The "Birch" at Timberlea. Move in condition bright Southwest corner suite with fresh paint, laminate floors & mirrored doors. Entertainment sized living and dining area with sliding doors out to wrap around balcony looking into trees & greenery. Strata fees include heat, hot water, electricity & fabulous recreation facilities with indoor pool, exercise center & club house, workshop & more. Includes 1 parking & 1 storage locker. Walk to Skytrain, Lougheed Mall and miles of walking and cycling trails. Short drive to SFU, Highway 1, Lougheed Highway and all access points. Maintenance fee includes heat & hot water. 2 dogs allowed! Solid, concrete building in the most convenient location.
Vancouver councillors have ended two days of public hearings by voting to allow duplexes in most city neighbourhoods currently restricted to single-family homes.
Mayor Gregor Robertson says the decision is another step toward adding homes in the city for the so-called ``missing middle,'' which includes young families pushed out of Vancouver by soaring property prices.
A news release from the mayor's office says the policy change means duplexes are now permitted on approximately 67,000 single family lots, offering an option that is more affordable than a detached home.
The 7-4 vote was split along party lines with Robertson, five Vision Vancouver members and councillor Hector Bremner approving the motion, while three Non-Partisan Association councillors and the Green party's Adriane Carr voted against.
The vote also marks one of the last major decisions of Robertson's decade-long tenure as mayor because he is not running in next month's civic election.
Robertson agrees the duplex proposal is not a ``silver bullet'' that will resolve Vancouver's housing problems, but says it responds to the demands of residents.
``Over the past two years of consultation for the new Housing Vancouver strategy, we heard loud and clear that Vancouverites want more housing options in single family neighbourhoods,'' he says in the release.
The change aligns zoning in expensive and increasingly unpopulated neighbourhoods such as Kerrisdale, Dunbar and West Point Grey with regulations in crowded and growing areas such as Kitsilano and Strathcona.
Robertson calls the policy a ``modest, but important change.''
Critics predict single-family homes could now be targeted by speculators, adding to already soaring property prices, while Tom Davidoff, associate professor at UBC's Sauder School of Business, says the measure is good, but not enough.
``It's a start. But when you have land that's worth tens of millions of dollars an acre, to really put a dent in affordability, you want to go to at least townhomes or small apartment buildings,'' he says.
As a way to reduce speculation on land values, the mayor's office says the new policy does not allow for an increase in height or density on a single-family property, but it says other measures to add density are being planned.
``Further work is underway as part of the Making Room program to bring forward options for rowhouses, townhouses, and low-rise apartments- with a priority on rental housing and co-ops in low-density neighbourhoods,'' the release says.
That report could be brought to council by next summer.
Gantry cranes at Port Metro Vancouver rise in the distance as a woman cycles past Inform Interiors on Railway Street in Vancouver. In a city with diminishing industrial space available, the Railtown district is emerging as an enclave for ‘creative product manufacturers.'
DARRYL DYCK/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Vancouver’s Railway Street feels like a street festival this morning, as it does many mornings, with hordes of twenty‐ and thirtysomethings ambling along the street and clustering at the cafés, food trucks and restaurants on their break.
This street in the middle of Railtown is an odd patch of the city, a long strip of territory three blocks wide, squeezed between Vancouver’s poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside and the port.
But it’s one that is seen as a much-needed crucible for tech and creative businesses trying to stay in this expensive city – businesses such as Hootsuite, which started out here before growing explosively and eventually moving further up the hill from the port to take over several buildings in the Mount Pleasant industrial area.
Now, after a nearly year-long tussle between city planners and business owners over changes to the zoning meant to encourage what’s called “creative product manufacturing” but to keep out regular offices just looking for cheap space, the Railtown neighbourhood appears to be on the verge of a small development boom.
Existing businesses such as fashion giant Aritzia, bag manufacturer Herschel and high-end furniture maker Inform are expanding. Other new businesses are moving in. And, beyond that, there are several development projects in the works.
“There is quite a bit of new energy here,” says Denise Brennan, the “benevolent dictator,” as she describes herself, of the shared job facility Creative Coworkers. Next to her is a showroom and administrative office for Nespresso, the coffee company, and Streamlabs, which produces streaming video games. “There’s a higher level of recognition of the neighbourhood.”
Like many, she says the city changes to the zoning definitions for the neighbourhood have generally made things better. The restrictions on height, or on having one business occupy all of the space in a building, have created spaces for a lot of smaller businesses and have kept the area feeling intimate.
The new projects coming in, the first to be built in the area in decades, are designed to fit into that.
One proposal is for a building by Rendition Developments called the Maker Exchange, a 150,000-square-foot project aimed at those “maker tech” businesses, as they’re called locally. Another that began construction this month is the Bench building, also from Rendition.
Commercial broker Boe Iravani, with Cushman & Wakefield, says the area is appealing to people priced out of the downtown or even Gastown, or those wanting to move in from the suburbs to something more central.
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“The activity is high. People don’t want to be downtown. They can’t be there, at $50 a square foot. Even in Mount Pleasant” – the city’s other big tech hub – “it’s expensive now. Here, we’re in the mid-30s [dollars per square foot].”
There are still some glitches to work out. Steven Fast, who owns property in the area, said that although city planners approved creative-product manufacturing as a use, there wasn’t a definition attached to that new term in the zoning bylaw.
As a result, people applying for business licences at city hall were being told that each tenant would have to be evaluated individually to see whether they met the restrictions on uses in the area.
“Now, with this inconsistency, we’re kind of at a loss,” says Mr. Fast.
The proposed 150,000-square-foot project Maker Exchange in Vancouver is aimed at 'maker tech' tenants, hence its name.
The new zoning keeps out uses like lawyers, which is fine with Railtown businesses, but also prohibits architects – a sector that many thought would fit well with Railtown’s image as a design district.
In spite of those problems, Mr. Fast’s building at 329 Railway St. is full and has a waiting list.
But the popularity of that kind of space, as well as the level of angst that permeates any discussions about zoning for tech and creative industries in Vancouver, is a sign of the struggle the city is having as it tries to accommodate those businesses.
That’s because Vancouver, already a smaller city than the tech monsters of the West Coast, Seattle and San Francisco, gave up a lot of its industrial land close to the downtown to residential uses years ago.
The efforts to make Railtown a design and tech hub is “too little, too late,” says Tom Hutton, a University of British Columbia planning professor.
He notes that, in the mid-1980s, the city’s planners and politicians decided that it should use the industrial lands that lined much of the perimeter of Vancouver’s downtown peninsula for housing.
