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WINTER EDITION | Q4 2022
Commercial Real Estate and Community News from Waterloo Region
Q4 2022 - Winter Edition
WHITNEY INSITE
Commercial Real Estate and Community News from Waterloo Region
john-whitney

We are loving what’s going on in the Waterloo Region real estate market! Strong demand is trumping the rate hikes we have seen through 2022. Lack of supply of industrial space keeps driving the rental rates.

 

Office activity is finally waking up and companies are figuring out what their midterm office requirements look like. The investment market has substantially slowed due to rising rates. Vendor mortgages are becoming more common for vendors with small or no mortgages. The rapid growth in value, has many larger investors of real estate thinking this is a good time to sell these assets.

 

Rate increases have definitely had their effect on the residential market, as sellers and buyers are a little unsure of what the future holds.

 

As we enter 2023, we feel that the momentum in the real estate business will continue in all sectors. We are lucky to live and work in such a dynamic region. Our tech and financial service sectors continue to grow and expand, which is driving companies’ space needs.

 

Thank you Waterloo Region for a strong ending to 2022 and hello 2023, we love the direction we are going.

John Whitney

Broker of record, ceo, sior

Q4 2022

In this edition

What’s Next for Bramm Yards? >

100 Hollinger Crescent Sold >

A Dozen More Towers? >

Waterloo Opens Woonerf >

Courtland Ave Development >

WHITNEY Milestones >

Public Art Installation >

Boathouse Lease Approved >

Ottawa St Infill >

New Life for Grand River Hotel >

Waterloo Tech Update >

Huck Glove Building Saved >
Try Something New >

What's next for Bramm Yards property, a prime piece of city-owned land in Downtown Kitchener?

Source – The Record

Former works yard is currently a municipal parking lot.

 

It’s a prime piece of real estate, just inside Kitchener’s downtown boundary.

 

At approximately 8 acres in size, the Bramm Yards property, at the end of Bramm Street, is a former city works yard that closed in 2011 with the opening of a new operations centre on Goodrich Drive.

 

Part of the city’s Innovation District, the Bramm Yards is steps from the University of Waterloo’s planned Innovation Arena, which will transform an old warehouse on Joseph Street into a collaboration space for developing new health technologies, and provide a new home for the university’s Velocity incubator.

 

For now, the Bramm Yards site is a city-run public parking lot, with 517 spaces for short-term and monthly parkers. Work on a master plan for the property, deferred due to the pandemic, could begin next year.

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100 Hollinger Crescent in Kitchener sold for $23 million

WHITNEY & Company was engaged by a local client to assist with the purchase of a new facility. We were able to locate an off-market opportunity after an extensive target marketing process.

 

The 107,000 SF building sits on 7.17 Acres and is zoned B2 allowing for several uses. Other features include, 4 dock-level and 3 drive-in doors, office space, 1600 amps of power and outdoor storage. 

 

There was only one other vacant property over 100,000 SF sold in the Region over the past 18 months. Congratulations to our Buyer!

hickory-hemlock-development waterloo

Waterloo may add a dozen more towers

Source – The Record

City Council ponders 4,500 more dwellings at four locations.

 

Four more housing proposals aim to make Waterloo taller and denser by adding 12 residential highrises to a city that has become the highest and most crowded in the Region.

 

Development proposals coming to city council this month would add 4,525 dwellings in a mix of rental apartments, condos, and townhouses. Also included is new office space, commercial space and a parking garage. Council must bend planning rules to approve the projects. Public meetings scheduled at council in January are preliminary. Final approvals will happen later after more public and planning input. 

 

Highlights:

 

  • Eight residential towers of 16 to 28 storeys on King Street North near the Highway 85 expressway are proposed to add 3,556 dwellings in a mix of rental apartments, condos, and townhouses. Towers would be built in six phases and replace the Waterloo Inn, which would be demolished.

  • Three residential towers of 22 to 25 storeys on Bridgeport Road East at Weber Street North are proposed to add 622 dwellings at the edge of downtown.

 

  • A six-storey apartment building on Hickory and Hemlock streets is proposed to add 168 dwellings with 203 bedrooms to the central, campus-area Northdale neighbourhood.

