[hollywoodnorth]

Walmart eh.....hmmmm I'm putting my $$$ on the old Costco Site :)

can you tell us if it will be a Supercenter or not at least?

[worldwide]

i was going to say... this isnt the victoria section.

but then i read on a bit.

thanks for the article(s)

[SpongeG]

Development of Little Mountain Housing complex unlikely

A BC Housing spokesperson has confirmed that a phased development of the Little Mountain Housing complex on Main Street, between 33rd and 37th avenues, probably won’t be possible.

“It’s something we haven’t ruled out, but it’s unlikely that’s going to happen, because the site has to be prepared for the whole redevelopment process,” Sam Rainboth told the Georgia Straight by phone on May 2.

This would mean that the remaining 50 or so residents who are hoping to stay in the six-hectare property might have to move out before the 224 social-housing units are demolished.

On May 7, BC Housing announced that Holborn Properties had won a competition to develop the site into a mix of market and social housing. According to a news release issued that day, all of the existing 224 social-housing units on the site will be replaced, and residents will have the option of returning after these units are built. Holborn spokesperson Sheryl Lim didn’t return a call by deadline.

Housing activist Ned Jacobs has been arguing that because development likely won’t start until the spring of 2010, the vacant units should be used to house people and ease the homelessness problem in Greater Vancouver. The Little Mountain Housing issue has inspired weekly protests across Vancouver, which have spread through the province.

Vancouver-Kensington NDP MLA David Chudnovsky noted that the provincial government hasn’t made any definitive announcement as to how many housing units will be put up on the property. The land is currently zoned to allow 1,000 units in buildings no higher than four storeys.

Little Mountain Housing has been home to residents like Ingrid Steenhuisen. She currently takes care of her 75-year-old mother, who has occupied the same unit for 44 years. “Mom doesn’t want to move,” Steenhuisen told the Straight.


http://www.straight.com/article-144757/development-little-mountain-housing-complex-unlikely

[vanlaw]

Walmart eh.....hmmmm I'm putting my $$$ on the old Costco Site :)

can you tell us if it will be a Supercenter or not at least?

That would be my bet too - they probably want to go head to head with the new C-Tire, Price Smart Foods (if a super centre), Marks and Petland that will open on Grandview (when’s that scheduled to open….next spring?). I'm sure they would like to exact some revenge on C-Tire for getting approval for a big box on Marine

[officedweller]

That site makes sense too - still head to head with Superstore, in the heart of East Vancouver, but farther away from the future Richmond location (NE corner Alderbridge and Garden City) than the Marine Drive location, so as not to compete with itself. Closest other Wal-Mart location would be Lougheed.

[hollywoodnorth]

That site makes sense too - still head to head with Superstore, in the heart of East Vancouver, but farther away from the future Richmond location (NE corner Alderbridge and Garden City) than the Marine Drive location, so as not to compete with itself. Closest other Wal-Mart location would be Lougheed.


ya its nicely located between the Capilano and Lougheed locations. And still leaves room for a Downtown location and a South Vancouver / North Richmond Location (or even both) and very close to Skytrain and the freeway.

BUT most importantly Costco and Walmart are similar sizes with similar parking reqirements, etc so there is no way in hell they would not be able to set up shop there. Unlike the South Vancouver issues they have faced and will face again.

[quobobo]

ya its nicely located between the Capilano and Lougheed locations. And still leaves room for a Downtown location and a South Vancouver / North Richmond Location (or even both) and very close to Skytrain and the freeway.

BUT most importantly Costco and Walmart are similar sizes with similar parking reqirements, etc so there is no way in hell they would not be able to set up shop there. Unlike the South Vancouver issues they have faced and will face again.

It's not really easily accessible by transit - it's about twice as far from Rupert as the Superstore, and that makes purchasing lots of stuff at once pretty painful. I can't see myself going to Wal-Mart for just one or two items when they have the same stuff as anywhere else (at a slightly lower price), but I wouldn't want to drag a ton of food all the way to the Skytrain from there. I'm kind of hoping it's somewhere else, but you're probably right.

[TwoFace]

The rumour is that the large IGA site on West Broadway and Maple has been sold and ready for re-development.
Any further info?.

[LeftCoaster]

Well guys the cat is outta the bag, got leaked in the media this morning. The new Walmart will indeed be in the old Costco building on Grandview. I do not believe the store will be branded as a super centre but it will contain a grocery store and will be one of the largest Walmarts in the region.

[jlousa]

It's a little unfortunate that we're getting a Wal-mart this way, I'm not a fan of them but what they had planned for the Marine Dr store was great. Unfortunately they are only a tenant at the new location so we won't be seeing a "green" store. Would've loved to see a even bigger store with u/g parking a green roof, solar panels etc.

[officedweller]

It seems the only way that controversial retailers (Wal-Mart, Home Depot) can establish a store is to lease form an already approved project, so that the approval process is not tainted by the identity of the tenant. Hmm says a lot about City impartiality, doesn't it.

[worldwide]

It seems the only way that controversial retailers (Wal-Mart, Home Depot) can establish a store is to lease form an already approved project, so that the approval process is not tainted by the identity of the tenant. Hmm says a lot about City impartiality, doesn't it.

how does this work? is it because they dont have to change the OCP or zoning by-law? they just go through the urban design panel?

[vanlaw]

It seems the only way that controversial retailers (Wal-Mart, Home Depot) can establish a store is to lease form an already approved project, so that the approval process is not tainted by the identity of the tenant. Hmm says a lot about City impartiality, doesn't it.

So will they just be cleaning up the existing building and using that, or will they construct new?

[hollywoodnorth]

Well guys the cat is outta the bag, got leaked in the media this morning. The new Walmart will indeed be in the old Costco building on Grandview. I do not believe the store will be branded as a super centre but it will contain a grocery store and will be one of the largest Walmarts in the region.

any idea if it will be 24/7? I imagine/hope/pray so!:cheers:

[jlousa]

They don't need to go to the udp as the building is already there. They can simply move in throw on some paint and a new sign as long as the sign is within spec of city bylaws and call it a day, no need to ask permission from the city in this case, just apply for a business license.

[LeftCoaster]

how does this work? is it because they dont have to change the OCP or zoning by-law? they just go through the urban design panel?

They do not have to change anything, as the site they are moving into is already zoned and built to the specifications they want.

So will they just be cleaning up the existing building and using that, or will they construct new?

They will be extensively renovating the existing Costco building, it will be the same shell but thats about where the smilarities end.

any idea if it will be 24/7? I imagine/hope/pray so!:cheers:

Cant help ya there... Knowing Vancouver City hall though I kinda doubt it.

[officedweller]

PLans seem to be moving ahead for the new City Hall Building (the block behind the Broadway City Hall Station entrance pavillion) that has been in the works for a while (but, gee, does Sam seem to be taking credit for it?):

Mayor says new building for city hall would be best
Vancouver/CKNW(AM980)

5/13/2008

Vancouver city hall needs so many seismic upgrades the mayor says it would be better to find a new building.

