Ontario Government Reopens Commercial Real Estate Construction Sites
The local Ontario Government has confirmed its past statement that they expect the reopening of construction sites province-wide. The coronavirus pandemic has closed all malls, large retail stores, and various other activities, even including construction sites.
Some construction sites have been opened since April, but not all of them. However, this new announcement opened every construction project in May, including commercial buildings sites.
Construction is a Large Part of Our Economy
In 2016 alone, the whole Ontario construction industry employed over 500,000 people. This is including both non-residential and residential construction. But this isn’t just it. Many construction companies are building retail and commercial space which will help bring in new investments coming into the province.
Without construction, other businesses are suffering additionally. The President of Residential Construction Council of Ontario, Richard Lyall, stated that “It’s critical for the government to get the economy going again as construction is a huge part of Ontario’s economy.”
But Which Construction Sites are Reopening?
The announcement from the government includes the continuation of work on construction projects involving, commercial development, residential development, excavation, site preparation, digital infrastructure, telecommunication work, education, logistics & shipping infrastructure, and even more.
This is fantastic news for many people, as all CRE projects in Canada were sitting in waiting for some time now. Although no one is sure if stage one of phase 2 will end in approximately a three-week or a four week period, this is still positive news for many businesses. It shows that things are moving towards a more positive direction and that we can all expect the CRE construction to get back on track again.
Ontario Phase I reopening
This phase of reopening can exclude several businesses. Businesses like retail, indoor and outdoor household services, sporting clubs, golf courses, libraries, and more have been allowed to conduct business since the 19th of May; however, barbershops, restaurants, hair and nail salons are not included in this specific phase of reopening in Ontario.
Each sector and different businesses have different restrictions regarding reopening in order to remain vigilant in the event of another increase of coronavirus cases.
Daily there are more retail construction sites continuing their construction operations, including construction related to hospital work, retail space, and petroleum.
Cities like Calgary have already begun preparing to reopen their retail sector and their malls, so this is can be great news for Ontario and other provinces as well. Malls have opened their doors to customers and have to keep up on taking precautions so they can keep both their workers and customers safe.
Summary
This news is encouraging, especially for companies that have been looking to invest in CRE development. Canada is moving in the right direction and has been re-opening its economy more and more gradually each week. Our goal is to maximize investor returns and to keep communication open with every one of our investors to ensure our goals and objectives are aligned. We have a 3-step process to identify value for all our investments – from due diligence to a tax-efficient exit strategy.
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