That policy, called “Living First,” generated an explosion of condo development around Coal Harbour and north False Creek from the 1990s until the present. It set Vancouver on a path that made real-estate development a dominant industry in the city, one that could outbid other sectors.
“The problem is that the condo project effectively dispersed other opportunities and set Vancouver on a new trajectory,” says Dr. Hutton, who has studied the tech sectors of other West Coast cities.
Seattle, just 220 kilometres to the south, went on a different trajectory. After the public rejected the idea of developing land in an industrial area called South Lake Union in the mid-1990s, the area sat untouched for two decades, until the tech boom took off. Now it is home to huge amounts of Amazon office space, as well as biotech and other health-science operations. The area is 145 hectares, significantly larger than Vancouver’s Railtown, Gastown, Yaletown and Mount Pleasant tech districts.
Railtown is “kind of a boutique scale, new-economy area that will never look like South of Market [in San Francisco],” says Dr. Hutton.
The land shortage has meant that there are noticeable tensions as city planners try to set rules for what can and can’t be in the districts that are designated industrial, like Railtown and Mount Pleasant. Trying to decide what digital-based businesses qualify as “industrial” has been a challenge.
Dr. Hutton says he admires the efforts of Vancouver’s chief planner, Gil Kelley, to create an innovation plan that will help support more Railtown-like businesses in the city.
But, he says, it’s going to be tough. “We’re really dealing with trying to squeeze pretty important industries onto diminishing pieces of land.”
Sold (Bought): Dozens of would-be buyers check out Maple Ridge home
Sold (Bought): Dozens of would-be buyers check out Maple Ridge home
The big sell: According to listing agent Shannon Drummond, more than 100 prospective purchasers came to view this Thornhill property, which offers a number of different living configurations as well as potential income-generating opportunities.
A snapshot of recent residential real estate activity in Metro Vancouver
26742 98 Avenue, Maple Ridge
Type: Four-bedroom, two-bathroom detached
Size: 1,934 sq. ft.
B.C. Assessment: $1,007,200
Listed for: $1,399,000
Sold for: $1,367,500
Sold on: May 17
Days on market: 65
Listing agent: Shannon Drummond and Pat Drummond at Keller Williams Elite Realty
Buyers agent: Amanda vandenBrink at Royal LePage — Brookside Realty
The big sell: According to listing agent Shannon Drummond, more than 100 prospective purchasers came to view this Thornhill property, which offers a number of different living configurations as well as potential income-generating opportunities. The 6.5-acre lot has a sizable frontage of almost 700 feet and has four driveways and four main buildings. The principal house was built in 1926 and features classic Craftsman details with stained glass, inlaid hardwood floors, wainscotting, wood trim and mouldings, while combining contemporary additions such as central air conditioning, a hot tub and a newly built recreation room. A one-bedroom separate guest house (with a den that could double as a second bedroom) provides family, guest or tenant accommodation, while a six-stall horse barn (complete with a new roof) could be rented out for boarding, and a powered shop could cater to a home business.
1208 — 1001 Richards Street, Vancouver
Type: One-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment
Size: 603 sq. ft.
B.C. Assessment: $682,000
Listed for: $748,800
Sold for: $762,000
Sold on: May 14
Days on market: Six
Listing agent: Chris Tioseco at Oakwyn Realty Downtown
Buyers agent: Lilian Li at Royal Pacific Realty
This home at 1208 — 1001 Richards Street in Vancouver sold for $762,000.PNG
The big sell: The Miro was constructed in 2004 in downtown Vancouver at Richards and Nelson streets. It was built by Polygon and designed by Vancouver architect James Hancock, and features 183 units with a mix of apartment suites in the tower and townhomes at street level. This mid-level unit has a corner position with a south-west facing aspect and wrap-around city views through its floor-to-ceiling windows. The interior has an efficient design that incorporates an open-concept kitchen with granite counters, stainless-steel appliances, including a gas range, a breakfast bar and overhead shelving, a bright living room, in-suite laundry, and a den as well as a solarium. There are a number of amenities for residents, including a well-stocked gym, a billiards room and a lounge area. This home comes with a parking stall and a locker and pets and rentals are permitted. The monthly maintenance fee is $319.86.
404 — 1989 Dunbar Street, Vancouver
Type: One-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment
Size: 543 sq. ft.
B.C. Assessment: $460,000
Listed for: $535,000
Sold for: $498,000
Sold on: July 27
Days on market: 18
Listing agent: Morley Lercher at Sutton Group — West Coast Realty
Buyers agent: Dan Wurtele at Oakwyn Realty
The big sell: This one-bedroom penthouse forms part of Kitsilano’s Sonesta building that was built in a north-of-Fourth-Avenue location close to public transit, Jericho Beach, shops and restaurants. The unit has undergone some renovations recently, which include new carpets and fresh paintwork. There are laminate floors in the entryway and the kitchen, integrated appliances, task pendant lighting over the peninsula, a double sink and light wood-coloured cabinetry. The double-sided gas fireplace between the living room and the master bedroom creates a cosy atmosphere in both. A south-facing covered balcony offers an area for barbecues. The unit has an in-suite laundry and includes a parking stall in the underground garage and a storage locker. The monthly maintenance fee is $271.19. The strata permits pets and rentals although both have some restrictions.
These transactions were compiled by Nicola Way of BestHomesBC.com.
We all know that for most households earning a median income, buying a detached house in Metro Vancouver is highly unaffordable, unless they have already built up considerable equity or have another source of wealth.
But exactly how much of a gap is there between median incomes earned in the region, and the income you’d need to buy the average priced house in that area? And which areas see the biggest income gaps? This is the topic of a new study and infographic by real estate portal Zoocasa, released September 12.
To assess affordability across the region, Zoocasa’s number-crunchers looked at August benchmark detached home prices in 21 Metro Vancouver markets, as well as the minimum income required to purchase and carry such a property based on a 20 per cent down payment. The required income was compared to the actual median household incomes in each area, sourced from Statistics Canada, to find the local house-price-to-income gap.
Unsurprisingly, the area with the priciest detached homes, Vancouver West (which includes the West Side, Downtown West and the West End, benchmarked at $2,832,600) saw the biggest income gap. However, the extent of the gap is jaw-dropping at $384,965.
This is calculated as the income needed for a $2,832,600 house being $450,292, but the area’s median income earned is $65,237, according to the study.
Vancouver West is followed by West Vancouver, which has higher incomes and therefore a lower income gap, and then Richmond in third.