Sam Sullivan says a preferred location is Broadway and Cambie....land already owned by the city.

He says staff will focus on a move after the Olympics....

"The best scenario for us would be to ultimately look at a new city hall and I believe we will be looking t that after the 2010 games."

Vancouver city hall was built in 1936 and designed a heritage building in 1976.

[hollywoodnorth]

PLans seem to be moving ahead for the new City Hall Building (the block behind the Broadway City Hall Station entrance pavillion) that has been in the works for a while (but, gee, does Sam seem to be taking credit for it?):

Mayor says new building for city hall would be best
Vancouver/CKNW(AM980)

5/13/2008

Vancouver city hall needs so many seismic upgrades the mayor says it would be better to find a new building.

Sam Sullivan says a preferred location is Broadway and Cambie....land already owned by the city.

He says staff will focus on a move after the Olympics....

"The best scenario for us would be to ultimately look at a new city hall and I believe we will be looking t that after the 2010 games."

Vancouver city hall was built in 1936 and designed a heritage building in 1976.

I wonder what would happen to the old building?

This is Vancouver so a Condo Conversion seems likley ;)

[officedweller]

From what I recall, the new building will house a user-friendly interface for the City - for permits and licences, cashiers, etc. A lot of the staff would probably stay in the old building and they're move people over from the VanCity Building across Cambie that the City also owns.

[djh]

I wonder what would happen to the old building?

This is Vancouver so a Condo Conversion seems likley ;)

Yeah, I don't think the plan is to "get rid" of the main building, just to add to the actual developed land on the City Hall lands.
I would imagine they would also undergo a seismic upgrade of the main building and once that was done make use of it again.

[jlousa]

Was going to post this in the D/T thread but really this is a more apporiate thread. The new Eco-Density charter was released. Take a look over it and post your comments.

http://www.vancouver-ecodensity.ca/webupload/File/03%20Actions%20Appendix%20B_FINAL.pdf

[quobobo]

I don't think EcoDensity was terribly daring to begin with, but it sounds like they're trying to cater to NIMBYs even more. They added a lot of concessions like "...while respecting neighbourhood character", "In making such recommendations, staff will consider the benefits and potential
impacts (e.g., number of such lots, parking spillover, livability)..." that water down the actions.


Staff be directed to report back to Council on by-law amendments that would allow the Director of Planning to consider up to 10% additional discretionary density for development projects in the Downtown and Central Broadway areas, without a rezoning, where urban design, form, and architecture are deemed appropriate.
....

Since some sites would not be able to accommodate a potentially cumulative 20% additional discretionary density from an appropriate urban design perspective, how would the City make the choice of whether the bonus would be for heritage or public benefits bonus, or some of each? How would the spending of the accumulated funds be determined?

Okay, this is getting kind of ridiculous. It's called EcoDensity and a 20% increase in density is too much? I can't think of any locations where that would be the case.

Removal of Barriers to Green Building Approaches
Staff be directed to report back to Council with proposed by-law amendments, after
stakeholder consultation, to remove or mitigate existing disincentives to greener building
design practices, including:
• FSR exemption for above-grade mechanical space for hydronic heating and cooling
systems;
• FSR exemptions relating to wall thickness where improved insulation is achieved;
• FSR exemptions for larger balconies where they contribute to energy performance and
occupant comfort;
• Discretionary minor height relaxations for roof mounted renewable energy
infrastructure or appropriate access to green roofs;
• Amending side yard and overhang requirements to allow for greater application of
fixed external shading devices.


This seems silly. Extremely specific FSR exemptions are just too much micromanagement for my liking.

[mr.x]

^ there's a Ecodensity thread stickied in the urban issues section, discuss it there.

[jlousa]

Hope this one is in the right spot.

http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=c9d1256d-6dcd-456e-847a-783c2a10e326

VanDusen Garden prepares for facelift
Drop in popularity forces change
Cheryl Rossi, Vancouver Courier
Published: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
VanDusen Botanical Garden wants Vancouverites to comment on its extensive renovation plans, but the details of those plans won't be made public until a May 21 open house.

"What is proposed is really incredible and the capital project team and the architects... want the unveiling to be the first anyone sees of the proposed plan," Nancy Wong, VanDusen's media spokeswoman, told the Courier in an email.

Lead architect Peter Busby of Busby, Perkins and Will, a local firm known for its green design, will give two short presentations on the project at the open house. The main goal of the upgrades is to attract new visitors.
"The 19th century ideal of the botanical garden as an idyllic retreat for the gardening elite is giving way to a more dynamic vision in which the public comes for social and cultural activities as well as for learning opportunities," VanDusen's website states. "Visitation to VanDusen Garden has stagnated at 150,000 for a decade, and this despite a period of unprecedented city growth."

The plans for the first phase of the project have included establishing an entrance that's more visible from Oak Street, doubling the size of the gift shop, expanding the space for groups to gather and establishing a new pavilion to host meetings, receptions and other events. The vision is to create structures that would meld with the natural environment.

Busby, Perkins and Will and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, a landscape architect who was appointed a member of the Order of Canada for her work in 1990, will oversee the construction of the initial phase.

The refurbishment of the facilities on the 22-hectare site that opened in 1975 has been expected to cost $20 million. The buildings on site haven't been renovated since that time. Mary Butterfield, campaign director of the Plant the Seed capital campaign, reported in January that it had raised more than $6 million for the project. A memorandum of understanding between the parks board and the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association states that each will contribute $10 million.

Conceptual drawings will be showcased at the open house, which will run from 4 to 8 p.m. Busby will present information about the project at 5 and 7 p.m. The open house is in the Floral Hall at VanDusen at 5251 Oak St. at West 37th Avenue.

[SpongeG]

sounds good - i can't even recall knowing where there was an entrance

it doesn't really scream come visit me

[Rusty Gull]

Botanical gardens aren't the same kind of draw for us that they were for previous generations. I commend Van Dusen for preparing for the future (their annual Christmas lights display is pretty amazing,by the way)

[jlousa]

Another project on the DPB this one is at 1601 W. 7th ave

To construct a 9-storey multiple dwelling containing 62 dwelling units with associated amenity areas and a social service centre all over one level of parking.

[SFUVancouver]

A four-storey mixed-use (C3) office building is proposed for the northwest corner at Broadway and Commercial on the site of the funeral home.

[jlousa]

Good news, at least to me, I beleive we need more industry in the city.

http://www.joconl.com/article/id27720

May 21, 2008
Construction Materials
East Vancouver concrete plant back on track
RICHARD GILBERT

A concrete plant is one step closer to be being built in east Vancouver, despite sustained community opposition to the facility.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) announced on May 9 that LaFarge Canada has given notification that they intend to proceed with the construction of a ready-mix concrete batch plant.