 

  • Up to four storeys of stacked townhouses plus other townhouses on Erbsville Road are proposed to add 179 low-rise dwellings in the suburban northwest near Conservation Drive. The site is farmland today.
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Waterloo opens "Woonerf" shared street in university district

Source – The Record

Curbless-Dutch style street puts people ahead of cars and is lined with bike racks, planters and benches.

 

Waterloo officially opened its first “woonerf” Friday — a Dutch-style shared road that puts people ahead of cars.

 

The city redeveloped a 140-metre stretch of Larch Street, from Hickory Street West to Balsam Street as a “woonerf” or “living street” that prioritizes pedestrians.

 

The woonerf idea was created in the Netherlands as a shared space for cars, pedestrian and cyclists, that also serves as an open social space.

 

The short stretch of road is paved with coloured concrete and unit pavers, designed to guide all users of the road. There are no boundaries separating the pedestrian lane from the car lane.

 

The curbless street is also lined with bike racks, planters, benches, posts and waste bins.

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Six-storey rental building planned for now vacant site just outside Downtown Kitchener

Source – The Record

A new six-storey, 64-unit mid-rise building is being proposed for a now-vacant site just outside Kitchener’s downtown core.

 

The planned purpose-built rental development would take shape at 45-53 Courtland Ave. E., east of Benton Street, and would include a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom units.

 

Five townhouse-style units would face Courtland Avenue at the base of the building.

 

The site previously housed three single-detached homes that had been vacant for some time. One of the homes was gutted by fire in January; the three homes have since been demolished.

Read More

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WHITNEY & Company celebrating two major milestones this year

We are proud to announce that WHITNEY & Company has achieved two major milestones this year. We have just reached our 85-year milestone with WRAR as an association member and Colleen Whitney, Sales Representative is celebrating her 40-year anniversary as an association member.

 

Did you know that WHITNEY & Company is the longest standing real estate brokerage in Waterloo Region? In 2023 we will be sharing some of this history with you.

 

Thank you to all of our clients for your continued support throughout the years. We wouldn’t be here without you!

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Public art installation will enliven new southwest Kitchener library

Source – The Record

Artists have until Jan. 20 to submit applications in open competition. 

 

The Kitchener Public Library and the city have launched a public art competition for a new library branch that will be built in the southwest part of the city.

 

Construction on the 14,000-square-foot building is expected to start next year, with an anticipated opening in 2024.

 

The library will be built in the Rosenberg neighbourhood, southwest of Bleams and Fischer-Hallman roads. The building will help to anchor a community campus with parkland, trails, an elementary school and community centre all planned.

 

Established artists or art teams with experience creating public art projects have until Jan. 20 to submit applications. An information session hosted by city staff at the Central Library will be held Nov. 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Read More

City approves lease with new operator of Kitchener’s Boathouse

Source – The Record

Renovations expected to begin early this year, with a summer opening

 

A new lease agreement with the City of Kitchener paves the way for the expected reopening of the Boathouse as a restaurant and live music venue next year.

 

Council formally approved a lease with Walkinshaw Holdings Inc., the city’s preferred candidate to revitalize the vacant city-owned venue on Jubilee Drive in Victoria Park. Comprised of a team of local entrepreneurs with experience in a wide range of sectors, Walkinshaw Holdings plans renovations including interior upgrades, an addition with new washrooms, and a new patio that will cantilever over the lake.

 

Heritage Kitchener approved a heritage permit application earlier this fall, permitting the alterations on the 93-year-old building. The city said construction is expected to begin early next year, with doors opening to the public next summer.

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Infill proposal looks to replace two homes with 20 stacked townhouses

Source – The Record

Residents raise concerns at neighbourhood meeting.

 

An infill proposal in Kitchener would replace two single-detached homes with a three-storey building containing 20 stacked townhouses.

 

The proposed development at 1257-1265 Ottawa St. S. near Fischer-Hallman Road was outlined at an online neighbourhood meeting.

 

The redeveloped property, fronting onto Ottawa Street, would include a small outdoor amenity area, in-ground garbage storage, bicycle parking and 23 surface parking spots behind and alongside the new building.

 

Plans call for a mix of one and two-bedroom, and one and two-storey, units. It’s not yet known whether the units will be rentals or condos, said Scott Patterson of Patterson Planning Consultants, on behalf of the applicant.