Even households in the area with the lowest income gap, Maple Ridge, are going to struggle, with the median income more than $34K less than is needed for a typical house purchase.
Check out the full ranking of Metro Vancouver income gaps in the infographic below.
Babka is originally from Eastern Europe, although its exact origins are unknown. Whether it’s a Polish or Russian dessert, it has definitely spread its way through the world and has become a rather well known and popular treat. Some credit its fame to the Seinfeld episode ‘The Dinner Party’ where Seinfeld wishes to buy a loaf but the customer in front of him buys the last chocolate babka. Babka is often also referred to as a Jewish dessert, stating that Jewish housewives used leftover challah and braided it together with jam, nuts and seeds. This marbled dessert has become so popular for a good reason. It is a truly unique kind of bread, which has similarities to a quick bread, without being just as ‘quick’. If you have never made babka before, go ahead and give this wonderful dessert a try! It is definitely something you should have eaten once in your life.
A babka is typically made with a sweet yeast dough (brioche dough) or pâte levée sucrée, as the French refer to it. Its main components are flour, milk, egg, sugar and yeast. Many desserts are made with this kind of dough such as donuts, dinner rolls, yeast waffles and sticky buns. It’s an incredibly versatile kind of dough and can be prepared in multiple ways such as baking, deep-frying and steaming. If you want to achieve a perfectly fluffy and tender yeast dough, there are two secrets you must know.
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Fresh Yeast vs. Dry Yeast
Opinions differ on whether fresh yeast is superior to dry yeast. A lot of professional bakers will use fresh as opposed to dry and some even claim that their bread has a better taste and texture when opting for fresh. We prefer using fresh yeast cubes whenever possible but also keep backups of dry yeast since fresh yeast has a very short shelf life (about 2 weeks) and needs to be stored in the fridge. Ultimately it is up to you and which you want to use, though you may want to try both and see if you can detect a difference in your baked goods. Whichever type of yeast you chose, it is vital to proof it before adding it to the rest of your ingredients. This is done by dissolving it in sugar or milk. If it dissolves and throws a few bubbles it’s still good. If it does nothing, throw it out and start again with a new package of yeast.
Rising Time
A fluffy yeast dough has had plenty of time to rise…twice! This is an incredibly important step and you should not cut away any of its rising time. The first resting time your dough needs is right after you have combined the ingredients to form your dough. During this time the bacteria in the yeast feed on the sugar and multiply. As a result the dough rises to about double its size. Once you have braided your babka into a loaf it needs to rise a second time. This is done for better aeration.
This chocolate babka is great for entertaining as it makes a rather large loaf, which can be prepared ahead of time. You can bake this a day before and store it at room temperature until the next day. It stays incredibly soft! It’s a wonderful addition to a cup of coffee and the gorgeous marbled effect is sure to stun your guests.
Heat milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a small saucepan until warm. Remove from heat and crumble in the yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then stir until the yeast is completely dissolved.
Add the flour, egg, salt, cubed butter and yeast mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Knead until you have a homogeneous dough. If the dough is too sticky to touch, add a bit more flour.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 hour at room temperature.***
In the meantime, prepare the filling by chopping up the chocolate into small pieces. Melt the butter and sugar in a small saucepan and remove from heat. Add in the chocolate and stir until smooth. Chill in the fridge until the dough is ready.
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it to remove the air. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and grease a bread pan with non-stick spray. Then roll it out on a floured surface to a rectangle about 30cm x 50cm (11.8 x 19.6 inches).
Spread the chocolate filling evenly onto the dough and sprinkle with the toasted mixed nuts. Carefully roll it up lengthwise.
Cut the dough lengthwise into two even pieces and braid them together with the cut facing upwards. Tuck the ends underneath.
Carefully place into a bread pan and cover with a kitchen towel. Let it rise for 30 minutes.
Brush with an egg and bake for 50 minutes. If the top starts to become too dark, cover it with aluminum foil.
Let it cool before attempting to remove it from the pan.
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Notes: * Use high quality dark chocolate or couverture for the filling. Do not be tempted to use chocolate chips, it will not taste the same! **Such as hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts or pecans. ***Or chill overnight in the fridge and continue the next day. Store the babka at room temperature for up to 2 days. Or freeze it for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly in aluminum foil.
Let’s get started!
Step 1- Prep the Ingredients
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Start by prepping your ingredients. Get out the butter and egg to let them come to room temperature. Cut the butter into cubes. If working with whole roasted nuts, chop them into small pieces.
Step 2- Activate the Yeast
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Activate the yeast by adding it into a small saucepan along with warm milk and a tablespoon of white granulated sugar. Make sure that the milk is warm NOT hot. (If your liquids are too hot it could destroy the yeast.) Let it sit for 10 minutes and then stir until the yeast is dissolved completely.
Step 3- Prep and Knead the Dough
To prepare your dough, combine the flour, sugar, egg, salt and yeast mixture in a stand mixer with a dough hook attached. Knead until the dough is well combined and homogeneous, about 3-4 minutes. If the dough is too sticky to touch, add a bit more flour.
Step 4- Let the Dough Rest
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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it to rise on your kitchen counter for 1 hour or until your dough has doubled in size. Once risen, punch the dough to release the air.
Step 5- Make your Chocolate Filling
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While the dough is rising, prepare the filling by chopping up your chocolate into small pieces. (The pieces shouldn’t be bigger than chocolate chips.) Melt the butter and sugar in a small saucepan and once melted, remove from heat. Add in your chocolate and stir until smooth. Let the filling chill in the fridge while the dough rises.
Step 6- Roll out your Dough
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a rectangular shape about 30cm x 50cm (11.8 x 19.6 inches).
Step 7- Spread the Filling
Spread the chocolate mixture evenly onto the dough and sprinkle with the chopped mixed nuts.
Step 8- Shape into a Roll
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Gently roll up the dough lengthwise as tight as possible. It’s best to do this slowly and carefully.
Step 9- Part into Two
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Cut the rolled up dough in half, with the cut facing upwards.
Step 10- Braid the Dough
Braid both pieces together. Make sure to not leave too much space and braid the pieces rather tight. Tuck both ends underneath and place into a greased bread pan.
Step 11- Let it Rise before Baking
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Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise once more for 30 minutes.
Then bake for 50 minutes in a preheated oven. Cover the babka with aluminum foil if it starts to get too dark on the top.
Step 12- Let it Cool
Let your babka cool a bit before attempting to remove it from the pan. Slice into big gorgeous pieces and serve!
