Toronto tower builder eyes three Calgary projects
‘You can feel the wealth,’ says Toronto developer
By Dan Healing
Calgary Herald November 9, 2011
CALGARY — A Toronto residential tower condominium developer is proposing three projects for Calgary, attracted by the city’s wealth and style.
Brad Lamb, head of Lamb Development Corp., said Wednesday his company will partner with Fortress Real Capital on the first project, a 30-storey, 230-unit condo at 10th Street and 6th Avenue S.W.
The project is expected to cost about $62 million to build and its residential units and ground level retail to sell for around $80 million, he said.
“I’ve been looking at Calgary for five years trying to find the right opportunity,” he said.
“And I believe now is right for Calgary.”
Lamb said he believes Calgary is the most affluent city in Canada and, furthermore, that the downtown region between the Beltline and the river is ripe for high-density development.
“You can feel the wealth in Calgary,” he said as he prepared for a meeting with potential investors on Wednesday evening.
Lamb said his second project will be a hotel and condo combination and the third will be a highrise but its details can’t be revealed as yet.
The downtown Calgary market for residential towers has come back from 2008 when the shrivelling economy dealt a death blow to the four-tower Arriva project by Torode Residential Ltd.
In August, Vancouver-based Mike Bucci of Bucci Developments Ltd. said his company was shifting focus to Calgary, with two new projects, because the economy is more promising than in the company’s home town.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Tuesday that multi-family starts in the city are up 70 per cent for October and five per for the first 10 months compared with last year.
The numbers are being driven by the highest number of apartment unit starts since May 2008, it noted.
