university of toronto nature of employment lands

The Nature of Employment Land

Urban Studies Program, Innis College

University of Toronto

Antony Lorius

February 8th, 2011

HEMSON

Background and Introduction

Hemson Consulting works primarily for the

public sector

Planning for employment land is a primary

area of expertise

Many studies undertaken as part of Growth

Plan conformity

Topics for today:

What is employment land?

Employment land in the Growth Plan context

The density issue

Key challenges

3

What is Employment Land?

One of three land use planning-based

employment types

Employment Land (ELE)

Major Office

Population-related

Defined as land occupied by industrial-type

buildings

Distinct from notion of “Employment Areas”

4

Distinction between employment by type

and by area is important

5

Employment Land Is Strongly Oriented to the

Transportation Network

Cambridge

Mississauga

Milton

Guelph

Toronto

Approximate Extent of

Developed Urban Area

Developed & Developing

Employment Areas

LBPIA

BramptonToronto

Vaughan

Major Office Development In Employment Areas

International Airports

Intermodal Yards

Caledon

Waterloo

Kitchener

Brantford

Markham

Whitby-Oshawa

Woodstock

Source: Hemson Consulting Ltd. NTS

Georgetown

Mississauga

Oakville

Burlington

Pickering-Ajax

Hamilton

Toronto Is Also Part of a System of Major

North American Trade Corridors

US 219

I-69

I-87

I-75

Georgian

Bay

Lake Ontario

Lake Erie

Ottawa River

ONTARIO

U.S.A.

I-77

I-90

I-94

Rochester

BuffaloSarnia

Montreal

Albany

Chicago

Toledo

Sault Ste. Marie

I-90

Lake Huron

Lake Michigan

Detroit

U.S.A.

Source: Hemson Consulting Ltd. NTS

I-75 and I-69

Auto and Manufacturing Corridors:

Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee

and Alabama. Connections to

Mexican manufacturing centres via

Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Laredo

I-77 and I-79

Pittsburgh and Ohio Manufacturing

centres and points south

US 219

Proposed NAFTA “Super-Highway”

connecting Toronto to Atlanta

and Miami

I-90 and I-87

Proposed NAFTA “Super-Highway”

connecting Toronto to Atlanta

and Miami

I-94

Chicago and upper

midwest. Western

Canada and USA

Hamilton

I-75

I-79

401Toronto

Employment Structure Continues to Evolve

Declines in Manufacturing Employment Do

Not Necessarily Mean Less Land Need

Manufacturing is Not The Only Economic

Activity on Employment Land

GTA Economy Remains Highly Oriented to

Industrial Space

From a strategic planning perspective,

Employment land is important

Long-term economic outlook remains positive

Employment land is required to accommodate

economic growth

Nature of industry seems to be changing more

than built space requirements

Employment land in a Growth Plan context

Kawartha

Lakes

Norfolk

Haldimand

GEORGIAN BAY

LAKE ONTARIO

Halliburton

Peterborough

Northumberland

Simcoe

YorkDurham

Peel Toronto

Dufferin

Wellington

Waterloo

Hamilton

BrantNiagara

Oxford

Perth

Grey

Muskoka

Hastings

Halton

GTAH

Outer Ring

NTS

By 2031, 11.5

million people

5.6 million

jobs

Good planning

principles

Promoting Economic Vitality is a key

element of the Growth Plan

Ensure availability of sufficient land for

employment (Section 2.2.1)

Protect and preserve Employment Areas

(Section 2.2.6)

Minimize conversion of employment land to

non-employment use (Section 2.2.6)

“Value Gap” Is the Main Factor Driving

Pressure for Conversion

Land supply is highly restricted

Residential or retail is worth more than

employment land in most cases

Potential to achieve increased value creates a

strong incentive for conversion

825, 855 and 863 Bay Street, Toronto

Before Re-zoning & Sale January 2000

Purchase Price Before - $2 Million, $60 per square foot

Paved parking lot

Site Area – 33,368 square feet

Official Plan – Mixed Use Area

Zoning Description – Commercial Residential, height limit 22 storeys and 7.8 times density

Official Plan and Rezoning Amendments approved in February 2004 for 15.4 times density

After Re-Zoning & Sale May 2004

Purchase Price After - $14.41 Million, $432 per square foot

2 Towers, 41 & 38 storeys, 633 units and 531 parking stalls (Murano Condominiums)

Total GFA - 512,754 s.f. (Residential GFA 503,540 s.f., Commercial GFA 9,214 s.f.)

Value Increase (January 2000 to May 2004)

$ Value Increase - $12,400,000

% Value Increase - 620%

1510-1520 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville

Before Re-zoning & Sale July 2006 (assembly of 3 parcels)

Purchase Price Before - $4.365 Million, $45 per square foot

3 old houses, 6,500 s.f. fruit market and garden centre


Zoning Description – R-02 (allowing detached houses)

Application was submitted in June 2006 to amend the Official Plan & Zoning By-Law to allow a 140-suite seniors apartment building. Total GFA – 135,000 s.f.

