Archives: June 2009

30 Jun 2009, Comments Off

Canadian Funding Corporation Looks at Waterfall Building

Author: admin

July 1, 2009, Canadian Funding Corp Reviews – The Waterfall Building, which Canadian Funding Corp features in this post, is part of a new mixed-use project located in Vancouver, British Columbia developed by Hillside Development Ltd. in 2000-2001. The ground floor is reserved for general office, retail or service use, while the remainder of the project is a mixture of commercial and “live/work” space.

The green roof system which is appreciated by Canadian Funding Corp, was intended to meet the goals of creating an aesthetically pleasing community recreational space–which met both the social development goals of Hillside and the community revitalization goals of the city. As Hillside Development was also requesting a relaxation of the City of Vancouver’s building height limitations, the development proposal had to incorporate features that would benefit the community. The green roof, visible to the public, was seen as a beautification of the area and supported the development application. In addition, the open, street-level courtyard is a public space that greatly enhanced the community. A covenant was signed between the developing company and the City of Vancouver, ensuring that this space would remain open to the public– a condition of the development approval.

The City of Vancouver sees the Waterfall project as contributing to the revitalization of the area with its quality design and construction, attention to detail and the developer’s commitment to the community. Despite this, Hillside Development cited the city as being one of the major challenges in the development of the project due to problems surrounding obtaining permits. Insurance providers who refused to insure the building after viewing the green roof as a potential leaking hazard posed additional challenges.

GREEN ROOF CHARACTERISTICS

Type and Warranty
The Waterfall Building green roof is both extensive and intensive. Extensive green roofs are characterized by their low weight, low capital cost and minimal maintenance requirements. The extensive plots on Waterfall building is comprised of poa alpina, blue grass. In contrast, intensive green roofs are characterized by greater weight, higher capital costs, more diverse plantings and higher maintenance requirements than extensive systems.The plant selected for the Waterfall building intensive plots was rosa meidiland white.

Most of the system was comprised of Soprema’s Sopranature green roof system with the following exceptions:

  • The waterproof membrane was urelastic-103 manufactured by Universal Polymers
  • The protection board in the planters was ‘Hydroflex 20′ manufactured by Hydrotech
  • The filter drain mat was NilexWD15 designed by Cornelia Oberlander

The decision to use Soprema’s system was based on excellent results that the architectural firm has had with previous projects.

There is a 5-10 year warranty on the system on the green roof components and a one-year warranty on plants.

Hillside Development Ltd. found one of the biggest challenges to implementing a green roof in Vancouver to be obtaining insurance for warranties. Warranties are required by the City of Vancouver due to the “leaky condo crisis”: many insurers view green roofs as potential leaking hazards and refuse to insure them.

Growing Medium
The growing medium used was by Answer Garden Products. The product was laid at thickness ranging from two to six-inches at a weight of 70 lbs/cubic foot. It is comprised of humus builder, washed sand, and pumice.

Plant Selection
Rosa meidiland white, a flowering rose shrub and poa alpina, an alpine blue grass were selected. The plants were selected for their appearance and ability to perform well in full exposure to sun and wind.

Irrigation & Drainage
The special drainage requirements of green roof systems is the need for a filter cloth over a geotextile drainage layer.

The irrigation system is a computerized, low-impact system with small heads.The decision not to use a drip irrigation system was due to sand in the growing medium which can plug drip systems. Due to the humus builder the growing medium has the capability of retaining a great deal of water; thus, taking pressure off both the irrigation and the drainage system on the green roof.

Monitoring & Maintenance
There has been no monitoring of the technical performance of the data and to date, no repairs have been made to the roof.

The green roof will require weeding and cutting about two times per year.

Benefits
The green roof provides numerous benefits for the Waterfall Building. For the developer, the additional useable space the residents are offered, has increased its sale-ability and assisted in getting approval for development from the Vancouver City Planning Department. The City cites the green roof as a factor in granting permission to Hillside to relax the height limitations.

Acknowledgements
Alain Prince, Nick Milkovich Architects
Elizabeth Whitmer, Cornelia Oberlander, Landscape Architects
Mary-Beth Rondeau (MAIBC), Developer and Planner, City of Vancouver
CMHC Innovative Design

rnm6xbv2ta

29 Jun 2009, Comments Off

Canadian Funding Corp Sees Continued Growth in Property Market

Author: admin

More good news for Canadians this week, as an official think tank has predicted that Canada will continue to avoid the harshest affects of the recession.