Enjoy the babka as a breakfast or brunch addition or as an afternoon snack alongside a cup of coffee or tea. If you wish to try a savory version of a yeast bread, we suggest this Cheesy Garlic Bread.
Own a piece of Vancouver history! Avalon Mews heritage 3-bedroom/2.5 -bathroom completely detached townhouse with 2-5-10 warranty. Beautiful modern interiors with character, and charm, quartz stone counters, white subway tile in open kitchen, high quality appliance package including gas range and gas fireplace. Has heat-on-demand hot water. Brand new with GST included! Beautiful laminated hardwood flooring throughout the main living areas. 3 bedrooms on the top floor. There is an amenity room, community garden plots, courtyards and play space. Steps to Killarney Community Centre & pool, top-rated schools, shopping, green space and parks. Directly, in front is a City greenbelt for pedestrians and bicycles. Open house Sat. 2 - 4pm.
This amazing house is in show home condition, offering huge old world wraparound veranda, fabulous entry with gorgeous wainscoting. The main features beautiful wood floors, living room and dining room have stunning coffer ceilings with F/P in living room. New gourmet kitchen and nice eating area. Also on main is a den, F/P and 2 pc bathroom. The 2nd floor offers 3 large bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms; two bedrooms share a den, the master bedroom features a larger dressing/sitting room that leads to a 5 piece bathroom. The top floor is enormous and a fully finished rec room. Down has a two bedroom suite that can be easily connected to the main floor. Updated mechanical; electrical and sprinkler system plus new hot water on demand system. This is a DETACHED non-conforming strata. Truly excellent value, priced $328,000 below the assessment. Open parking at rear. Awesome street and neighbourhood.
530 VERNON DRIVE, V6A 4L1, one of a kind – Ground Floor Live/Work space at “The Workshop” - 1443 sf two level Loft space in the highly sought after Mount Pleasant/Strathcona neighbourhood - extremely well located and minutes from downtown Vancouver and “The Drive” with all fantastic amenities, shopping, restaurants that the area has to offer. This is the spacious home that you have been searching for with a wide open floor plan that’s an open canvas?. Secure ground floor entrance on Vernon + Private/Secure 2 parking stalls #58 ; right outside your back door – WOW!! This is a must see suite!!, Go to realtors web site for feature sheet with floor plan, video and area info. Easy to show, Strata docs on realtors web site – get password from listing agent.
$10,000 REALTOR BONUS!!! Brand new with GST included! Completely detached townhome! Laminated hardwood flooring throughout the main living areas. 3 bedrooms and two full bathrooms on the top floor with large, open concept living on the main. There is an amenity room, community garden plots, courtyards and play space. Steps to Killarney Community Centre & pool, top-rated schools, shopping, green space and parks. Directly, in front is a City greenbelt for pedestrians and bicycles. Own a piece of Vancouver history--Avalon Mews heritage 3-bedroom/2.5-bathroom townhouse with 2-5-10 warranty. Beautiful modern interiors with character and charm, quartz stone counters, white subway tile in open kitchen, high quality appliance package including gas range and gas fireplace. $10,000 REALTOR BONUS!!!
A dramatic redevelopment of the existing Park Inn on West Broadway, designed by Arno Matis Architecture, is seeking approval from the city.
888 West Broadway will replace the existing hotel with Vancouver’s first WELL-certified building — a standard that combines top-notch design and construction practices with health and wellness interventions.
There will be two buildings, an eight-storey west block with 258 traditional hotel rooms, and a 10-storey east block with 180 long-term stay hotel rooms with kitchenettes. Both blocks will be atop a three-storey podium with ground floor retail and hotel amenities.
Proposed exterior materials include wood, architectural concrete and high efficiency glazing. Six levels of underground parking are proposed.
Model of 888 W Broadway built by A B Scale. Credit: Goldie ColinModel of 888 W Broadway built by A B Scale. Credit: Goldie ColinRendering of hotel proposal to replace the Park Inn at 878-898 West Broadway. Credit: City of VancouverRendering of hotel proposal to replace the Park Inn at 878-898 West Broadway. Credit: City of VancouverRendering of hotel proposal to replace the Park Inn at 878-898 West Broadway. Credit: City of Vancouver
City endorses Making Room program to increase housing choices in Vancouver
June 21 2018
“Secondary suites, laneway houses and character infill opportunities already exist as housing options in single-family neighbourhoods, and the duplex option would offer another ‘menu’ choice for property owners.”
Yesterday, Council endorsed the launch of a new program called Making Room, which will transform low density neighbourhoods by adding housing choice to neighbourhoods across the city. This is one of the ways the City is focusing on shifting towards the types of homes that meet the needs of people who live and work in Vancouver.
Making Room will focus on adding a greater variety of housing types in single family neighbourhoods, ranging from laneway houses and infill to townhouses, rowhouses to low-rise apartment buildings.
10,000 units of “missing middle” housing
This directly supports the Housing Vancouver strategy, which targets the delivery of 10,000 units of “missing middle” housing over the next 10 years, specifically 1,000 coach houses, 5,000 townhouses and 4,000 laneway houses.
“Council approved several quick start actions, including adding duplex as a new housing option in single family areas across the city,” says Paula Huber, Senior Planner. “Secondary suites, laneway houses and character infill opportunities already exist as housing options in single-family neighbourhoods, and the duplex option would offer another ‘menu’ choice for property owners.” A report on details for referral to a public hearing will be presented to Council on July 24.
Council also approved additional direction to ensure that staff bring back specific options on triplexes, quadplexes and multi-unit buildings in RS and RT neighbourhoods, and to provide incentives for rental, co-ops, land trusts and co-housing in low-density neighbourhoods.
Our focus over the next year
Over the next year, the Making Room program will take a city-wide approach to identify opportunities for future change in neighbourhoods. The work will include:
Mapping the current situation in neighbourhoods, such as what areas have good proximity to transit, shopping, schools, parks and amenities
Evaluating where the greatest opportunities exist for increasing housing diversity with the least impacts
Developing principles and selection criteria to identify locations for new housing options
Continuing to explore and test new housing types and ways to improve affordability
Engaging residents on what they want to make room for in their neighbourhoods
As another way to enable more housing options in neighbourhoods across Vancouver, Council also referred updates to the Laneway Housing Program to a Public Hearing on July 18. The proposed laneway changes would make it simpler and easier to build a laneway home and make laneway homes more livable.
