It was a short and sweet day of handshakes, panels and industry chatter Tuesday as industry professionals gathered for the Calgary Real Estate Forum.
This year’s event arrived amid optimism in the industry following interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada and expectations of more reductions on the horizon.
It also came as Alberta’s commercial real estate sector is enjoying a busy year, with a lot of new money coming into the province from other parts of Canada.
Here are a few takeaways from the conference.
Alberta markets are healthy
Attendees spoke about opportunity in the province and its main cities of Calgary and Edmonton often.
Price points for assets are attractive, and despite a slower Alberta market in recent years, Calgary itself has remained a good place to invest.
“We really liked the fundamentals we saw from logistics standpoints, some of the transportation trends that were happening, shifting away from B.C.,” Mike Bonneveld, president of Skyline Industrial REIT, said during a panel. “You’re seeing it today more and more as Calgary becomes that Chicago of western Canada.”
Meanwhile, with the reduction in interest rates, action is expected to heat up in Calgary over the next year.
Data centres are coming
While some data centres do exist in Alberta, Scott Hutcheson, executive chair of Aspen Properties, said he thinks the province is positioned to bring in more.
Cheaper land and a cool environment make the province an ideal place to build the massive centres.
“I know right now our province is talking to many individuals, private equity, large data centre contractors,” Hutcheson said. “The big issue is where is the energy going to come from in the province because of the amount of energy required.”
But Hutcheson said the province should be able to “get its head around” the right kind of energy needed for such facilities.
That means building some new energy producers, such as nuclear power, he said.
Luxury retail on the upswing
High levels of household income and low cost of housing compared with other cities are laying the groundwork for a boom in Calgary’s luxury market, Darryl Schmidt, vice president of national leasing at Cadillac Fairview, told Green Street News.
Currently the city is underserviced for such brands, and there’s a demand for locations for freestanding stores like Gucci.
“All the input we’re getting from our retailing partners coast to coast is that this will be the next major market that they infill from a luxury goods standpoint,” Schmidt said.
He expects meaningful movement in the sector to begin appearing in about 24 to 36 months.
Safety concerns in the city are paramount
Street disorder in downtown Calgary has become a concern for residents and commercial real estate investors alike, as safety concerns can affect workers’ willingness to return to the office.
During a luncheon panel, Jason Bobrowich, commander of District One and the Public Safety Unit at the Calgary Police Service, spoke to the audience about the concerns.
Community resource officers, patrol officers and members focusing specifically on social disorder have been established to tackle the issue, he said.
The service’s community engagement response team says efforts have made some headway according to safety indicators, including a 30% decrease in calls related to social disorder downtown and a 50% decline in calls for overdoses as reported by the fire department.
