Has there been an example of a developer from Toronto successfully building high rise residential here? I can think of more than a few failed attempts.
I think their expectations for margins are probably surreal. Building costs here are probably not that much lower than Toronto, but prices (either rentals or condos) are 3-5x higher.
And another example of the city and its processes allowing demolition of a completely useable building, no work being done, then having the owner abandon the project leaving it an empty site.
In this particular case, Ian, I think it's just a matter of mismatched expectations. I doubt that there was no money to be made. Just not as much as they'd like, considering their other prospects in other cities.
Somehow other companies, not from Toronto, are building various things in this area. I do think local companies or those from places closer by generally have a better understanding of our market.
From what I understand, Oliver Exchange in of itself was a risk on the part of Beljan, and hasn't made them that much money. One of the main drivers for Beljan was making a legacy project and having an impact on an up-and-coming neighborhood, which we can see definitely worked. Beljan is really a testament to a local company doing strategic moves and making an amazing name and reputation for themselves (which they very much deserve for raising the development standards of Edmonton)
