09-05-2017, 11:25 PM
(09-05-2017, 09:23 PM)jeffster Wrote:(09-05-2017, 07:42 PM)nms Wrote: Is this simply a case of optimistic developers simply hope that their development will jump all of the hurdles first to allow them to fill up first while any building that follows will suffers from lower occupancy. I know that there are suspicions that parts of Northdale are currently overbuilt due to the rush to build as quickly as possible. Time will tell.
Northdale is mostly student housing. The City of Waterloo simply allowed too many to go up in to short of time.
Is this really the case? I see lots of doom and gloom about how they're building more bedrooms in the new towers than there are new students, but belief that that's a problem depends on assuming no student rentals should ever stop being student rentals. One of the biggest problems of UW/Laurier was how students spread out into Lakeshore, Uptown, Beechwood, etc and took over detached houses. The new towers have gotten lots of students to move from these houses into them, and many of the houses are now converting back into single family homes. This seems to me like a great way for Waterloo to grow, and accomodate new families that want detached houses without more suburban sprawl. It probably also improves lots of students living conditions who now get apartments built more for their needs.
Given the generally low vacancy rate in KW I'm not concerned at all that we're building too many apartments. I think it's planning finally catching up to what the market has wanted for far longer.