It will be built on the former Sterling Shipyard site of the East Vancouver Port Lands at the foot of Victoria Drive on Commissioner Street.

“The design of the plant is not all that different than that proposed six years ago. However, the design engineer is redoing all the detailed plans, which includes building modifications, lower profile structure, an enclosed plant and different batching” said Bruce Willmer, vice president of Greater Vancouver Ready Mix Lafarge Canada Inc.

“We are resolving and removing final conditions on the approval-in-principle, which have to do with the environment, traffic and air quality.”

Lafarge has made the decision to move forward with the construction of the plant, but they have to update environmental studies and get the final approval from the port.

“They must now complete the work to fulfill and update the remaining conditions of the Approval in Principle. This work includes noise and air quality monitoring, as well as traffic impacts and marine habitat studies,” said a VFPA press release.

“The VFPA will work with Lafarge to prepare for final approval of the project. All conditions of Lafarge’s Approval in Principle issued in 2002 still apply. New proposal elements will be subject to an environmental assessment process in accordance with the act.”

The Lafarge plant was approved in 2002, however local residents fought its construction in court, citing noise and air quality concerns.

The Burrardview Neighbourhood Association opposed the Lafarge project in the case British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Lafarge Canada Inc. and Vancouver Port Authority. The association argued that the City of Vancouver should have insisted that Lafarge obtain a city development permit for the project.

However, the Vancouver Port Authority (VPA) argued that they had interjurisdictional immunity as federal public property under the Constitution Act. They also said their management is vital to the VPA’s federal undertaking in relation to navigation and shipping.

The Court ruled in favour of LaFarge in May 2007

“We are disappointed, but what can we do? They are going in because of a Supreme Court ruling. We have to live with it now,” said Barb Fousek, co-treasurer of the Burrardview Community Association. “The good thing is that now the port has stricter regulation in terms of dust and noise.”

The Burrardview Neighbourhood Association changed their name to the Burrardview Community Association, due to concerns that Lafarge would try to recover their costs from the court battle.
The VFPA is still communicating with area residents on the project through the EVPL Liaison Group, which held a meeting on May 8.

“Bruce Willmer and a Lafarge engineer said the plant would be enclosed and smaller than previously planned, but they were short on specifics. We will have to wait and see,” Fousek said.

Lafarge Canada is Canada’s largest maker of cement and concrete-related building materials.

Lafarge has more than 300 sites throughout Canada, including quarries, plants and distribution facilities. The company is a subsidiary of building products giant Lafarge North America, which is owned by Paris-based Lafarge SA.

[squeezied]

new townhouse project called the CARRINGTON occupying an entire block between 45th and 46th avenue on oak street. judging by the rendering and the unique floorplans, i think it'll turn out to be a beauty. im quite eager to see the finish product; after reading the features, im under the impression that there will be a nice emphasis on the exterior and aesthetics... more so than the nearby THE GRAND by concord on 43rd and oak.

http://carringtonliving.com/

[Bert]

Van Dusen concept render (Vancouver Courier (http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=cb82d4b6-f375-40b1-853b-3458da22787a)):

http://i25.tinypic.com/30ue0hs.jpg

[raggedy13]

^That looks amazing! And as an added bonus it appears to have a green roof with (at least partial) public access. Thanks Bert.

[hollywoodnorth]

Van Dusen concept render (Vancouver Courier (http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=cb82d4b6-f375-40b1-853b-3458da22787a)):

http://i25.tinypic.com/30ue0hs.jpg


wow that surely can't be in Vancouver ;)

I likes!

[Architype]

^ It looks appropriately organic and floral-like from that view. I would like to see it from the pedestrian point of view. The garden is a Wset Coast gem, and I think it will most likely be a good addition to bring it into this century.

[subdude]

The new face of social housing

Projects win praise for modern design, green construction

Frances Bula
Vancouver Sun

Saturday, May 24, 2008

http://media.canada.com/b2fd399c-8611-4580-92ea-44f66ab1b1a2/SUN0506%20Social.jpg
A social housing project to be built at 188 East First Ave. designed by GBL Architects Group.

The corner of First and Main in Vancouver is home these days to a sad-looking Burger King, a muffler shop, a tire store, Buster's Towing and a steady stream of commuter traffic.

It's not a place where you'd expect to find an architectural diamond.

But there will be one three years from now, when an unusual new building will rise on that corner. It will be a model of green architecture and innovative design, with an unusually rich exterior texture, in sharp contrast to the city's ubiquitous all-glass towers.

It's a building to which the city's in-house jury of architecture critics -- the urban-design panel -- didn't just give the usual approval recently. It also commended it as an exemplary project, with its repetitions of simple cubic forms, its graceful garden and common spaces, and the way its elevator will deliver incoming residents to a landing where they can look out over the downtown skyline.

That kind of praise doesn't often come from the panel of architects, landscape architects and engineers who've been bombarded with mediocre designs in recent years as condo mania has run full-throttle in the city.

Besides its location, there's another surprise to this building: It will be a home for 100 of the city's most troubled citizens, its drug- and mental-illness-plagued homeless.

And then there's a third twist.

It's not a one-off, like Arthur Erickson's building for the Portland Hotel Society on Hastings or Gregory Henriquez's award-winning Lore Krill Co-op on Cordova.

Instead, this building is just one of what promises to be a wave of beautifully modern, environmentally cutting-edge buildings. It's one of the almost two dozen projects the provincial government has committed to in a massive pre-Olympics social-housing boom in Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria, Kelowna and Nanaimo.

Two other Vancouver social-housing projects also passed through the urban-design panel recently. They too won praise for strikingly good design that, with their panels and use of colour, is faintly reminiscent of the city's unique BC Electric tower, built in 1957 in the full bloom of modernism.

The two new projects -- one at 1308 Seymour, the other at 1237 Howe -- are part of a package of 12 buildings to go up in Vancouver over the next several years.

"They really are little gems" is how one panel member, architect Walter Francl, describes the models that are starting to appear at city hall for approval. "And they show a real respect for the community they're serving. They are quite ennobling for a group that is generally not given that level of care."

So why is this happening? One might be tempted to speculate that the province wants some model projects to show off to visiting reporters during the 2010 Winter Olympics to forestall criticism of the city's large homeless population.

But the changes are actually driven by a different provincial mania than the Olympics. These buildings are among the first government construction projects to fall under the province's new mandate to achieve LEED Gold standards and near-zero greenhouse-gas emissions.

Having to meet those environmental standards pushes all the architectural teams to incorporate certain elements into their designs. A green building typically requires less glass because glass produces heat loss.

Usually, the walls are no more than 40 per cent glass; the windows are punched in. Think of the way buildings used to be built, with rows of windows set into brick walls.