The think thank, in collboration with the IMF, noted that the housing market remains strong, and continues to flourish. The IMF predicts that of all the G7 countries, Canada wil be the fastest growing in 2009, and has one of the soundest economies in the world. Canada’a extraordinary robustness is all the more impressive when compared to the U.S’s recent financial troubles.

Although Canada is sometimes considered the poorer relation to the U.S., or not considered as one of the leading economies of the world, Canada is in fact one of the few countries that continues to thrive in these tough economic times.

Thriving Real Estate Market

Canada’s quality of life continues to rank among the top 10 in the world. With a thriving property market and quality real estate, Canada continues to be an attractive offer to overseas buyers, looking to buy investment property, or holiday homes.

There are a number of reasons why Canada’s property market (and economy) continues is ascent:

Firstly, Canada has built it’s economy on the strength of its oil and gas resources – the 2nd largest oil reserves in the world and the 3rd largest natural gas producer. In the Alberta oil region where much of the gas is produced has a 5% employment growth per annum.

Billlion Dollar Sales

In 2007, when the U.S was recording record number of repossessions, (to get worse in 2008) the Canadian Real Estate Association was celebrating its’ first year of billion dollar sales. Another lesson the U.S: how much of the Canadian real estate lending was sub-prime? About 5%.

With inflation well under control, and the Bank of Canada recently reducing its rates on martgage lending, Canada increasingly looks like a great place to invest your real estate money. Government spending is under control, and house prices continue to rise.

http://www.sell-my-house-quick.com/articles/canadian-property-market-continued-growth-160.html

brought by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

26 Jun 2009, Comments Off

Don’t believe the housing hype

Author: admin

Judging by the latest real estate data, the Canadian housing market could scarcely be better. Average home prices are up more than 16 per cent this year, and in May they hit an all-time monthly high, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. By those numbers, Canada didn’t just sidestep the housing market crash that continues to plague the United States, it sailed right through it virtually unscathed. And yet, there are plenty of signs that the Canadian housing market is still sitting on some very shaky ground—and even the potential that Canada’s big housing crash is yet to come.

There is one particular statistic that suggests trouble could be brewing. Unlike in the U.S., Britain and most European countries, household debt in Canada is, incredibly, still growing. That rising debt is being driven largely by record-low interest rates. Canadians have been buying homes not so much because they can afford them, but because many believe there’s never been a better time to buy, with lending rates so low. “There is no doubt that record-low mortgage rates have juiced Canada’s housing market,” wrote BMO economist Sal Guatieri, in a recent newsletter. Houses are barely more affordable now than they were during the market peak. And as people keep buying, houses may only become less and less affordable.

Not everyone agrees with the CRE figures that suggest the market has managed such a quick and painless turnaround, either. According to the Teranet-National Bank housing price index, Canada’s housing market is not recovering yet. Home prices have been falling for the past eight months, according to its latest statistics. Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto have each experienced significant price drops compared to last year. This would seem more in line with what one would expect after an unprecedented six-year housing boom in which home prices shot up 80 per cent.

It is, of course, possible that the correction will, ultimately, be modest. Guatieri expects that interest rates will remain low and income growth will remain subdued this year, before picking up next year. That will keep housing prices down, but would likely mean the worst of the correction is behind us.

But if mortgage rates go up sharply then “affordability will get crunched again,” says Guatieri, in an interview. Things could get much, much worse. And that’s not an unthinkable scenario. Some banks have already boosted interest rates twice this year. Then there is the possibility that job losses continue and the economy doesn’t recover quickly, putting further strains on household finances. The low interest rates and continued debt problems mean that Canadians could find them themselves badly over-exposed.

Guatieri isn’t forecasting a housing market crash. But, as he wrote last week, “it’s worth remembering that the further house prices go up and the longer household finances get stretched, the greater the risk of a painful correction. Anyone who doubts that should talk to an American or British homeowner.”

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/06/26/dont-believe-the-housing-hype/

brought by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

Tags

AIR Alexander Building Canada Canadian Funding Corp. Canadian Funding Corporation CFC cmhc construction Design IDP integrated design Moishe Alexander performance report Reviews Window Window Installation
  •