Developers confident in condominium market.

• Author: Rapino, Robin
• Position: Real estate developers - Focus on Thunder Bay

Condominium development in Thunder Bay is complex, to say the least.

There are many players and many opinions, as well as a lot of money riding on the future of Thunder Bay's condo market.

However, with three major condo projects opening next year, 1992 may provide a good idea of what is to come. The current construction activity is the most Thunder Bay has ever experienced.

"The three new projects will give us another 200 condo units. That means a 20- to 25-per-cent expansion of condo development this year," says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) analyst Robin Wiebe. "It suggests a healthy market, but it's still an open question."

The developers, on the other hand, are confident that they will succeed.

SIGNATURE COURT

Developer John Kauzlarick of Kauzlarick Business Trust is pleased with sales at Signature Court, his first condo project in Thunder Bay.

Kauzlarick's companies have constructed several thousand housing units across Canada, as well as office buildings, hotels, shopping centres, apartment buildings and condominiums in Canada and the U.S.

Signature Court is scheduled to open next summer, and Kauzlarick says three-quarters of the 36 units (between $93,000 and $145,000 each) are already sold. Believing that Thunder Bay now accepts the benefits of condo living, Kauzlarick attributes the success of Signature Court to timing and quality.

"We've been building since 1954, and although we do our thing very low-key, when we do it...we do it well."

BOULEVARD PARK

Thunder Bay's second condo development, Boulevard Park Place, is a joint effort of Robert Zanette and A.J. Wing & Sons Construction Ltd. It is Zanette's fifth condo project in Thunder Bay, but his first joint venture.

Zanette began in 1987 with Parkwest Meadows One, followed by Parkwest Two and Three, for a total of 104 units in the city's south end.

He admits that the market today is too complex for one person to handle an entire development.

"I've seen this market change like night to day. In the beginning condos were like gold. Today the public is better condo-educated and they demand more," he says.

Zanette says he can offer the public a better product by splitting responsibilities with Wing.

"Our philosophy is let the builder do what he does best, and let the developer do his end. This way, we can do it better together as a team."

Zanette has planned to develop one condominium per year for the next five years, based on what he believes the market can absorb.

"We...