The insulation has to go on the outside, so that means the exteriors are covered with materials like brick, clay tiles or Swiss pearl. (Swiss pearl is a kind of concrete, but the name tells you what higher-quality concrete looks like.)

Green design means taking advantage of natural light as much as possible, so there are skylights that flood interior hallways with light. To take advantage of the differing amounts of sunlight they get, each of the four sides of the building has a different design.

Finally, because these projects will be built on small sites and because the builder, BC Housing, isn't asking to maximize the density, they've got an unusual shape for Vancouver these days. Instead of being sky-high skinny towers on flatbeds of stacked townhouses, they're solid rectangular buildings of about 10 storeys.

"The scale is really pleasing to the eye," says Tom Bell, the architect of the First and Main project.

"It's not the huge project that you would typically see in Vancouver," said Bell, a partner in the firm Gomberoff Bell Lyon. "And the interest comes because we've been free to design them, we've been able to respond to the orientation. When you walk about the Main project, no two sides are the same."

All of this makes them remarkably different from previous eras of Vancouver social housing, from the postwar military-type public housing at Little Mountain to the co-ops of the 1970s and the social housing of the '80s and '90s, much of which consisted of four-storey wood-frame buildings.

Alice Sundberg worked in the social housing field for three decades in Vancouver before retiring recently. She remembers the changes.

"There was an era of 'build it fast, quick and dirty.' That ended up with some real problems.

"Then the response to that was building really high-end, and there was not so much of it.

"In the '60s and '70s there was a lot of emphasis on making the buildings fit in so it wouldn't look like social housing. The problem now is they're not getting the money to maintain those buildings, so they are starting to not blend in."

The aim now is to ensure that they blend in and their high quality will endure.

"It's a whole different housing type," says Bell. "Previous buildings had a look of social housing."

The environmentally driven changes are being accompanied by other changes that reflect the people who will live there. The rooms are small, so intense care is being taken with how each small space is put together.

Equal care is being given to the many common areas -- essential for people who need to be able to alternate between places to be together and places to get away from one another.

Some of the buildings incorporate dining rooms and kitchens set up to serve communal dinners. The many common areas are a mix of big rooms for crowds and spaces big enough for just a few people.

That's partly driven by suggestions from future residents.

Part of the design process for the First and Main building, which will be run by Lookout Emergency Aid Society, was to bring in people who live in some of Lookout's residences in the Downtown Eastside to make suggestions about what the building should include.

It all sounds like a humanitarian paradise.

But, as always, there is one lead lining to this silver cloud: money.

There has always been a delicate balance that the province's housing authority managers try to strike. They aim to build housing that lasts far longer than market buildings. And they want something that fits into the community.

Larry Adams, who designed the Seymour Street building, said architects often try to make the case that this is one kind of government service where there shouldn't be any skimping.

"These people are marginalized already and they deserve nice homes," said Adams, of the firm Neale Staniszkis Doll Adams.

But no group is more wary of accusations about gold-plated government buildings than government bureaucrats. And, ultimately, budgets have limits.

"We are being challenged on them by BC Housing because they are concerned about the cost," admits Stu Lyon, who, like Tom Bell, is an architect with Gomberoff Bell Lyon. He designed a 110-unit building on Howe, between Davie and Drake.

BC Housing promises the quality won't be undermined by "value engineering," the current construction lingo for cost-cutting. Craig Crawford, its vice-president of development service, said the goal is to try to preserve the original concepts as much as possible. The agency is bringing in the cost consultant and construction managers early for suggestions on ways to save money without altering materials or design. Sometimes, just changing the construction schedule can make a difference.

"We don't want to promise something to the urban-design panel that we don't think can be built," says Crawford. "I personally am really pleased with what they're doing and their collaborative approach to design."

In a couple of years, when the buildings start going up, we'll know how all of that worked out.

fbula@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=9b374716-2584-414c-9f85-137c7260d7f5

[Rusty Gull]

Van Dusen concept render (Vancouver Courier (http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=cb82d4b6-f375-40b1-853b-3458da22787a)):

http://i25.tinypic.com/30ue0hs.jpg

I also like! Reminds me of Namba Parks in Osaka, Japan.

http://www.jerde.com/media/images/technical/namba_info_parkaerialclose.jpg
Image courtesy jerde.com

[hollywoodnorth]

thanks subdude for the great article.

[radacal]

anyone know who the architect is for the van dusen concept?

[jlousa]

a few posts up.

Busby, Perkins and Will and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, a landscape architect who was appointed a member of the Order of Canada for her work in 1990, will oversee the construction of the initial phase.

[Bert]

Finally, because these projects will be built on small sites and because the builder, BC Housing, isn't asking to maximize the density, they've got an unusual shape for Vancouver these days. Instead of being sky-high skinny towers on flatbeds of stacked townhouses, they're solid rectangular buildings of about 10 storeys.

"The scale is really pleasing to the eye," says Tom Bell, the architect of the First and Main project.
Is it really worth the extra tax dollars to have these buildings at a lower, more "pleasing to they eye" scale, rather than maximizing density? Unless, the real reason is something else, of course...

[achu]

a few posts up.

Busby, Perkins and Will and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, a landscape architect who was appointed a member of the Order of Canada for her work in 1990, will oversee the construction of the initial phase.

cornelia is the landscape architect who did the green roof on top of the vancouver public library that no one knows about.

[jlousa]

Really interesting write-up on the Burrard St Bridge at regardingplace.

http://regardingplace.com/?p=1183

Never knew that Burrard St used to be called Cedar St, makes sense though as all the other streets in that area are named after trees.

[raggedy13]

^Interesting fact, but yes, it makes complete sense. I've wondered in the past why Burrard is surrounded by tree-named streets and yet is not one itself (I assumed it was that it predated the tree-naming trend).

Thanks for that article Subdude. That building looks and sounds great to me. Makes me wish there was more market housing like that.

[SpongeG]

there was a story on the news the other night that the planned changes might not happen as they are too expensive and they may decide just to close down one lane of car traffic to Burrard

[deasine]

there was a story on the news the other night that the planned changes might not happen as they are too expensive and they may decide just to close down one lane of car traffic to Burrard

That's what I was expecting but I still rather see extensions instead of closing the lane, just so that the pedestrian walkways are larger as well. i hope the bike lanes are raised, but not as high as the pedestrian sidewalks themselves.

[hollywoodnorth]

Business in Vancouver May 27-June 2, 2008; issue 970

Real estate roundup: Peter Mitham

Growth in Metro Vancouver housing stock hits 35-year low

B.C. Place overhaul could help kick-start development of a creekside cultural corridor for the city

Professional development

One of the most intriguing details to come from Bob Rennie’s annual presentation to the Urban Development Institute on May 15 was a remark that growth in Metro Vancouver’s housing stock is now the slowest of any five-year period in the past 35 years.

