carney, a young mother, sees the potential to address a recreational shortcoming in the city — toddler parks.

“There are so many kids up here,” she said. “In fact, most of the city doesn’t have a toddler-friendly park.”

Another not-quite-so-young contingent was well represented.

Matthew Gosse was with a group of young longboard riders from throughout the city who hope to see part of the park offer paved trails. As members of the Kamloops Longboard Club, they give lessons to youngsters and argue for a safer alternative to streets.

“Opportunities like this don’t come up too often,” Gosse said, noting that the amenity could serve multiple purposes.

“It would be the best place in the city for it,” added Brendan Woods, who recalled having been hit twice by vehicles while longboarding on the street.

Winter sports — skating on the pond and cross-country skiing on the trail — are another possibility.

“Given the elevation of the park, I think winter activities could have huge appeal,” said Michael Doll, a City parks planner.

There was but one bone of contention at the open house. Several residents complained about off-leash dogs and canine droppings. Stick-it notes were strategically placed on one map to show where bag dispensers ought to go.

“This is the biggest doggy park in the world,” said Joanne Linnell, whose home overlooks the golf course. “Is it going to be a doggy park or a park for people?”

With potential for another 3,000 residents in the neighbourhood through build-out by the developer over the next 10 to 15 years, there will be even greater need for a park in the area, said Coun. Nelly Dever.

Nick DeCicco, the City’s parks planning and project supervisor, said that’s a citywide complaint not confined to Aberdeen. He said residents are happy to see the former golf course preserved as public green space.

“Everything going well, we should be able to get the park developed next year,” he said.

Another open house will be held once public input has been added to the concept plan.