The changing place of condominiums across a metropolitan area, 1970–2015

Abstract

Key Messages• High-rise, downtown condominiums have been studied separately from suburban projects, while midsized urban centres have been neglected. • Suburban condominiums have been as common as their better-known downtown cousins, in part because more profitable than rental housing. • Condominiums, new and converted, are a prominent feature of mid-sized urban centres such as Hamilton, Ontario, and not only of major metro areas.By definition, all condominiums share social features and challenges of governance, but they have inspired two separate narratives: as suburban, often gated, communities and as downtown high-rises or conversions. In Canada, as elsewhere, research has focused on large urban areas, neglecting subtly different dynamics in smaller centres. The purpose of this case study of mid-sized Hamilton, Ontario, was to assess whether and how those dynamics are different across a whole metro area, using newspapers and building permit data. It tracks the changing place of condo developments and conversions across Hamilton since 1970. For decades, most developments were suburban town (row) houses; since 2000, downtown revival has included conversions and taller, new-build projects. It argues that early developments and conversions reflected a "value gap" in relation to purpose-built rental apartments. Led by a migrant arts community, recent centralization has exploited an inner-city "rent gap," coupled with a popular reassessment of urban living. La place changeante des condominiums dans une région métropolitaine, 1970-2015 Tous les condominiums présentent des caractéristiques particulières et soulèvent des défis de d'intégration urbaine. Cependant, on retrouve généralement deux types distincts d'implantation, soit au sein des communautés banlieusardes, souvent avec accès protégés, soit comme immeubles en hauteur ou convertis au centre-ville. L'objectif de la présente étude de cas, réalisée à Hamilton en Ontario, est d'évaluer si et comment ces dynamiques propres aux très grandes agglomérations sont différentes dans une région métropolitaine de taille moyenne en utilisant les données provenant des journaux et des permis de construire. Ainsi, cette recherche fait le suivi de la place changeante des développements et des conversions de condos à Hamilton depuis 1970. Pendant des décennies, la plupart des développements de ce type étaient des maisons en rangées en banlieue. Or, depuis 2000, la revitalisation du centre-ville a inclus des projets de conversions et de nouveaux édifices plus hauts. Nous soutenons ici que les premiers développements et les premières conversions de condos reflétaient un « fossé de valeurs » par rapport aux résidents des logements construits à des fins de location. The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe canadien 2020, 64(2): 294-309Pour sa part, la centralisation récente, dirigée par une communauté artistique migrante, a plutôt exploité l'idée d'un « manque de loyers » dans les quartiers centraux afin de légitimer sa présence, le tout combiné à la rhétorique d'un regain d'intérêt po...

The view beyond downtown luxury towers: Diversity of condominium developments in a contemporary mid‐sized city

“…Housing consumers in Halifax appear to be wary of condominiums and developers may be reluctant to build them as a result. In this regard Halifax differs from Hamilton where condominiums have replaced much of the new rental building construction as they are more profitable for developers (Harris and Rose 2019). Local context is thus essential when looking at development paradigms as one size does not fit all when it comes to cities; there is a particular need to understand the distinct processes happening in smaller cities (Bell and Jayne 2009).…”

Rise Overrun: Condoization, Gentrification, and the Changing Political Economy of Renting in Toronto

“…Demographic shifts in the city characterized by increasing polarization in the labour force between high-paying work in finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) and creative/cognitive industries, and more precarious workers in "unskilled" labour and services, are increasingly articulated within the condominium sphere. As a higher-income workforce increasingly chooses to locate downtown in the city's new-build developments, wage workers have, in turn, been displaced to automobile-dependent suburbs where rents and housing are cheaper-this is where the condo sector provides more affordable housing (Harris & Rose, 2019).…”

“…It is notable that condoization accounts for much more of the income change in gentrifying tracts than in non-gentrifying tracts, even when the latter contains significant growth in condo units. That is, the effects of condoization are spatially differentiated, with condoization spurring gentrification within many inner-city tracts while capturing demand for lower-cost housing from lower-income households in the suburbs (Harris & Rose, 2019). This indicates a broader role of the condo in restructuring not only the gentrified space of the inner city but also the rental market across much of the City of Toronto and the suburbs as well.…”

Urban centre revival and the changing locations of condominiums

“…Existing research about condominium developments in urban centres such as that by Harris and Rose (2020) has focused on large urban areas, neglecting the subtly different dynamics of smaller centres. It is important to determine whether and how these dynamics differ across an entire metropolitan area and to track the changing sites of condominium developments and conversions across urban centres.…”

“…For example, the 1980s were significant for the demography of inner London, as population increase replaced decades of decline and household numbers began to grow quickly (Hall & Ogden, 2003). As another example, most of the developments in the port city of Hamilton, Ontario consisted of suburban town (row) houses for several decades, but since 2000, a downtown revival has resulted in conversions and the implementation of higher new buildings (Harris & Rose, 2020). Similarly, Toronto experienced massive reinvestment in its inner city, mostly in the form of high-rise condominium towers, followed by the largest population growth in over 30 years (Lehrer & Wieditz, 2009).…”