After Re-Zoning application & Sale August 2007

Purchase Price After Rezoning Application - $8.0 Million, $83 per square foot

Another application was submitted in June 2008 to remove the existing buildings and re-develop the lands with 15 detached dwellings

Value Increase (July 2006 to August 2007)



3037 Derry Road West, Milton

Before Re-zoning & Sale December 2003


Vacant industrial building of 52,140 square feet


Zoning Description – EMP (Employment)

Application was submitted in August 2006 to amend the Official Plan & Zoning By-Law to allow a 129,000 s.f. retail plaza

After Re-Zoning application & Sale February 2008

Purchase Price After Rezoning Application - $7.35 Million, $14 per square foot

Site specific official plan and zoning by-law amendments were approved by OMB on April 9, 2008

Value Increase (December 2003 to February 2008)



751 King Street West, Toronto

Before Re-zoning & Sale July 2001


Retail Plaza of 7,700 square feet with 4 stores


Official Plan – Mixed Use Areas

Zoning Description – Commercial / Residential permitting 2.5 times density

Official Plan and Rezoning Applications submitted August 2005, Amendments approved in March 2006 for 6.32 times density

After Re-Zoning Application & Sale September 2005


16 storey condominium, 282 units, with retail uses at grade & 3 levels of underground parking (259 spaces)

* Total GFA - 290,601 s.f. (Residential GFA 276,381 s.f., Commercial GFA 19,772 s.f.)

Value Increase (July 1 to September 2005)



* Note: GFA based on larger land assembly of 46,016 square feet inc. 775 King Street West

1815 Yonge Street, Toronto

Before Re-zoning & Sale July 6, 2006

Adjusted Purchase Price Before - $5.9 Million, $221 per square foot

Two vacant office buildings and parking lot


Official Plan – Mixed Use Area

Zoning Description –CR T3.0 C3.0 R2.5 & CR T2.0 C2.0 R2.0, (maximum GFA of 73,272 s.f. and 2.5 times density)

Official Plan and Rezoning Applications submitted June, 2007

After Re-Zoning Application & Sale August 2007


29 storeys, 216 units and 234 parking stalls

Proposed GFA – 213,213 s.f. (8 times density)

Value Increase (July 2006 to August 2007)



Growth Plan also Provides Direction on

location and use of Employment Land

Shift major office and institutional to transit-

supportive locations (2.2.6.4)

Preserve lands near major transportation

infrastructure (Section 2.2.6.9)

Facilitate transit-supportive, compact built

forms (Section 2.2.6.10)

The Density Challenge

Growth Plan defines an “envelope” within

which planning for growth must occur

Accommodate 40% residential intensification

Plan to achieve a density of 50 residents and jobs per

ha on Greenfield

Both will be difficult to achieve, but particularly

density at it relates to employment land

Most new residential communities exceed

the Growth Plan density target

Single-Detached, Milton 2000sNet Density: 37 uph

Estimated Growth Plan Density

Semi-Detached, Markham 2000sNet Density: 48 uph


Rowhouse, Oakville 1990s(with laneway)

Net Density: 63 uph


Rowhouse, Markham 2000sNet Density: 92 uph


62

71

100

145

Most Employment Land does not: Average is

approximately 30 jobs per net ha

Employment densities are higher than in the

past, but now stable:

Downward trends in goods production and distribution

Upward trend of denser office uses integrated into

industrial building

Increasing amount of “flex space” that

accommodates a wide range of uses

24

Trends help explain geographical variation

of densities across the region

25

Estimated Employment Land Densities

Selected Municipalities in Ontario

Municipality Employees per

Net ha

Town of Richmond HillTown of MarkhamCity of Burlington

City of OttawaCity of BramptonTown of OakvilleCity of MississaugaTown of CaledonCity of VaughanTown of Whitby

City of Hamilton(excl. old industrial areas)

656054

48424038353530

27

Difficult to significantly shift employment

density with planning policy

Embodies a wide range of characteristics in a

single statistical measure

Unlike residential, not a close relationship

between built form and occupancy

Planning can control built form and location,

but not density of employment or the structure

of the economy

The density may seem low, but compared to

what?

Growth Plan? A target with no direct economic relationship

Other industrial places in North America? No,

probably not

Asia? Yes, often much denser, which is an

artefact of a low wage economy

Higher employment densities are not

necessarily better

Firms have a „natural‟ incentive to use land

efficiently – it costs money

Most of our economic development goals

point to lower densities

Industrial-type densities are inversely related to

job skill, education and salary

Not clear if a planning objective related to

density is even helpful….

Building density (coverage) and productive

cubic space has increased over time

Whole new „breed‟ of building has emerged,

larger, more automated, offices combined with

manufacturing or distribution

In theory, a better measure of density would be

GDP per ha

Key Issues and Challenges

How structural economic change translates to

employment land not well understood

You may think there is “wasted” space but do

you really know?

Are we ready to regulate out certain jobs,

businesses, tax revenue simply because the

density is low?

university of toronto nature of employment lands

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