 

The project requires a zoning bylaw amendment to allow for a multiple residential dwelling on the site, along with a slight increase in allowable floor space ratio, or density.

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Supportive housing to be built at Grand River Hotel site in Cambridge

Source – The Record

Christian charity Indwell will renovate or build near the former Grand River Hotel in Preston. It will be reinvented to provide up to 40 supportive housing units in the next couple of years.

 

Indwell, a Christian charity that provides affordable housing, recently bought the historic hotel on King Street East and is currently in a design-build process to determine whether the building can be saved or whether new construction is the best route.

 

Mark Willcock, community engagement co-ordinator with Indwell, said the organization spent about a year trying to find the right location in Cambridge.

 

Indwell wanted to provide homes in Cambridge because there is a significant need, he said.

Read More

Waterloo Region Tech Update

Source – Waterloo EDC & Waterloo Tech Highlights

Smile.io is the world’s largest reward program provider with thousands of live programs of different sizes, from small local stores to billion dollar businesses. They recently processed over 11% of all Shopify orders placed over the Black Friday weekend for their merchant’s loyalty programs.

Whitney & Company commercial real estate

Axonify expects to grow by 35-40% year-over-year with their best year ever for both gross and net retention. Look for more acquisitions in 2023 as they expand.

P&P Optica received a $2.4M grant from the Canadian government to build a demonstration room for their meat processing clients. They have raised over $25M to date. P&P Optica’s system is known for detecting and removing objects such as plastics or rubber from food.

eleven-x won a deal with the City of Guelph to manage their parking, starting with a pilot of 250 units and expanding to 2000 units total. This solution will provide real-time space status availability and intelligent enforcement, to help residents and visitors easily find parking and reduce traffic.

FluidAI has established a manufacturing facility in Waterloo Region as they get ready for product launch.

RouteThis is a diverse team of talented and thoughtful individuals who are driven to push the boundaries of what is possible for their customers. They recently hired their first American based employee as their VP of Marketing. Their mission is to help ISPs and smart home brands deliver flawless WiFi connectivity to their customers.

Material Futures turns micro-organisms into miniature dye factories. They have recently received a $40k grant from Innovacorp. 

Auvik acquired Saaslio and Boardgent, because working on one acquisition isn’t enough. They acquired these companies as part of their plan to expand their capabilities to help managed service providers (MSPs) and internal IT departments, effectively manage the end-user experience regardless of location and which applications are being used.

Kitchener’s historic Huck Glove factory saved by $100-million redevelopment

Source – The Record

“We are proud of this building”

 

Zac Zehr stands on the top floor of a new office development on Victoria Street South that showcases a way to preserve heritage buildings and support new development.

 

GloveBox is a 140,000-square-foot office building built around and on top of the historic Huck Glove factory at 100 Victoria St. S. The City of Kitchener allowed the Zehr Group to add more units in the three condo towers around the office building, in exchange for preserving and redeveloping the old factory.

 

“We are proud of this building,” said Zehr, who is vice-president of the Zehr Group and also its head of development. “What is so special about this building is the combination of modern construction and old brick-and-beam.”

 

The GloveBox development had already been completed by the time Ontario Premier Doug Ford touched off an angry backlash from heritage advocates with Bill 23 — Building More Homes Faster Act. It relaxes some of the rules that aim to preserve historic properties.

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Try Something New

Lucero Canteen is a new cafe located at 22 Ontario Street N in Downtown Kitchener, serving all things coffee, pastries and more!

LaLa Social House has officially announced they will be opening their doors in March 2023, they will be located at 181 King St S in Uptown Waterloo.

Bahar Indian Cuisine has just opened its doors at 276 King St W in Downtown Kitchener, providing an upscale casual venue and serving authentic Indian food.

Darlise Cafe has officially re-opened its doors at 33 Queen St S in Downtown Kitchener, specializing in breakfast pastries and unique muffins, you won’t be disappointed!

Uki Restaurant is located at 51 King St N in Uptown Waterloo and is gaining new regulars who love their traditional Korean and Japanese dishes.

Bodega Rose is coming soon to Uptown Waterloo, located at 17 Erb St E. They are planning to serve coffee, specialty homemade croissants, soup, sandwiches and more!