- What Office condominium development secures $23m construction loan
- Why Development’s ESG component helped secure more attractive debt
- What’s next Building will be able to produce more energy than it consumes
Builder Howland Green has secured a $23m construction loan from National Bank to fund the development of an office condominium north of Toronto, Green Street News can reveal.
The planned 80,000 sq ft building on Wellington Street East in Aurora will rise four storeys. It’s slated to have 59 units and two levels of underground parking.
Oakbank Capital, which brokered the deal, said the project’s ESG aspects helped secure more attractive financing through the lender’s “green” lending fund.
The building is billed as “beyond net zero” and will be able to produce more energy than it consumes, according to marketing materials. That efficiency is expected to translate to monthly condo and utility fees of 22 cents/sq ft, far lower than a typical building of similar stature.
The property is being constructed out of insulated concrete forms, meaning less energy will be required to heat and cool the building. It will also have 1,340 solar panels.
The office condos are being marketed to businesses looking to own their space. Medical, law, dental, accounting and engineering firms have already purchased space in the property, a spokesperson for Howland Green said.
Canada’s national office construction inventory fell to 9.1 million sq ft in the first quarter, the lowest level since 2011, according to CBRE.
“As has been the trend over the last two years, increasingly few construction starts are kicking-off, and for the first time in recent years no new office builds commenced across Canada,” CBRE said in its Canada Office Figures Q1 2024 report.
“This is expected to continue over 2024, with few, if any new projects moving forward.”
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