We’ve heard this sort of thing before, of course. When housing starts first started to reach new highs in the wake of the downturn of the late 1990s, observers were quick to point out that the new tallies were still off those of the early 1990s. Indeed, only last year did starts in Metro Vancouver again crest 20,000.

Still, the market has been moving at a good pace – albeit not quite as slow as Rennie reported.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. figures show that for the five years ending in 2006, Metro Vancouver posted 85,872 housing starts. While that falls short of the 90,000-plus racked up in the two five-year periods following Expo 86, the first half of this decade was the third highest of any five-year period since 1961.

Moreover, the five years prior to 2001 saw a worse slump than during the early 1980s, suggesting that the current boom may still have legs – especially with what Rennie described as the “$5 billion dollar marketing branding program” that is the Olympics still 21 months away.

Don’t count on a greater supply of homes to ease the upward pressure on prices, either.

Most developers will point to land and construction costs as the major factors pushing up pricing on new homes, both of which Rennie acknowledged among the reasons new home prices aren’t about to ease in the near future (and an influx of foreign money isn’t likely to make the resale market any cheaper, either).

While a greater number of listings this spring are creating “more choice” for consumers (to quote Cameron Muir, chief economist of B.C. Real Estate Association), the current lull is not unlike the pause the market saw in late 2004 and last summer before pushing the basic cost of a home hereabouts to something close to $600 a square foot ($500 seemed like a good deal a few months ago).

Rennie’s advice to developers?

“Calm down. It’s all going to be all right.”

Professional impact

A new chapter of 15-year-old social ventures group Net Impact launched May 21 in Vancouver.

The new professional chapter of the San Francisco-based organization complements student chapters at UBC and SFU, connecting business professionals with opportunities to apply their skills in support of local non-profit organizations and social ventures.

Though not intended as a networking group, the chapter launched with a gathering on Main Street to hear Robert Safrata, CEO of Richmond-based Novex Couriers as well as head of Enterra Development Corp., discuss the ease of being green.

Safrata, a BIV 40 Under 40 award recipient in 1996 and more recently a participant in former U.S. vice-president Al Gore’s climate change boot camp, believes a number of simple steps could make businesses more responsible (a term he prefers to “sustainable”).

Enterra is pursuing two residential projects in Ontario that aim to be “restorative” – that is, giving back to the environment more than they take. Among the projects is a 100-acre site with 10 clusters of housing that could start construction later this year in Thornbury, Ontario. A proposed residential project is also planned near the ski area at Collingwood, Ontario.

Culture on the move

Almost like the emergence of one of those instant Polaroid prints, the picture of the new False Creek is taking shape – slowly.

Never mind the retractable roof slated for BC Place; regardless of its merits (and cost), it assures the ongoing existence of the stadium. The announcement that the adjacent Plaza of Nations site is secured for the Vancouver Art Gallery and the plan to locate the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Co. on the southeast shore of False Creek, promises to establish a bonafide creekside cultural corridor.

The idea seems perfect – linked by the seawall and 120 acres of park space from Sunset Beach to Vanier Park, the shores of False Creek are already home to the aquatic centre, science centre, the planetarium and Vancouver museum.

But a call to deputy city manager Jody Andrews last week elicited a more cautious response.

The announcement regarding the art gallery has city staff rethinking work already done toward a cultural precinct for the city. Work to date had focused on the Queen Elizabeth theatre as the heart of the precinct, but Andrews says the vision requires more thought in light of the province’s announcements.

Discussions began last week, and Andrews expects recalibration of the cultural precincts work – and a parallel report on the Northeast False Creek neighbourhood that includes the Plaza of Nations and BC Place – will take time. How much, he couldn’t say.

“The city can’t presuppose how that will turn out,” he said of the process.

[worldwide]

That's what I was expecting but I still rather see extensions instead of closing the lane, just so that the pedestrian walkways are larger as well. i hope the bike lanes are raised, but not as high as the pedestrian sidewalks themselves.

i prefer to see them close a lane so that we can slowly squeeze some traffic capacity out of the downtown... i think best case scenario would be one lane in the center dedicated to light rail/streetcar with bike lanes on either side or at the curbs.

and the most perfectly reasonable time to do something like this is when they put 3 lanes back on cambie

[Rusty Gull]

I can no longer support the cry for the removal of a lane of traffic in favour of cycling (although I previously did). Why?

Because the West Side voters have too much clout, and will -never- in our lifetimes allow that to happen. And they have a point that for half of the year, the cycling "traffic lane" would be virtually unused, which would look glaringly bad when there are the usual back-ups on the bridge.

My hope: that the current standstill will make city planners rethink their position, and consider the creation of a new pedestrian/cycling bridge over False Creek.

[radacal]

well, maybe that's a possible solution - could they temporarily close one lane on the burrard bridge during the summer when more ppl are cycling and ppl are also away on vacation and then reopen it to car traffic in the winter?

[Rusty Gull]

Actually, that makes sense. Close one lane of the bridge for three months -- between Victoria Day and Labour Day. We'll save the $63 million, plus the West Side drivers remain happy. And Vancouverites get a bike lane for the 90percent of the time that they commute by bike.

[deasine]

My hope: that the current standstill will make city planners rethink their position, and consider the creation of a new pedestrian/cycling bridge over False Creek.

Even better =)

[Mininari]

Actually, that makes sense. Close one lane of the bridge for three months -- between Victoria Day and Labour Day. We'll save the $63 million, plus the West Side drivers remain happy. And Vancouverites get a bike lane for the 90percent of the time that they commute by bike.

Someone write a letter.
Entitle it: "How to save $63,000,00 and make everyone happy"

Thats a great idea!
They always justify lane closures for construction in the summer citing lower traffic volumes, why not? Deciding which direction to close might be a sticking point though. On the otherhand, they could install a counterflow system for much less than $63.0M, and just put 5 lanes on counterflow, and leave the 6th for the bikes.

[SpongeG]

a pic of crossroads from last saturday - pic by me

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/spongeg/DSC00611.jpg

[flight_from_kamakura]

whoa, thanks spongey for the great pic

[excel]

thanks for the update.

[officedweller]

After Cambie reopens people are going to come back to the area and won't recognize the place with Home Depot, Save-on-Foods, Crossroads....

[Yume-sama]

After Cambie reopens people are going to come back to the area and won't recognize the place with Home Depot, Save-on-Foods, Crossroads....

Yeah... I drove across the other day to go to the new Canadian Tire... and I did not recognize the area at all. :shrug: It is nice, though. :notacrook:

[hollywoodnorth]

Yeah... I drove across the other day to go to the new Canadian Tire... and I did not recognize the area at all. :shrug: It is nice, though. :notacrook:

no doubt eh!

and who says Skytrain does not help to shape growth? Corrigan anyone? ;)

[deasine]

It's not even open yet =)

[SpongeG]

has anyone seen the building on south granville that will house pottery barn kids? a few doors south of williams-sonoma....

they are digging out the whole building - it has a glass window so you can watch whats going on - i guess the store needs a basement for storage/deliveries etc.