Sutton Group West Coast Realty Vancouver http://vancouversutton.com David Hutchinson. Sutton Group West Coast Realty, Vancouver West houses, Vancouver East houses, Vancouver condos, Yaletown condos...
In cities like Vancouver where the mantra is eco-density (which is actually an oxymoron as there is nothing ecologically friendly or sustainable about increasing density), every property developer and his dog is seeking out older three or four story strata complexes for redevelopment.
A strata council may believe the best decision is to dissolve the strata corporation especially if:
the strata complex is on its last legs;
the future cost of repairs and capital upgrades may no longer make economic sense;
the owners don’t have the financial wherewithal to finance the costs and upgrades; or
the neighbourhood is being redeveloped pursuant to a new “community plan” which is encouraging redevelopment.
However for anxious strata property owners caught in this predicament there are two very important things to be aware of:
Strata councils CANNOT unilaterally make any decisions regarding the dissolution of the strata corporation.
Strata councils CANNOT “sell the building” nor bind the individual owners of the strata units in the building to sell their units to a developer.
Prior to 2017, a unanimous vote of the existing strata property owners was required to allow the strata council to dissolve a strata corporation.
Last year the BC government changed that threshold to 80% of the strata property owners, doubtless as a concession to property developers who have donated tens of thousands of dollars to the liberal party of BC year after year.
As a result, a plethora of realtors and developers have been let loose on unsuspecting strata property owners in older buildings seeking to purchase their units, often one by one with a view to reaching that threshold.
Once the developer has 80% of the units it is pretty much game over for the remaining owners as it can effectively wind up the strata corporation on its own accord, regardless of the wishes of the remaining owners.
What then should the owners of an older, low rise building do?
The first and foremost thing is to be proactive. Don’t wait until a developer or realtor is knocking on doors to solicit sales in your building.
STEP 1 Organize your owners. It is easy to break a stick, but difficult to break a bundle of sticks. Get the bundle in place right away.
STEP 2 Set up a Facebook page or website specific to the building so that all the owners can freely communicate with each other. Unfortunately in many cases when the strata council gets involved, it tends to both restrict and horde new information and then release it to the owners on a redacted basis as it sees fit. Strata council members may also be in a conflict of interest when they are offered extra incentives by developers to “make the deal happen.” Collectively the complex belongs to all the owners, so every owner should have full, unrestricted access to all available information.
STEP 3 Call a meeting of all of the owners to discuss your options. Find out who wants to sell and who does not. Develop a protocol for dealing with realtors and developers who attempt to solicit individual owners.
STEP 4 If there is significant interest in selling by a majority of the owners OR its evident that the community plan for the neighborhood is being changed to encourage much higher density, then get some expert legal and marketing advice (How does “winding up the strata” work? Are there other sale options, like selling 80% or more of the individual units to a developer at the same time? How do you find an interested property developer? How do you know how much to ask for our units? How do you find a good property appraiser? Can one law firm represent everyone? Should the same sale formula apply to everyone (i.e. 2X or 3X tax assessment value)? Should everyone get the same amount of “free rent,” to allow them to find other accommodation? What does a comparable unit cost “out in the market?”)
These are but a few of the questions to be asked and answered BEFORE anyone agrees to anything.
STEP 5 Get a real estate lawyer, an experienced realtor and an appraiser to attend an owner meeting to discuss the foregoing and answer other questions for the owners.
STEP 6 Have an appraisal done on the building based on what can be built in its place (the appraiser can obtain this information from city hall). When a property developer presents an offer and presents an appraisal in support you will have something to compare it to.
STEP 7 Get a consensus on the procedure to market the building and whether the preferred route is to wind up or to sell off the individual units as a group and then engage a realtor or other marketing representative to market the developers for proposals.
STEP 8 When a proposal or offer comes in, call a meeting to discuss it with all the owners and negotiate your best deal. In my view, it’s best if every owner is treated identically, that is the same sales formula applies to each unit and each owner gets the same amount of free rent or other incentives (such as first dibs on a unit in the new building).
STEP 9 Sell the units directly to the developer concurrently and disburse the proceeds. If you can get a developer to buy 80% or more of the units in one coordinated sale, that will maximize the value for all of the owners and save you the expense and stress of having to make a court application to dissolve the strata corporation.
Needless to say if there is little or no interest in selling the complex, the protocol should be to have all offers go to a specified owner, the strata’s legal representative or other agent for a firm rejection.
If an acceptable offer comes in to purchase the whole complex (as opposed to purchasing individual units) then the strata corporation must be wound up. In such case the following procedure must be followed:
Notice of General Meeting to Consider Windup Resolution
At least 4 weeks’ notice must be given of a general meeting that includes a resolution to wind up the strata corporation.
Who must be given notice?
Notice must be given to every owner regardless of whether notice must also be sent to their tenant or mortgagee. Notice must also be given to every mortgagee who has given the strata corporation a mortgagee request, and every tenant who has been assigned their landlord’s right to vote. Notice must be given to these individuals regardless of whether a person has previously waived their right to receive notification.
Voting
Effective July 28, 2016, approving a strata wind up resolution requires an 80% vote of approval FROM ALL STRATA OWNERS NOT A QUORUM VOTE of those owners present at the meeting. Previously, passing a wind up resolution required unanimous approval, however, the BC government changed this to 80% to make it easier for strata corporations to wind up.
Voting to wind up the strata corporation is an important matter, thus all owners are eligible to vote despite any provisions in the bylaws making a strata owner ineligible to vote (i.e. if owner has unpaid strata fees).
The termination resolution will authorize termination of the strata plan, authorize the strata corporation to apply to the Supreme Court for termination orders and a vesting order authorizing the cancellations of the strata plan and winding up of the strata corporation; approve expenditures (funding for the lawyer, liquidator, liquidator’s legal representation, fees and commissions); and may also address miscellaneous matters like move out timelines or rent-free periods.
Court Supervision
If the resolution to wind up the strata corporation is passed, then for strata corporations that have more than 5 units, the strata corporation must then apply to the BC Supreme Court for an order confirming the winding up resolution. This must be done within 60 days after the resolution is passed. If the strata corporation has less than 5 units no application to court is necessary.
The application to court gives strata owners extra protection. The court in confirming a resolution to wind up the strata corporation must consider: (a) the best interest of the owners, (b) the probability and extent, if winding up resolution is confirmed or not confirmed, of the significant unfairness to one or more owners or holders of registered charges and (c) the significant confusion and uncertainty in the affairs of the strata corporation or of their owners.
