Construction of the $300-million Hudson condo complex, which slowed to half speed last month, has now ground to a halt as developers wait for a permit allowing them to subdivide the project.
According to Bob Pearce, director of residential development for Townline Ventures, the permit will allow the multi-phased project -- approved by the City of Victoria as a singular entity -- to establish a new lending and partnership structure for each phase of the project.
"We want to make Phase 1 a cleaner subdivision from the rest of the sites, and Phase 2 a cleaner entity for the lenders," said Pearce. "The object is to allow us to use different lenders and ownership structure on each phase."
If the permit is approved -- Pearce is hoping it will come through by the end of May -- it will also allow the Hudson to reconfigure its parking structure slightly.
But until the approval comes, there will be no activity at the site of the historic Bay building.
Pearce said Phase 1, the 152-unit Hudson, complete with two new floors, will still be completed in late spring of 2010. And while the two-month delay brought on by the slow pace of work and having to wait for the permit is an annoyance, it might also be a blessing in disguise -- by the time it's nearing completion, the market might have picked up. It will also allow the Hudson to reap the reward of lower building costs, which could be passed onto buyers.
"The slowdown in the market has helped us -- there's a lot of strong interest in new people who want the opportunity to submit new prices for work," said Pearce. "We are going back to the marketplace in a number of areas to get better pricing."
Coupled with a softer real estate market, the Hudson anticipates lower sale prices.
"Our hope is we will be able to offer some small reductions to reflect that," he said, adding that could extend to those who have already put a deposit down on a suite. "I think what we're finding here is if we are able to offer significant discounts as a result of new pricing, it would be unfair if we didn't offer that across the board."
