One of the easiest things to underestimate in real estate development is how much happens before anybody sees construction.
People drive past an empty property and wonder why nothing is happening.
Why aren’t they building?
Why is this taking so long?
Why, in the middle of a housing crisis, is land sitting there while people are struggling to find places they can afford?
Those are fair questions.
The answer is often that a tremendous amount is happening behind the scenes.
In a conversation I had with entrepreneur, developer and Ottawa Senators founder Bruce Firestone, we talked about some of those hidden realities.
Bruce has lived through projects where approvals took years. He has dealt with zoning, government opposition and the kind of bureaucratic hurdles that can turn a good development into an endurance test.
His stories help explain something important about Canada’s housing crisis.
The cost of development starts long before construction.
What happens before the shovel hits the ground?
Real estate development is not simply buying land and calling a construction company.
Before construction can begin, a developer may need to work through zoning, planning, studies, reports, professional advice and regulatory requirements.
All of those things can be necessary parts of creating a responsible development.
They also take time.
And they cost money.
Bruce pointed out that on major projects, fees and studies can run into millions before groundbreaking.
That matters.
When we talk about housing affordability, we often focus on visible construction costs.
Materials cost money.
Labour costs money.
Land costs money.
But the process itself costs money too.
If we want to understand the housing crisis properly, we cannot ignore those less visible costs.
Bruce Firestone’s five-and-a-half-year lesson
Bruce knows this from experience.
The building originally known as the Palladium, which is now the Canadian Tire Centre, took roughly five and a half years to get through the approval process.
Construction took about 28 months.
In other words, the planning process took approximately twice as long as building the facility itself.
That does not mean every development should receive instant approval.
Communities need planning.
Infrastructure matters.
Safety matters.
Good development should be thoughtful.
But there is a reasonable question to ask.
Can we maintain good standards while making the process more efficient?
I think we can.
And with the housing crisis putting pressure on communities across Canada, it is a question worth asking seriously.
A very Canadian hockey story
Bruce also told me a story that captures the contrast he experienced between doing business in Canada and the United States.
In December 1990, Ottawa and Tampa Bay were awarded NHL expansion franchises.
A few weeks later, Phil Esposito, who was representing Tampa Bay, called Bruce.
Phil told him that when he returned to Florida, he received a congratulatory call from the governor asking what could be done to help.
Bruce’s experience back in Ontario was rather different.
Instead of a congratulatory call, he said his group faced a lawsuit from the government.
You could not write a much more dramatic contrast.
Bruce’s point was that development can be difficult in Canada and that government processes can become a significant obstacle.
His arena project ultimately moved forward, but getting there required persistence.
What does this have to do with housing?
Quite a lot.
Housing development operates in the same broader environment of planning rules, zoning requirements, approvals and government processes.
If those systems become unnecessarily slow or expensive, fewer projects may be able to move efficiently.
And during a housing crisis, efficiency matters.
Every year spent trying to move a viable project forward is another year when the housing it could create is not available.
That does not mean developers should get everything they ask for.
It means we should have a system capable of reaching sensible decisions without turning every project into a marathon.
Creativity has to be part of the answer
Bruce and I also talked about creativity.
Real estate development demands it.
When you are backed into a corner, you need to look for another option.
That might involve changing the design.
It might mean thinking differently about density.
It might mean creating mixed-use development.
Or it could mean finding ways to add another housing unit to a property that would otherwise contain only one.
Bruce is a strong advocate for what he calls real estate animation, finding ways to add additional revenue streams and uses to property.
A simple example is a basement apartment.
Instead of building a house for one household, why not consider whether the basement can become a separate two- or three-bedroom unit with its own entrance?
Suddenly the property can serve more people.
It might accommodate grandparents.
It could house an adult child and their family.
Or it could be rented to help the homeowner manage the mortgage.
That is practical creativity.
Michael Ruge on looking for solutions
There is plenty to be frustrated about in the housing crisis.
But frustration by itself does not build anything.
What interests me is finding another option.
How do we use land better?
How do we reduce unnecessary delays?
How do we create housing types that work for different generations and different budgets?
How do we get developers, governments and communities pulling in the same direction?
Bruce Firestone’s experiences show that real estate development has never been particularly easy.
The people who get projects built are usually the ones willing to stay with the problem long enough to find a way through it.
That is the mindset I believe we need for Canada’s housing crisis.
Less time explaining why something cannot be done.
More time figuring out how it can.
Michael Ruge’s new book “Building Hope in the Housing – How to Solve the Rental Affordability Crisis” will be realeased this fall (2026).
Links to Michael Ruge, Affordable Apartments and his Initiatives:
The 15-Minute City – Michael Ruge’s Blueprint for a Kinder Future
Why 2008 Was a Turning Point for Canadian Housing
Michael Ruge – A Trailblazer in Business, Entrepreneurship, and Consulting
Michael Ruge and Affordable Apartments: Building a Better Cowichan Valley