There are many reasons why owners may oppose the winding up of the strata corporation, including: proximity of amenities, pets, safety of the neighbourhood, money put into renovations, health issues and proximity to medical facilities, strong ties to neighbours and neighbourhood, or their unit was purchased as a life home and they have no intention of selling.
However, despite the protection of court supervision, if the resolution has been passed, the Court will typically not interfere with winding up and confirm the resolution. If you are part of the minority who opposed the resolution, the court may not be the place to rest your hopes as there has been only one instance where a winding up resolution was not confirmed. In The Owners, Strata Plan VR 1966, 2017 BCSC 1661 (“Bel-Ayre”) the court did not confirm a winding resolution because of a technicality that the value estimates of the interest schedule which were an essential term was omitted.
The court has acknowledged that the debate on whether to wind up or not can be heated, passions tend to run high and usually the minority do not feel like they have been adequately heard (Strata Plan NWS837 (Re) 2018 BCSC 564).
However, the court tends to reiterate the words of the Honorable Madam Justice Loo:
“Just because members of the minority were intimidated to speak up and voice their concerns does not mean the majority of the process was significantly unfair. Property rights as a home should not be given greater emphasis in face of 80% or more owners who want to take advantage of the increased profits to be made as a result of redevelopment or rezoning.”
Language Barriers
Living in Vancouver, there are many families that don’t speak English. However, with regards to the process for strata dissolution not speaking/reading English may be an issue. In Strata Plan NWS837 (Re) 2018 BCSC 564, some owners made an application to court stating that since some of the information materials were in English only, and many of the owners only speak Cantonese, this rendered the dissolution process significantly unfair as not everything was translated.
The court was not persuaded by this argument. The Court found that it would place too much of a burden on Council to discover what each owner’s main language was and to make sure all the information was translated into the many different languages.
Conversion/ Interest Schedules
A conversion or an interest schedule must be approved and attached to the resolution. If a liquidator is to be appointed an interest schedule must be attached to the resolution, otherwise a conversion schedule is required. The Conversion/Interest Schedule must meet the requirements as to form and content.
The Schedule must:
State whether or not the Strata Corporation holds lands in its name
Identify the land by legal description sufficient to allow the registrar at the land title’s office to identify it in the records of the strata plan
List the name and postal address of each owner and registered charge holder
List all registered interests in land at the time of the resolution and as they will exist if the registrar grants an order in shares calculated according to the following formula:
Most recent assessed value of an owners’ strata lot
Most recent assessed value of all the strata lots in the
Strata plan, excluding any strata lots held by or on behalf of
The strata corporation
If there is no assessed value for the owner’s strata lot or for any strata lot in the strata plan, an appraised value that has been determined by an independent appraiser and that is approved by a resolution passed by a ¾ vote at an annual or special general meeting may be used in place of the assessed value for the above formula.
If a liquidator is appointed and an interest schedule is required, the interest schedule will have all the above information contained in the conversion schedule and in addition will have the name, postal address and interest of each creditor of the strata corporation who is not a holder of a registered charge against the land.
Submitting an Application to the Land Title Office
To cancel a strata plan the strata corporation must submit the following documents to the Land Title Office:
The conversion schedule,
A reference plan that shows the land shown on the strata plan and the land held in the name of or on behalf of the strata corporation not shown on the strata plan,
If the strata corporation has more than 5 units:
A Certificate of Strata Corporation stating that the winding up resolution has passed and the strata corporation has no debts other than the debts held by holders of registered charges
a copy of the court order
If the Strata corporation has fewer than 5 units and does not obtain a court order:
The written consent of all holders of registered charges,
a Form E Certificate of Strata Corporation confirming the winding up resolution has passed and the strata corporation has no debts other than the debts held by persons who have consented in writing to the winding up of the strata corporation
Any other document required by the registrar to resolve the priority interests of any registered charges against the land shown on the strata plan or to transfer title.
RegistrarOrder
If the registrar is satisfied, the registrar may order that the strata plan is cancelled. Once the order is made, the registrar must file the order, register indefeasible titles to the land referred to in the order and give each owner and registered charge holder shown on the conversion schedule a copy of the order.
When the order is filed, the strata corporation is dissolved. The owners are then tenants in common of the land and the personal property of the strata corporation is held in shares equal to the owners’ shares of the land set out in the conversion schedule.
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
DON’T WAIT FOR EVENTS TO CATCH YOU BY SURPRISE IF YOU LIVE IN AN OLDER, THREE OR FOUR STOREY BUILDING.
Whether you organize a mass sale to an interested buyer or seek a court order approving the dissolution of the strata and approving a sale to a developer, your best chance of getting the optimal result for all the owners is to organize early and act collectively.
This phenomenon is not going away anytime soon in BC, so forewarned is forearmed.
Call Kenneth Pazder or Melissa Valana at 604-682-1509 if you have further questions.
DISCLAIMER: The foregoing is not legal advice. It is presented for information purposes only. The sale or dissolution of one’s strata complex is important one which merits professional legal and marketing advice well in advance of making such a decision.
Rob Geary, Will Galvan and his brother Luis have created a haven for Eastside youth and artists out of their Hastings Street clothing store and workshop.
Somewhere between Mr. Roger’s Neighbourhood and a Spike Lee movie is East Vancouver’s Shop Wrong.
Dressed in their sardonic gear and surrounded by the raw materials of their furniture trade, co-owners Luis Galvan, 29, and Rob Geary, 30, sit on their stoop invoking Hastings Street travellers with pleasantries and Shop Wrong pins.
It’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbour” minus the gentrification; Do The Right Thing minus the racial tension.
What remains for the friends and self-professed graduates of the school of hard knocks, who met as teens while tagging in Edmonds tunnel, is street cred with serious good intentions.
Geary and Galvan, along with Galvan’s older brother Will, opened Shop Wrong as a way to give back to the community that they grew up in. It acts as the headquarters of their more widely known endeavour,Welcome to Eastvan Moving, and its big, black, ‘punny’ sidekick, The East Van.
Coffee (free to anyone who needs a warm drink) travels from the back of the shop to the sidewalk in vessels that read, “I went to eastvan and all I got was mugged.” Above the reclaimed wood shelving — lightly populated by merch from local artisans — spin lacquered shards that warn “Danger Eastcide” alongside poison’s trademark skull and cross bones.
It’s all word play for the extroverted creatives, whose passion for their ‘hood is evident in the jokes they swap like vendors at the Sunday street market and in the first-name greetings they give and receive every few minutes outside.
