British Columbia

When Port Coquitlam became the first municipality in Canada to mandate green roofs on large commercial buildings in 2006, developers were skeptical.

Contracts for the proposed Site C hydroelectric dam on the Peace River could begin being signed a year from now - over a year before federal and provincial regulators are expected to rule on the controversial project.

Georgia, U.S.A-based Atlas Roofing Corp. has chosen Annacis Island in Delta for its second manufacturing plant in Canada, citing strong transportation and ports as key reasons. "Vancouver has excellent highway access to the U.S.

The inventory of completed and unsold condominiums in Metro Vancouver may be less than 1,500 units and one-third of these are in three projects, according to Mark Belling, president of Fifth Avenue Marketing Ltd.

"Industrial and retail properties have been top of mind for owner/operators and investors," said Avison Young associate Matt Thomas, but he added that a lack of new supply has frustrated potential buyers, especially for small strata units.

Metro Vancouver office buildings that are within a close walk to a Skytrain or Canada Line transit station have vacancy rates half as low as those buildings more than 0.5 kilometres from a station, a new study suggests.

Investor-owned condominiums and houses now make up half of the rental accommodation in Metro Vancouver, where the rental vacancy rate has fallen to 1.4 per cent, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), down from 1.

Metro Vancouver's strong economy and consumer demand for retail options has prompted American retailers to target the Lower Mainland for expansion even as they close stores at home. North Carolina-based Lowe's Companies Ltd. opened its first B.C.

An $8 billion federal government shipbuilding contract is expected to boost demand for commercial and industrial real estate in North Vancouver, with the uptick expected to start next year.

B.C.'s harmonized sales tax (HST) is dead but it continues to haunt developers of high-end homes, who say confusion over the HST phase-out has stalled sales and forced price discounting.