[entheosfog]

has anyone seen the building on south granville that will house pottery barn kids? a few doors south of williams-sonoma....

they are digging out the whole building - it has a glass window so you can watch whats going on - i guess the store needs a basement for storage/deliveries etc.

I walked past that on the weekend (right after my camera batteries died - d'oh!) and it sure is cool looking!

[hollywoodnorth]

Business in Vancouver June 3-9, 2008; issue 971

Builders facing continued cost hikes, Vancouver Regional Construction Association president says

Meanwhile under the “s” for SkyTrain: Planet Bingo eyes VCC Clark station site for new location

Real estate roundup: Peter Mitham

Construction costs rising

Developers should expect higher prices for concrete, steel and all manner of petroleum-based products for the foreseeable future, according to Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association.

Speaking to the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties on May 22, Sashaw projected annual increases of 8% to 10% in the cost of construction for the coming years.

Bearing out Sashaw’s remarks was news the same day that United Properties Ltd. is seeking additional funds from buyers to complete the 100-unit Anvil condominium project in New Westminster.

The project sold out when it was originally offered to the market, but United Properties president Victor Setton said buyers are now being asked to contribute an additional $20,000 to $40,000 toward the project.

Replies were requested by the end of last week.

By last Tuesday, half of the buyers had responded. Setton said the responses were split fairly evenly between those who wanted to stick with the project and those who didn’t.

Setton said delays, construction cost increases and poor costing on items such as fuel contributed to over-runs for the project.

Anvil is slated for completion by the end of the year, though financing will be critical.

Bearish member

While construction costs are helping keep new home prices high, as the Urban Development Institute recently heard from marketer Bob Rennie of Rennie Marketing Systems, a bearish note was sounded by Liberal MP Garth Turner during a swing through Vancouver after addressing a real estate conference in Whistler.

While many observers of Canada’s real estate market maintain that circumstances north of the 49th parallel are different (particularly in Vancouver), Turner maintains that Canada is just a couple of years behind the turmoil gripping the U.S. We may not have had subprime mortgages, but Turner believes the debut of 40-year mortgages in this country two years ago facilitated similar conditions.

“When you combine 40-year mortgages, which make people pay back more money but reduce the payments and zero down, we’ve done exactly the same thing. We’ve lowered the bar for homeownership. The impact? We’ve let our bubble continue to inflate,” he said. “It’s been just as bubbly as any U.S. market.”

Although home prices might not start to decline for another six or nine months, Turner believes a correction is just around the corner. Throw in the retirement of baby boomers seeking to recoup the equity that’s built up in their properties, and he expects a significantly dark future for residential real estate in Canada in the first half of the next decade.

It’s a future Turner has warned about since the late 1990s, notably in his book The Strategy: A Homeowner’s Guide to Wealth Creation. The book also points to the roots of his current optimism regarding real estate.

Diversification is key to a sound investment strategy, and while everyone needs a place to live, Turner would rather see people investing in financial assets and commodities – not a home.

“Real estate is fine,” he said. “Just buy it the right way.”

Transit gambling

Vancouver city councillors have expressed a willingness to consider rezoning a site adjacent to the VCC-Clark SkyTrain station on East 6th Avenue at Glen Drive from I-3 to CD-1 to accommodate Planet Bingo, which the Community Gaming Management Association operates on Main near Broadway.

Henriquez Partners Architects, architect of the Woodward’s redevelopment and an award-winning designer of several social housing projects on the Downtown Eastside, has been working on the project for several months.

The social impact of gambling was a critical element of council’s discussion regarding a potential rezoning of the site.

On the heels of speakers noting the destructive influence of gambling on the lives of some players, councillors made clear they wouldn’t consider any application for the site that would permit slot machines or tables.

The original motion before council asked if council would consider these uses for the site as part of Planet Bingo’s relocation plans. Planet Bingo does not offer slots or tables at its current site.

In addition to rejecting slots and table games, council expressed interest in a proposal for the site that would include “a multi-use, higher-density, more employment-intensive development.”

A summary of the project presented to council suggested that new premises for Planet Bingo could be ready for occupancy by 2010, an important point given that its current lease on Main Street expires at the end of 2009.

Wendy Thompson, executive director and general manager of the Community Gaming Management Association that operates Planet Bingo said in April that rezoning and development permit processes will take time and that Planet Bingo has no intention of relinquishing its current landlord just yet.

[raggedy13]

he expects a significantly dark future for residential real estate in Canada in the first half of the next decade.

I wonder if post-Olympics foreign investment will cushion Vancouver's market. Clearly some people are hoping it will do more than that.

[Yume-sama]

I wonder if post-Olympics foreign investment will cushion Vancouver's market. Clearly some people are hoping it will do more than that.

I am of the opinion it will probably slow down after 2010. There will be nothing to hype up for a building boom like we have seen. It could last a year or so, but I think after that, it will not go *down* but it will become a tiny bit slow. Of course, I could be completely wrong... everybody knows how expensive the Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Paris, NYCs of the World are. Vancouver is doing an OK job of becoming a major international city. We got an APPLE STORE! :P

[androo3]

I am of the opinion it will probably slow down after 2010. There will be nothing to hype up for a building boom like we have seen. It could last a year or so, but I think after that, it will not go *down* but it will become a tiny bit slow. Of course, I could be completely wrong... everybody knows how expensive the Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Paris, NYCs of the World are. Vancouver is doing an OK job of becoming a major international city. We got an APPLE STORE! :P

What about the twinning of the hwy1 and port mann, north and south perimiter roads, Evergreen line, Bental 6, etc. Billions of dollars worth of projects waiting for post olympics to start. I think there is going to be tons of projects filling jobs and fueling the economy that Vancouver should do just fine post olympics, however, three-four years later we may see a slow down, but then again the US would probably be coming back up and take us with them. So Vancouver may be on it's way up to HK, Tokyo, London, Paris, NYC pricing...well closer anyway?

[Yume-sama]

I dont know if many people from China will be buying condos in a city because the highway out of town is going to be bigger. I think Vancouver will do fine, also, however, I am predicting new residential developments slow down a bit and the prices will probably stop skyrocketing like they have been the last few years.

[officedweller]

Holiday Inn on Broadway redevelopment - renders at the end of report - it's huge!!

http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20080610/documents/p1.pdf

[quobobo]

Holiday Inn on Broadway redevelopment - renders at the end of report - it's huge!!

http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20080610/documents/p1.pdf

Wow, that is great looking. And it could be even bigger! :D

The Panel supported the land use, height and density with several Panel members noting the
density along Fairview slopes is low in terms of residential use and could be increased. One
Panel member did not support the density and thought the project wasn’t right for the area.
The Panel supported an increase in the height at the centre of the project in front of the
Holiday Inn as they thought the project could go higher than the hotel.