The Galvan family arrived at Grant and Renfrew by way of El Salvador 22 years ago; Geary grew up on Hastings. They became friends in high school, and went their separate ways for a few years before collaborating around 2010 on the moving company.
In addition to welcoming customers to the neighbourhood, single moms and people in need of a little assistance are given a hand with moving days, and truckloads of furniture have been donated to Ray-Cam community centre nearby.
Through Shop Wrong, First Nations youth take part in free carving and language workshops, street workers model in the occasional runway show and artists enjoy an unconventional gallery space to display their work.
Recently, a dozen friends of Luis’ 12-year-old daughter learned how to make custom screen-printed T-shirts (an undertaking that stretched every inch of his chaperoning ability).
“It’s a community scenario,” says Luis, a jovial John Belushi-like charmer. “It’s been good for her to see all this influition.” He interrupts his English lesson to hail a woman walking by in one of their All My Relations shirts.
Inside, the sense of place continues.
Double height walls hoist wooden heritage signage from the store’s Groceteria days, blaring advertisements louder than the shop’s ubiquitous reggae.
The space, located at Hastings and Vernon, was most recently a general store that sold penny candy when they were kids. Not an obvious retail spot, it can be hard to discern exactly what is decorative and what is for sale.
“I ask myself that sometimes, too,” says Will with a friendly grin. “I ask these guys. Some of these things don’t even have tags.”
Shop Wrong, a play on the Shop Rite sign they discovered under the layers out front, had served as their woodworking studio and hangout for a few years before they finally cleaned it out and opened their doors as an artist collective last March.
“I’m not a woodworker, you know what I mean?” says Luis. “Fuck, I own a moving company and we do this to sort of get our artistic side out. We’re all artists.”
The shop produces refined custom woodwork and welding, jewelry, clothing and accessories. Luis is a DIYer, Rob (the No. 1 irreverent answer-giver) is hailed as the mind behind the esoteric art, Will is great with customers, and their mom helps in the store when they’re out on moving calls.
“It’s a great social experiment,” says Luis’ girlfriend Jennifer Scott, an in-demand interior design consultant who met the guys through the moving company. “It’s a rotating space for artists, which there’s not a lot of right now. It’s hard to get into galleries and get exclusive. They come from the East Van graffiti world, so all of their friends are still doing amazing things. It’s great to see a different form of art being promoted at such a confident level.”
The shop is currently accepting submissions for Wildlife, a book (funded by a neighbourhood arts grant) that will celebrate various expressions on the urban fauna theme.
“It works perfectly,” says Rob. “We have the store to open up to the people of the community. It’s not just our store. You don’t need to put it on a big sign and say. ‘I’M EAST VAN!’ Just come check it out.”
Today, Luis and Rob lounge on some lumber in the sunshine, chuckling with neighbouring business owners such as Tom Small from Tom’s East Vin about the putting green and golf clubs that mysteriously showed up overnight.
Everything they use to build their magazine-featured industrial furniture has been donated, but this gesture is appreciated on a more basic level.
Endearingly self-promotional without being exploitative, the businessmen and self-taught tradies embody an adolescent joy of life that has built a trust with the residents of the Downtown Eastside.
Rob grows serious, however, when asked when he became aware of the need for outreach. “Growing up here, we were those guys that needed that community outreach and there weren’t really a lot of venues [for that]. Now we’re in this position where we can provide it. We’re all equal; you can afford to come to our workshop? You can’t? It’s alright. Come hang out, do some screen printing, do some woodwork, do some welding.”
By giving a voice to the people of a neighbourhood in transition, Shop Wrong has become an incubator for social empowerment.
“This isn’t going to be here forever; we all know that,” says Rob, referring to the wave of development coursing down Hastings. “But while it’s here, we’ve got to make the best of it. And speak loud, you know?”
The departure of one of Vancouver’s most senior managers for a job with a prominent developer has some calling for new rules that would require a cooling-off period before city staff or politicians can work for private companies that have extensive business at the city.
An internal e-mail from city manager Sadhu Johnston this week announced, to the surprise of almost everyone at city hall, that Vancouver’s head of real estate services, Bill Aujla, is leaving imminently to become the vice-president of real estate at Aquilini Development. The e-mail praised Mr. Aujla’s accomplishments, including overseeing the completion of the Olympic Village.
Mr. Aujla was responsible for, among other things, deciding on how much developers should pay in community-amenity contributions (CACs) to the city for large rezoning projects – a role that put him at odds with some developers. A few of them cancelled projects in the past year because of demands he had made for millions of dollars in CACs they believed made their developments financially unworkable.
Aquilini has had many projects in the city, although none recently, with the exception of its purchase of city holdings at the Olympic Village. The company will also be one of a select group of developers working with First Nations on significant chunks of prime land in the city.
Candidates in the coming fall municipal election, as well as people already sitting on council, say Mr. Aujla’s move highlights a problem with current rules.
Independent mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart, currently an NDP MP, said the city needs to put new policy in place to ensure senior staff and politicians, who have had access to confidential information, can’t go and immediately work for a developer or another company that does extensive business with the city.
“It protects employees. It insulates them from accusations of wrongdoing. And it protects the public, so that no one can take confidential information and go into private practice.”
Mr. Stewart said he would also like to see a lobbyist registry and improved conflict-of-interest and disclosure rules for politicians as ways of ensuring public confidence in city processes.
Green Party Councillor Adriane Carr also said “there should be a restriction” on senior staff moving immediately to private companies that do business with the city.
However, councillors from the Non-Partisan Association argued it’s an unfair restriction to limit someone’s job prospects.
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“You get expertise and you shouldn’t be punished for taking that expertise with you on your career path,” George Affleck said.
Councillor Melissa De Genova said there are a lot of potential complications with a “cooling-off” policy.
“Does that mean any city lawyer couldn’t then go to work for a private law firm? I have to wonder if we would be able to attract the quality staff we need for senior positions” if the city had such a restrictive policy, she said.
And Mr. Aujla himself says that, while there should definitely be processes in place to ensure there is no perception of conflict or wrongdoing, a cooling-off policy would make it hard to attract future staff.
Mr. Aujla said he notified the city manager as soon as he started serious conversations with Aquilini representatives about a possible job. He and Mr. Johnston did a search to see whether Mr. Aujla had been responsible for determining any fees or contributions from the Aquilini company (he hadn’t) or whether there were any other conflicts.
“We did that just because the perception was such a worry,” Mr. Aujla said.
