Property developers and the robust downtown: the case of four major Canadian downtowns

By and large, the downtowns of Canada's largest cities have remained important business nodes within their metropolitan regions, even though they have experienced some dimensions of decline. This fact can be ascribed to political, economic and social factors. The focus of this paper is on the property dimension: the structure of property ownership and the role of property developers. Large and powerful property developers and owners (property development firms, banks, life insurance companies and, more recently, pension funds) control a substantial stake in downtown top-quality commercial properties. These agents attempt to reinforce the prominence of downtowns to keep the outstanding performance of their assets. Developers consider Canadian downtowns safe investment outlets in which they hold core assets. Through proactive measures they sustain the health of downtowns.