While housing starts in Thompson haven't picked up as dramatically again as they did in the final half of 2008, they did pick up a bit between April 1 and June 30 with four single-detached homes started compared to none during the first quarter of 2009.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) also show an improvement for the first six months of this year over the same period in 2008. There were no single-detached homes started here from January to June 2008.
For the third quarter from July 1 to Sept. 30 last year, there were 10 single detached homes started - a 16.7 per cent decline over the same period in 2007 - while another eight homes were started in the fourth quarter.
Single detached new home starts went from 24 in 2007 to 43 last year - an increase of 79.2 per cent - and the highest number of housing starts in at least six years. Multiple family housing starts went from two in 2007 to eight last year, CMHC reports. While no multiple family housing was started in Thompson in the first nine months of 2008, the CMHC reported, eight were started in the final quarter.
Combined there were 51 housing starts in Thompson in 2008, compared to 26 in 2007, representing a 96.2 per cent increase.
The numbers for last year would be even higher if you used the city's criteria to calculate them. The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation does not define the installation of a mobile home as a housing start, but the city does, accounting at times for a significant gap in numbers reported by the organization and the city. There were 32 mobile homes installations in the city during the first 10 months of 2008.
No multiple family housing was started in Thompson for the first half of 2009, CMHC reports.
The most dramatic improvement housing improvement happened in the fourth quarter of 2008. Statistics released last October by CMHC showed that 33 single detached homes were started in the final three months of the year, compared to nine for the same period in 2007.
An agreement between the City of Thompson and Winn-Can Properties Ltd. to build about 110 new homes in the Burntwood South subdivision by the end of 2011 may be renegotiated as not a single unit of housing has been built since the deal was struck with the developer on June 23, 2008.
Winn-Can Properties Ltd. is comprised of a Winnipeg group of investors, working in conjunction with Schickedanz West, a division of Calgary-based Schickedanz Bros. Construction, to build 96 multi-family units, priced around $200,000 per unit, as fourplexes in the MacMaster Bay area of the Burntwood South subdivision.
In each of 2009, 2010 and 2011, Winn-Can was to develop and offer for sale no fewer than 30 serviced lots, houses or townhouses under the deal.
The development was to proceed in three phases starting with the single family detached homes on 19 lots on the portion of Smith Crescent west of Campbell Drive. In Phase 2, Winn-Can was to receive an option to develop Hambly Crescent and Smith Crescent west of Campbell Drive in a configuration to be determined by the City of Thompson.
The 96 multi-family units were to be built in the second phase, although there was some discussion last year between the city and Winn-Can about having them constructed before the single family detached homes. The water, sewer and other infrastructure to build either phase are not in place.
Based on market demand, the agreement was originally touted as leading to the development possibly of more than 300 homes in the subdivision by Winn-Can.
The necessary land has been rezoned and the title transferred. Winn Can was to construct roads and services throughout Smith Crescent, MacMaster Bay, and Hambly Crescent, and also develop the remaining portion of Campbell Drive.
The deal, which saw Winn-Can as developer-of-last resort when no one else expressed interest in undertaking the project, turned sour when the economy tanked last fall, leading to a last-in, first-out scenario.
