All Posts by Bruce Firestone

(A version of this article first appeared in OBJ, Ottawa Business Journal, https://obj.ca/article/op-ed-zoning-better-ottawa. An online poll is available for you to make your views known until May 31, 2019 here, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedsKa0yykFAqStVgMvZwBux1QTfknZ3TIn8tuspcHjPZ1dHA/viewform). Introduction Urban guru, the late Jane Jacobs had a theory—the closer government is to people, the more important it is to citizens and also […]

Here’s an excerpt from a book I wrote (Jenna’s Story, https://brucemfirestone.com/product/jennas-story/) in which Jenna McConnell launches into a diatribe on how stupid zoning regulations help the top .01% (which she calls “Big Mules” or “Equity Lords”) control almost all the levers of political and economic power. Jenna is from South Carolina and proudly speaks like […]

Look at the way this developer sells towns… see below. It’s more of a “swimsuit” competition rather than a value proposition. Key words: “limited” “priced low” “hardwood “ceramic.” #BigMistake IMHO They do OK on location but are missing out on any of these desirable characteristics: walkable, mixed-use, transit, nearby attractions, employment opportunities… which would help […]

Try this: reduce your amortization period from 35 years to 30, from 30 to 25, from 25 to 20, even down to 11 years if you can afford it pay your mortgage every two weeks (not twice a month)—you’ll make 26 payments a year instead of 24 rent out a room on Airbnb or other […]

I suspect a recession is coming to the US and Canada as well as Europe and the UK in 2020. Maybe the rest of the world too. Why is that? Well, real estate prices in desirable, fast-growing cities are accelerating at an unsustainable pace for one. Two, we have shaky world leadership in London, Moscow, […]

A Brief History It wasn’t that long ago (and the condition still exists in certain cantons of Switzerland, for example) that if you didn’t own land, you couldn’t vote in civic elections or even represent yourself at town hall gatherings. Power was tied to ownership of land, so it is not surprising that as the […]

If you talk to many developers like I do, the answer to this question is often, “No one” or “Not many.” I disagree. Market segments which need the extra income or space include: -seniors who need extra income for their retirement-millennials who need extra income to help pay their mortgages -investors who need higher cap […]

Andrew Duffy writes that ten crucial events shaped my hometown of Ottawa; the work I did with my dedicated team at Terrace Investments Limited (the first part company of the Ottawa Senators and their home arena, Canadian Tire Centre) comes in at #9, https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ten-of-the-decisions-that-made-ottawa. Those ten fateful events? 1. To found Wright’s Town at Chaudière […]

It’s complicated. A client of mine is doing a PAAN (property animation and analysis report) for a client of his. He writes and asks me the above question. Here below is my response… That is an excellent question, David. Truly. The honest answer? It depends. Say you bought a home in Ottawa in 1980 for […]

When you buy a new home from a developer or if you are buying a lot and building your own, a new home purchase poses quite a few challenges. The three biggies are: -cost overruns -delay -deficiencies So, recommending a homebuilder is fraught with danger–since almost all of them are late in delivery, want more […]

Blame me. Here’s an excerpt from Don’t Back Down, the real story of the founding of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and why big leagues matter that I wrote for the 25th anniversary of the Sens that explains why… When the modern-era Sens were re-established in the 1990-1992 period, we did a deal with the Canadiens […]

How can people from all sectors get involved in the city of Ottawa’s new official plan (OP)? Here are three ways: 1. answer a few poll questions (yet to be created) 2. attend a zoom townhall meeting on the subject (yet to be scheduled) 3. do a 1-on-1 zoom meetup with Firestone to talk about […]