Canadian Lawyer

20 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m hen his client sought to increase the maximum den- sity allowed for an apartment complex project, Calgary com- mercial real estate law- yer Robin Lokhorst's interest turned to heritage property. By purchasing unused or earned development density from a legally pro- tected building, developers in certain areas can boost the size of their projects. The client, Maple Developments Ltd., had been able to increase its density beyond the available limitations in Vancouver through a density transfer. It turned out that Calgary had a similar program and Maple Developments Ltd. was able to increase the size of its Calgary apartment project by 10 per cent beyond what is zoned for the size of the property in that area. "It was interesting in that it was a Van- couver developer that came here and ordered something that is relatively com- mon there," observes Lokhorst, managing partner with McLeod Law LLP. "By using that heritage transfer, it then made this project economical." The programs adopted by Vancouver and Calgary stem from provincial legisla- tion developed to allow for the preservation of heritage property. The approach of the two western provinces, which differ from how other provinces try to preserve built heritage, is that by tagging a property or area as heritage, its value will be dimin- ished, and so the property owner must be compensated in some way. Calgary provides a number of incen- tives for property owners to pursue heri- tage designation. In addition to provincial and municipal grants, property owners can transfer or sell their unused development rights or secure a change in property desig- nation that would otherwise be unavailable. In its Beltline district where Maple Devel- opments is in the final stages of complet- ing its project, heritage property owners can generate transferable density based on the money they spend rehabilitating their building. Developers can then increase the maximum density allowed by purchasing that earned density from a heritage prop- erty owner. "Our Historical Resources Act says if a municipality protects a property without an owner's consent or against their con- sent, the municipality must compensate the owner for any economic loss in value arising from the designation. So that is also true if the city were to create a heritage conservation district," says Clint Robertson, Calgary's senior heritage planner. As a result, Calgary has no heritage dis- tricts. Robertson says he has seen dozens R E A L E S TAT E W FAYE ROGERS The ins and outs of heritage properties Municipalities face a challenging task in balancing the interests of developers and the need to preserve history By Marg. Bruineman

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