🍎 Red tape report card

Together with

Good morning! What is the big holdup when it comes to getting projects built? Homebuilders want to know. The latest benchmarking study by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association dug into which municipalities have streamlined their process, which are bogging down development and what can be done to relieve bottlenecks. Keep reading to find out which cities came out on top.

- Russell Hixson, editor

MARKETS

*Stock data as of last market close; currency, oil and crypto data as of 10:00PM ET Jan 16th.

Markets: Overall construction spending dipped this Winter. According to Statistics Canada, investment in building construction declined 1.4 per cent to $20.4 billion in November, with most of the drop coming from Alberta (-5.6 per cent). The residential sector decreased 2.0 per cent to $14.9 billion, while the non-residential sector edged up 0.2 per cent to $5.5 billion. On a constant dollar basis, investment in building construction decreased by 2 per cent to $12.0 billion.

THE BIG STORY

Cutting through housing's red tape

Which cities are smoothly getting housing projects through their development process and which are dragging on for years? The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) released its 2022 Municipal Benchmarking Study which examines how local development processes, approvals, and charges affect housing affordability and housing supply in 21 major Canadian municipalities.

The study ranked areas based on three key criteria that affect the development of new home construction: city planning approval processes, municipal charges imposed on new development and municipal approval timelines.

Key takeaways: 

• Edmonton, Charlottetown, Calgary, and London rank best for approval times and costs. All ten Greater Toronto and Hamilton and Metro Vancouver municipalities are ranked in the bottom 10.

• The study shows significant variations in the approval timelines of municipalities, ranging from 3 months (Charlottetown) to 32 months (Toronto). Compared to CHBA’s 2020 Municipal Benchmarking Study, municipalities in Ontario saw their timelines worsen, while non-Ontario municipalities saw average timelines improve.

• The average cost of government charges levied by municipal governments on low-rise new housing development averages almost $62,000/unit. Toronto is at the high-end of that, with government charges amounting to over $189,000/unit.

• The average cost of government charges levied by municipal governments on high-rise new housing development averages over $41,000/unit. Vancouver is at the high-end, with government charges amounting to over $125,000.

What isn't working:

• Municipalities often don’t make things such as application requirements, technical study terms of reference, or key planning documents available to applicants, which can hinder the quality of submissions received, and can indirectly impact municipal review timelines.

• Online submission portals and specific terms of reference for technical studies, are not commonly used.

• It's usual for 10-20 studies to be required for a development application, which CHBA’s report says increases the amount of time to get to a complete application, adds complexity to municipalities reviewing and commenting on submissions, but also strains the resources of private-sector planning firms.

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

🏠 B.C. has unveiled a $500 million fund to prevent rental buildings from being acquired by speculators and large corporations. These acquisitions often involve redeveloping properties so they can evict tenants, allowing the trusts to make large profits by either hiking rents or selling the units and taking rental housing off the market. Instead, the fund will assist non-profits in purchasing the buildings.

⛽ Experts say 2023 could be a pivotal year for assessing the viability of hydrogen power. Across the country, hydrogen buses, trains and semi-trucks are being tested. A University of Calgary professor believes that at the right scale, hydrogen could become cheaper than diesel. Construction has already begun in northeast Edmonton on what is expected to be the largest net-zero hydrogen plant in the world.

🚨 An Ontario construction company is facing criminal charges stemming from a car crash that killed six people last summer. The car fell into a tunnel access shaft related to a residential construction project in the Barrie, Ont. area. The Westray bill or Bill C-45, allows for criminal charges against employers, however it is not often used.

👷 Construction workers are in high demand. Recruitment agency Randstad Canada revealed its list of most sought after workers for 2023. Mechanical engineer, welder and construction project manager all made the list. Randstad experts noted that since the 1970s, high schools have not encouraged the trades as a career path, resulting in decades of shortages of skilled young people in the trades.

TOGETHER WITH METRIC CIVIL

The road to growth: a civil contractor's journey

It started out as a team of two holding meetings in coffee shops. Ten years later, Metric has grown into a civil contractor with multiple offices that performs work across B.C. and beyond. The company founders, Marlon Hall and Chris Veenstra attribute Metric’s success to the strength of its team and its use of technology.

“We have been successful at retaining employees by the work that we do, having a robust safety program, providing competitive compensation and benefits, creating an atmosphere of teamwork and offering opportunities to grow,” said Veenstra.

In terms of tech, the company started by purchasing the critical tools needed for success; 3D cut and fill software for estimating, as well as GPS rovers so it could conduct its own layout and grade control rather than relying on surveyors. Metric has since added 3D GPS units to its equipment in the field. Metric has also digitized as much of its business as possible. Cloud-based systems are used for accounting and payroll which allows information and decisions to be made from anywhere.

For its next ten years, Metric will continue with civil works in the lower mainland, but they are focusing on significant growth executing both light and heavy civil projects in the Western Canadian region.

Interested in working with Metric? Visit their website. To learn the full story of Metric’s growth, read the SiteNew article.

-Sponsored by Metric Civil

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

The Darlington refurbishment is making history

Getting a reaction: This 10-year, $12.8-billion project holds the key to keeping Ontario green. The Darlington Nuclear Generating Station has produced 20 per cent of Ontario’s electricity since the early 1990s. The refurbishment project, started in 2016, will extend Darlington’s operations to 2055, setting the province up to achieve its net-zero goals. The execution phase of the re-tube and feeder replacement is being carried out under a 50/50 joint venture between Aecon and SNC-Lavalin Nuclear Inc. Scope of work includes refurbishment of the reactor cores to replace critical components using the tools and methods that were developed and tested during the project’s definition phase carried out by the joint venture. Just last year, the project achieved a world first, after crews successfully completed a combined removal of calandria and pressure tubes. The entire project is expected to wrap in 2026.

PROJECT UPDATES

TransPod plans to build Alberta hyperloop test track in 2024

Globe Theater in Regina takes shape after years of work

Work begins on hotel in Hornepayne after going without since 2010

Bimbo plans to spend $15 million on Tortilla production line for Hamilton

Refurbishing efforts at the Darlington nuclear plant in Ontario are halfway done

WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

TWEET: 🤯 Mind blown. Imagine sculpting this in your early 20s.

READ: 🎯Legal experts urge B.C. builders to prepare for prompt payment.

WATCH: 🚃 Magnifique! Artist creates tiny version of Montreal transit.

READ: 💸Ouch! Elon Musk becomes the first person to lose $200 billion.

TWEET: ⛓️Behold. The 1860 chain trencher in all its glory.

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