[mr.x]

Central Broadway is part of our metropolitan core/downtown, we could certainly use more height for this development.....too bad Crossroads isn't higher.

great find! I only skimmed through it, does it mean Holiday Inn is also getting a huge renovation?

[jlousa]

That's a project I've been hinting about for a couple of years now, glad to see the renders finally made public. It's been in the works for quite a while now.

[LeftCoaster]

The signs have been up at the site for quite some time now, im surprised this is the first we've heard about it here on the forum.

[SpongeG]

I Remember hearing about it a while ago on here when there was talk of the casino shutting down for renos and new development

looks nice - that area is coming along nicely

[officedweller]

The previous scheme wasn't as big as this one - it was just townhouses along 8th and an addition to the existing building.

[excel]

Great looking building. Thanks for posting the link.

[jlousa]

Looks of great info and pics here

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/civicagencies/publicart/documents/ag20080609.pdf

Including some renders of the new Canadian tire on Marine Drive. Pretty impressive.

[SpongeG]

Looks of great info and pics here

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/civicagencies/publicart/documents/ag20080609.pdf

Including some renders of the new Canadian tire on Marine Drive. Pretty impressive.

they have Signage for Bed, Bath & Beyond in there :sly:

[hollywoodnorth]

they have Signage for Bed, Bath & Beyond in there :sly:

and Shoppers, Best Buy and Petsmart. pretty impressive project

[mr.x]

Looks of great info and pics here

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/civicagencies/publicart/documents/ag20080609.pdf

Including some renders of the new Canadian tire on Marine Drive. Pretty impressive.

is it just me or is the file not working?

[SpongeG]

it took a really long time to open and when it did the pics didn't all show up and the ones that did took a really long time to load

but it took a good 5 minutes to get opened

[quobobo]

It's not just you, COV's server is screwy or something. I was finally able to download it on the 4th try. Also it makes my PDF viewer take up 500+ megs of RAM.

[deasine]

I couldn't load the file either. Does anyone wanna screenshot =D *big smiles* Thanks in advance.

Or maybe i should do save target as.../save link as... [looks like it's working that way]

Edit: HOLY COW 41.6 MB no wonder my computer can't load it -_-"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/265/ag200806090000tn5.jpg
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/1200/ag200806090001qz7.jpg
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/5955/ag200806090002xe8.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/2253/ag200806090003zd6.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/9300/ag200806090004ke4.jpg
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/6797/ag200806090005ir4.jpg

[officedweller]

The "screw" sculpture would be particularly appropriate.

[jlousa]

Vandusen has updated their site with the proposed upgrades, click thru the links to see all the renders. Really amazing design.

http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/vandusen/website/capitalProject/index.htm

[deasine]

The building looks amazing in every way.

[mr.x]

If only this were our convention centre......x100 in size.


http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/vandusen/website/capitalProject/images/h_CapCOpening.jpg

[excel]

beautiful building.

[vanman]

That building should be the new art gallery on False Creek. Amazing design I just wish it were in a more high profile location.

[officedweller]

From the GBL Architects website:

188 East 1st Ave.:

http://www.gbl-arch.com/database/img_484074864c3d4.jpg?1212183686


Wall Centre False Creek - seen pics before, but this one definitely shows some red paint:

http://www.gbl-arch.com/database/img_4846fb8eb817b.jpg?1212611470

[officedweller]

More Van Dusen from the Busby website:


Vancouver's landmark VanDusen Botanical Gardens, created over 30 years ago, preserved an important oasis amidst increasing urbanization. Busby Perkins+Will, in conjunction with internationally renowned sustainable landscape designer Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, have been selected to provide a signature facility to highlight this oasis well into the future.

The new facility will be tailored to its stunning natural context, and ensure a harmonious balance between built and natural landscapes. Given VanDusen's spectacular setting, the relationship between the new building and its garden context will be key to the renewal project's success and longevity. Our design will ease the building gently into the site, seeking to create a harmonious dialogue between the facility and the garden and reflect not just the nature of the surroundings but the nature of the community as well. We are investigating the possibility of designing a facility that gradually emerges from its surrounding landscape, an option that will maximize integration, minimize intrusion, and offering energy savings through the landscape's natural insulation.

The final VanDusen Botanical Garden facility design must provide a strong, inviting heart for the garden. Possibilities for this core area include a flowing entry with surprising and inviting partial views, revealing the gardens slowly as one passes through the facility. The building will be a harmonious and fluid addition to the landscape.

This facility will be held to high environmental standards and will incorporate sustainable and green techniques and technologies at every opportunity. The provision of this renewed facility is a unique opportunity to create a sustainable signature facility for the VanDusen Botanical Garden, a focal point for the neighbourhood, and a renewed natural landmark within the city.

http://www.busby.ca/clients/VanDusen/images/01.jpg

http://www.busby.ca/clients/VanDusen/images/02.jpg

http://www.busby.ca/clients/VanDusen/images/03.jpg

http://www.busby.ca/clients/VanDusen/images/04.jpg

[officedweller]

From the VIA Architecture website:

SEFC project:

http://www.via-architecture.com/projects/sefcmodelsustainablecommunity/image03.jpg

http://www.via-architecture.com/projects/sefcmodelsustainablecommunity/image04.jpg

[mr.x]

sweet renderings, thx!


I'm really loving the Dusen's new building.....if only an enlarged version of it were our convention centre.

The new SEFC building looks great too, seems like a larger version of UBC's Village.

[raggedy13]

Great info/pics guys. Some nice lookin projects there.

BTW, anybody know what was going on outside the VAG today?:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/2574874154_90214b53b6_b.jpg

[excel]

thanks for the renders.

[jlousa]

Holborn redesigning the Hills again??? I wish this project would just happen. Anyone have any insight on this?

2330 Kingsway
To construct a mixed use commercial and residential project with a total of 276 housing units, a 37 space childcare facility, a temporary community garden all over 5 levels of underground parking.

[Built Form]

Great info/pics guys. Some nice lookin projects there.

BTW, anybody know what was going on outside the VAG today?:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/2574874154_90214b53b6_b.jpg

It's the Franco-Dome celebrating French Canadian culture and marking both the 400th birthday of Quebec and the 150th birthday of BC.

[raggedy13]

^Interesting, thanks!

[hollywoodnorth]

Business in Vancouver June 10-16, 2008; issue 972

Vancouver’s prime real estate largely untouched by global credit crunch

Although some players have dropped out of the game, bidders are still lining up for prime assets in Vancouver’s real estate market

Curt Cherewayko

A low turnover rate is dampening the effects of the tight credit market on Vancouver’s higher-classed real estate market.

