Time off for Good Behavior

This July I’m taking time off to write Don’t Back
Down, the real story of the founding of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators; so, to all of my
clients and friends, my apologies in advance
if I’m hard to get ahold of during that time.

It’s the inside story of the return of the modern era Ottawa
Senators written by team founder, moi. It’s an underdog tale full of suspense,
intrigue and surprise. The book will be delivered in time for Christmas
(December 2015), I promise!

If you would like to support my addiction, err, my writing, it’s
$9.95 to pre-order your copy from https://www.brucemfirestone.com/downloads/dont-back-down/

If I can help you via real estate coaching, let me know. Please
check out https://www.brucemfirestone.com/coaching/.
Real estate is the only way I’ve found (that works) to really provide for
yourself and your family, longterm.

My real estate listings are at https://www.brucemfirestone.com/real-estate-brokerage/listings/. In this newsletter, I’d like to highlight 2187 Deschenes in west end
Ottawa, close to Westboro and the Ottawa river. It’s suitable for construction of two
doubles, 4 units and it’s just been price-reduced-to-sell. It’s now available
for redevelopment for $780,000, which works out to less than $200k per door. It’s
a great infill site. 

Lastly, here’s a story I wrote for OBJ (Ottawa Business Journal) about
Jonathan Westeinde, Windmill Developments and Zibi, one of the most important real estate
projects in Ottawa
in a very long time… 

Best,
Bruce

Bruce M
Firestone, B Eng (Civil), M Eng-Sci, PhD

Ottawa Senators founder

Century 21 Explorer Realty Inc Broker

613.422.6757 x 250

bruce.firestone@century21.ca

www.brucemfirestone.com

@ProfBruce

“Making each day count”

Jonathan
Westeinde Developer and Environmentalist

It isn’t very often you get to use these two words in one
sentence—developer and environmentalist—but it would be accurate when
describing Ottawa-based Windmill Developments founder Jonathan Westeinde,
winner a few years ago of OBJ’s 40 Under 40 award. Mr. Westeinde brings not
only a passion for LEED-platinum buildings, but a financial acumen to match. He
pioneered the idea that condominiums in his LEED-certified structures might
cost more to build, but don’t have to be priced that way. How did he manage this
cleverness?

He arranges loans to his future condominium corporations from a
French lender (repaid over seven years) that cover additional capital costs
attributable to LEED certification. So higher construction costs are paid for
in monthly condo fees, but some or all of those additional monthly payments are
offset by lower costs of operating these types of buildings.

Consumers obviously like what they see—Windmill has projects
on-going in Toronto (Union Lofts), Whitewater Village (in Beachburg where
Wilderness Tours is based), Cathedral Hill and The Eddy (in Ottawa) plus Zibi,
on the old Domtar lands, partly in Ontario and partly in Quebec.

Of these current projects, most important to Ottawa citizens is Zibi, a 37-acre, $1.5
billion brownfield development minutes from the Parliamentary precinct, and
adjacent to Lebreton Flats where the NCC has (at least so far) created another
no-place.

“Zibi” means river in Algonquin, and since the site is along the
Algonquin Trail and was part of their traditional lands, the new community will
have way finding signage in three languages—English, French and Algonquin,
another first.

Zibi is Ottawa’s answer to Vancouver’s Granville
Island, a shopping and
entertainment destination, and one of B.C.’s top tourist attractions. The
difference is that Zibi will also have extensive housing options—from low-rise
towns to midrise/highrise condo towers.

I walked the site with Mr. Westeinde, 46, in April 2015, and his
enthusiasm for the project was palpable. The site is spectacular, and the
spring roaring of Chaudière Falls reminds one of how powerful and magical the Ottawa River is. How did he secure this unique site in
the heart of a G8 capital?

Read more at https://profbruce.tumblr.com/post/121745801219/jonathan-westeinde-developer-and-environmentalist