He exempted himself, as well, from a meeting where a project involving the Aquilinis was being discussed.
And he and Aquilini representatives had extensive conversations to clarify that Mr. Aujla would be responsible for “compartmentalizing” any city information he had that wasn’t public yet and shouldn’t be passed on to the company.
Vancouver’s current code of conduct prohibits any employees from relaying confidential information “for the purpose of securing a private benefit for themselves or for any other person.” However, it doesn’t have anything like a non-compete clause that prevents city staff or politicians from accepting jobs with private companies.
Vancouver’s three most recent chief planners – Larry Beasley, Brent Toderian and Brian Jackson − have all declined to do work for any company doing business with Vancouver for several years after they left their jobs.
Mr. Toderian recently did some consulting for Westbank, while Mr. Jackson is working with Amazon on its Canada Post office site.
Former Vancouver police chief Jim Chu now works for Aquilini. Former deputy city manager Brent MacGregor went to work for Concord Pacific within about a year of leaving his job in 2007. Mayor Gregor Robertson’s former chief of staff, Mike Magee, is doing some consulting work with Westbank after having left his city job in 2016.
If you want to be on Cloud 9, you only have until Sept. 30.
That is the last day for the revolving restaurant on the 42nd floor of the Empire Landmark Hotel, which is slated to come down for a new condo development.
Initially, the plan for the block-long site at 1400 Robson was for two towers, one 28 stories, the other 30. The design by Musson Cattel Mackey architects was for a mixed-use project with 223 market condos, 57 social housing units and two floors of offices and retail at ground level.
The towers will now be 31 and 32 storeys, and there will be 237 market condos, 63 social housing units, with retail and office on the bottom three floors. The height of the buildings will be 299.5 feet, which is about 25 per cent lower than the existing structure.
A development application goes to the city’s permit board on June 12 at 3 p.m.
The Empire Landmark hotel in 1975, when it was the Sheraton Landmark.DENI EAGLAND / PNG
The 357-room hotel at 1400 Robson was built in 1973 as a Sheraton, and has been the Empire Landmark since 1997. The tall, slender tower is in the middle of the site, while the new towers would be at either end.
The Empire Landmark is an example of the brutalist style of architecture popular in the early 1970s, with its exposed cement exterior. The buildings that would replace it will be light, airy glass towers.
The site is owned by 1488 Robson Holdings Ltd., whose directors have the same address as the Hong Kong-based Asia Standard Hotel Group.
Property records showed it sold in April, 2016 for $46.5 million. It has had Hong Kong-based owners since 1997.
The downtown peninsula is in the midst of a real estate frenzy, as developers try to snap up sites for new luxury towers. The old Chevron station at 1698 West Georgia, for example, recently sold for $72 million.
The redevelopments have come in the wake of the city’s new West End community plan, which raised the heights up to 550 feet in certain areas.
“It’s the new gold rush,” said heritage expert Don Luxton. “There’s increasing pressure on the West End, because Downtown South is very close to built out.”
Luxton lives in Anchor Point, a large complex at Burrard and Pacific that includes three residential towers and 477 units. Technically, it is outside the West End (which is across the street), but developers have been circling the site for a couple of years.
Several real estate brokers have made submissions to Anchor Point’s strata councils to represent them in negotiations with developers, including Eugen Klein of Royal Lepage.
“Two acres hasn’t gone to market in the downtown core in Vancouver in a very long time,” said Klein.
Klein said it is hard to say how much the site is worth because there are a lot of factors involved, such as whether the city would want social or rental housing in a redevelopment.
“I would be guessing, (but) today, $600 a buildable (square foot) is in the range of what’s going on,” he said.
A fourth building at Anchor Point is commercial, and sold for $47.5 million in 2011.
On Tuesday, Vancouver City Council approved a mass rezoning for 438 properties in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood in the Eastside area, with the vast majority of the affected properties being single-family residences.
The approval was expected as it puts in motion the new redevelopment opportunities established by the 2016-approved Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.
With City Council’s approval, property owners and developers can now seek the following redevelopment:
Four-storey apartments along East 12th Avenue between Clark Drive and Templeton Drive
Four-storey apartments and townhouses along East 1st Avenue between Commercial Drive and Nanaimo Street
Four-storey apartments, four-storey mixed-use buildings, and townhouses on select sites along Nanaimo Street between East 12th Avenue and East Pender Street
Grandview-Woodland rezonings, July 2018. (City of Vancouver)
Altogether, these zoning changes allow for the development of 3,000 new homes, accounting for a good portion of the new density required to achieve the Community Plan’s goal of increasing the population of Grandview-Woodland by 10,000 people over 30 years.
“This is an important piece for us to move forward with the redevelopment and accommodation of the [housing] demand that is out there,” said Vision Vancouver City Councillor Raymond Louie during yesterday’s public meeting.
“We are in a bit of a crisis, and I do believe we need to provide supply in our city and it needs to be done appropriately… I believe this will in fact help the neighbourhood over the longer term. Yes, there will be some people affected by the form, but I don’t think it will be as negative as people think.”
The greatest densities permitted by the Community Plan are generally along Hastings Street and Commercial Drive, particularly near SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station hub.
But compared to other transit-oriented developments elsewhere in the region, the allowable densities next to Metro Vancouver’s busiest transit hub can be considered extremely modest.
Brand new with GST included! Completely detached townhome! Laminated hardwood flooring throughout the main living areas. 3 bedrooms and two full bathrooms on the top floor with large, open concept living on the main. There is an amenity room, community garden plots, courtyards and play space. Steps to Killarney Community Centre & pool, top-rated schools, shopping, green space and parks. Directly, in front is a City greenbelt for pedestrians and bicycles. This is truly an inviting one-of-a-kind home. Own a piece of Vancouver history--Avalon Mews heritage 3-bedroom/2.5-bathroom townhouse with 2-5-10 warranty. Beautiful modern interiors with character and charm, quartz stone counters, white subway tile in open kitchen, high quality appliance package including gas range and gas fireplace. Gas heat-on-demand hot water.
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Model of 888 W Broadway built by A B Scale. Credit: Goldie Colin
Model of 888 W Broadway built by A B Scale. Credit: Goldie Colin
Rendering of hotel proposal to replace the Park Inn at 878-898 West Broadway. Credit: City of Vancouver
Rendering of hotel proposal to replace the Park Inn at 878-898 West Broadway. Credit: City of Vancouver
Rendering of hotel proposal to replace the Park Inn at 878-898 West Broadway. Credit: City of Vancouver