For the few prime assets that do come up for sale, lineups of prospective buyers create resistance against any downward pressure that lenders – tight-pocketed as a result of the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States – could have on prices.

“It’s the lesser properties being affected,” said Eric Poon, a realtor with Vancouver-based Macdonald Commercial.

“You’re not going to find any issues with anything in downtown Vancouver.”

Poon, who specializes in retail commercial buildings and development sites in the $1 million to $20 million range, just sold a retail and office building in Yaletown that generated no shortage of interest from prospective buyers.

“We had multiple offers on it, and there was competition among the .”

Poon only has one other property on the market, a high-quality development site in the Broadway corridor that he’s nearly closed.

He wouldn’t disclose details of the site but said that, for quality real estate, he would not be surprised to witness multiple bidders like he did when selling the Yaletown property.

[b]“There are a lot of people with a lot of money right now that needs to be placed,” said Poon. “There’s more money than property.”

Eight buyers expressed interest in Vancouver’s Sun Tower, an 11-story, Class C building on West Pender that was sold earlier this year for $15.5 million

One of the more notable assets currently for sale in Metro Vancouver is Richmond’s Crestwood Corporate Centre, a collection of nine Class A office buildings that is listed for more than $200 million.

Jim Szabo is vice-president of CB Richard Ellis, which is brokering the sale of the corporate centre for owner SITQ, a subsidiary of pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. He said there were a number of buyers interested in the portfolio when bidding on it closed at the end of May.

Avtar Bains, executive vice-president of Colliers International Vancouver noted that best-of-breed assets – those with a prime location and quality leasing space, and that are viewed as ideal long-term investments – are in some cases positioned to fetch a higher value today than a year ago.

“In the province, the deals are still getting done, more so than other jurisdictions in Canada,” said Bains, adding that what’s changed is the types of investors that are able to chase after quality real estate

“The debt markets have changed,” he said. “They’re taking people out of the marketplace, because [some buyers] rely on leverage or debt,” he said.

Indeed, the credit meltdown has shaken the confidence of many lenders.

Loan-to-value ratios in Vancouver have decreased from between 70% and 75% a year ago, to between 60% and 65% today, requiring buyers to put up more cash at the time of purchase.

The limited amount of available debt means that some realty is off-limits to investors that don’t have the high equity being demanded by banks and other lenders.

“The buyer profile is different now because not everybody can borrow under the same parameters that they used to be able to borrow under,” said Brade Wise, executive vice-president of Churchill International Properties.

This has created opportunity, said Wise, for those with access to large pools of cash such as established real estate companies, well-financed private buyers and such institutional investors as pension funds and real estate investment trusts.

“Those people that have strong operating histories in the real estate market will continue to be involved in it, albeit on somewhat different parameters with the lending community,” said Wise.

Sandra Cawley, a real estate appraiser and partner with Burgess, Cawley, Sullivan and Associates, noted that banks and other lenders have become wary of financing anything other than higher-class assets.

“They’re not interested,” she said.

For higher-risk real estate in secondary markets such as Nanaimo and Kelowna and tertiary markets like Quesnel and Campbell, buyers may have to seek out secondary lenders who can command more costly and onerous terms before agreeing to finance a deal.

In the last two years, said Cawley, the spread between interest rates in downtown Vancouver – where vacancy rates are near record lows – and elsewhere in B.C. was less than 100 basis points, or 1%.

She anticipated that the spread could widen to as much as 300 basis points in the future.

[SFUVancouver]

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/1361/firstjune152008smallqs3.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) Taken by SFUVancouver, June 15th, 2008.

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/971/first2june152008smallsh3.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) Taken by SFUVancouver, June 15th, 2008.

[hollywoodnorth]

Business in Vancouver June 17-23, 2008; issue 973

Filtration plant tunnelling contract set to double

Dispute over stalled reservoir project lands in court; negotiations underway with handful of new contractors

Andrew Petrozzi

More than five contractors could be in the running to complete the twin tunnels component of the Seymour-Capilano reservoir filtration project that will likely double in costs from its original $100 million price tag.

Bilfinger-Berger Canada Inc. had its right to continue working on the project terminated at the end of May after the it cited worker safety concerns and refused to continue tunnelling.

It also didn’t provide project owner Metro Vancouver with a schedule for resumption of work, a key claim in Metro Vancouver’s lawsuit filed May 29.

The suit seeks damages for breach of contract and/or negligence, and liquidated damages against Bilfinger Berger AG, Bilfinger Berger (Canada) Inc., Fru-Con Construction Corp. and Bilfinger Berger/Fru-Con, a joint venture.

Two original bidders on the project – Peter Kiewit Sons and Frontier-Kemper Constructors Inc. – are involved in fresh discussions, but Metro Vancouver spokesman Bill Morrell declined to elaborate on which other companies were involved or how many there were.

He said that the cost of the contract could double to $200 million. Morrell added that Metro Vancouver is confident it can recoup any additional costs from Bilfinger Berger through legal action and by claiming against a $50 million performance bond.

Bilfinger-Berger suspended work on the two 7.1-kilomtere, 3.8-metre-diameter tunnels in January 2008 as a result of rock conditions that the contractor said created worker safety concerns. Metro Vancouver engineers prepared a plan to address concerns over the falling and bursting rock, but Bilfinger-Berger did not accept it. WorkSafeBC, however, approved the new plan, according to Metro Vancouver, after it had previously issued a directive order over safety concerns.

Asked if Bilfinger-Berger’s bid seemed too low – the second lowest bid was $186 million by Frontier-Kemper Constructors – Morrell said the bid wasn’t out of line with what Metro Vancouver’s consulting engineers estimated in their pre-bid work.

He added that Metro Vancouver bases its contracting decisions on a “best value” proposition that includes cost, environmental and social impacts and economics.

Morrell also confirmed that Bilfinger-Berger told Metro Vancouver that if it cancelled the contract and renegotiated on a time and materials basis, it would continue the work.

“They shut down the work based on what they told us were safety concerns. We, as per direction from WorkSafeBC, developed an engineered plan to proceed with the work in a way that protected workers. Bilfinger–Berger chose not to agree or to provide us with an alternate plan, nor would they provide us with a schedule to return to work,” Morrell said.

Bilfinger Berger claims its workers encountered increasingly hazardous rock conditions in 2007, and it suspended tunnelling January 11. It reported the work stoppage to WorkSafeBC, and on January 22, WorkSafeBC issued two directives to Bilfinger Berger and Metro Vancouver prohibiting further tunnelling. Those directives remain in force, it claimed in a May 27 statement. Bilfinger Berger said it disagrees that a “sufficiently safe and viable new design has been prepared.” •

[subdude]

In case you might miss it here is a thread I started in the general BC section on the new Whistler to Blackcomb Peak 2 Peak Gondola. They've started to install the cables: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=152835