[Coquitlam] Highpoint | 163m | 51fl | U/C

[invisibleairwaves]

Since this one seems to be getting under way...

This report presents for Council's consideration fourth and final reading of Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 4893,2018, Housing Agreement Bylaw No. 4964,2019, Highway Dedication Cancellation Bylaw No. 4965, 2019, and the approval of Development Permit No. 17 160477 DP to:
• Permit the development of a 51-storey mixed-use tower consisting of 431 residential units and seven commercial retail units (CRU's).
• Enter into a Housing Agreement with the applicant to provide a minimum of 113 market and 15 non-market rental units to be operated and managed by a housing society or other similar entity approved by the City (Attachment 5).
• Finalize the sale of a 290.4 sq. m. (3,100 sq. ft.) portion of the surplus lane at the northeast portion of the site, which is to be acquired by the applicant and consolidated as part of the subject site (Attachments 4 and 7).

[SpongeG]

January 15

2021-01-15_08-29-29 by snub_you, on Flickr

2021-01-15_08-29-57 by snub_you, on Flickr

2021-01-15_08-30-22 by snub_you, on Flickr

2021-01-15_08-37-51 by snub_you, on Flickr

2021-01-15_08-38-04 by snub_you, on Flickr

2021-01-15_08-38-20 by snub_you, on Flickr

2021-01-15_08-38-39 by snub_you, on Flickr

2021-01-15_08-38-54 by snub_you, on Flickr

[Nites]

Great height on this tower but the design seems so dated unfortunately.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Nites

Great height on this tower but the design seems so dated unfortunately.

Because these towers are so costly to build, they have cut costs on frivolous things like architecture.

Comparing the cost of highrise condo and a townhouse unit in Coquitlam reveals a huge disparity. You can get a 1500 sq foot townhouse in Coquitlam for around 950k. For a unit that size in a highrise it would cost you 1.5 million. Plus you pay a lot less in maintenance fees in a townhouse.

The housing crisis is not because of a shortage of land, there is only monumental incompetency of our city planners - either because they are being controlled by developers or they are off the scale stupid.

[invisibleairwaves]

Originally Posted by logan5

Because these towers are so costly to build, they have cut costs on frivolous things like architecture.

Comparing the cost of highrise condo and a townhouse unit in Coquitlam reveals a huge disparity. You can get a 1500 sq foot townhouse in Coquitlam for around 950k. For a unit that size in a highrise it would cost you 1.5 million. Plus you pay a lot less in maintenance fees in a townhouse.

The housing crisis is not because of a shortage of land, there is only monumental incompetency of our city planners - either because they are being controlled by developers or they are off the scale stupid.

I wouldn't lay it all at the planners' feet- they're ultimately at the mercy of the whims of the mayor and council. I'm sure many planners are well aware of the importance of "missing middle" housing when it comes to the affordability crisis and how unhelpful these giant, expensive towers are in that regard. But politically it's easier to sell a model where you preserve single-family neighbourhoods as they are, and cram all the density into areas where you don't get well-connected McMansion owners making a fuss.

I would argue that Coquitlam actually "gets it" more than some other cities in the metro- go a couple blocks north and east of Highpoint and you'll see tons of single-family homes being torn down for townhouses and lowrises. As you say, those housing forms will do far more for affordability than towers like this will. But that's all politically driven. We happened to elect a mayor and councilors that have something resembling a clue, and are willing to work with planners to improve things. It hasn't been perfect by any means and I have my criticisms too, but compare that with the situation in Vancouver where clowns like Hardwick and Carr just stamp out any good ideas brought forward by staff and you see how helpless planners can be when the politicians are serving the wrong interests.

[Colin4567]

Originally Posted by invisibleairwaves

I wouldn't lay it all at the planners' feet- they're ultimately at the mercy of the whims of the mayor and council. I'm sure many planners are well aware of the importance of "missing middle" housing when it comes to the affordability crisis and how unhelpful these giant, expensive towers are in that regard. But politically it's easier to sell a model where you preserve single-family neighbourhoods as they are, and cram all the density into areas where you don't get well-connected McMansion owners making a fuss.

I would argue that Coquitlam actually "gets it" more than some other cities in the metro- go a couple blocks north and east of Highpoint and you'll see tons of single-family homes being torn down for townhouses and lowrises. As you say, those housing forms will do far more for affordability than towers like this will. But that's all politically driven. We happened to elect a mayor and councilors that have something resembling a clue, and are willing to work with planners to improve things. It hasn't been perfect by any means and I have my criticisms too, but compare that with the situation in Vancouver where clowns like Hardwick and Carr just stamp out any good ideas brought forward by staff and you see how helpless planners can be when the politicians are serving the wrong interests.

This is basically what I was going to say. Coquitlam is a lot more willing to allow quadplexes/townhouses/etc where they aren't necessarily "permitted" through the OCP than other cities where things like that would trigger several full public hearings, months of "studies" and "resident engagement", and other general clownery. Sure, they're messing up some things (I'd say they could be a lot more in favour of active transport projects like sidewalks that are somewhat scarce in the southwest) but overall it isn't bad!

[GMD]

Originally Posted by logan5

Comparing the cost of highrise condo and a townhouse unit in Coquitlam reveals a huge disparity. You can get a 1500 sq foot townhouse in Coquitlam for around 950k. For a unit that size in a highrise it would cost you 1.5 million. Plus you pay a lot less in maintenance fees in a townhouse.

The difference in price is a function of what people are willing to pay, not what it costs to build. If people weren't willing to pay extra to live in the highrise (better safety, less noise, better view) then you wouldn't see that price gap.

Imagine if it cost 5x what it does now to build a tower, and the price was 7.5mn per unit, they wouldn't sell for that price just because that is what it cost to build them, they just wouldn't sell period.

As invis was saying, I wouldn't point to Burquitlam as an example of planners not allowing townhouses/low rise, there are tons of them in the area that are going up or already up.

Personally, I don't agree with always zoning the tallest buildings for the busiest, noisiest most polluted streets, that seems to be a strange place to put the most people, but single family homeowners always come first, no matter what municipality you are talking about.

[SpongeG]

I noticed today that the sales centre for Highpoint is fenced off and through the windows, it looks to be getting torn down. Does that mean the project has sold out?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

I noticed today that the sales centre for Highpoint is fenced off and through the windows, it looks to be getting torn down. Does that mean the project has sold out?

Not yet.

Don't miss out on your final opportunity to discover life at Highpoint! Our stunning Presentation Centre will be closing at the end of the month as we've begun construction on the 52-storey icon coming soon to the Burquitlam area.

Connect with our Sales Team today to book your private appointment and check out our gorgeous display suites while you still can!

https://www.instagram.com/ledmachomes/

[Klazu]

Interesting. I have been thinking this tower is 50 floors but the thread says 51. Now the latest quotation says 52 floors? I like the way this is going but wonder where the delta is coming from?

[LeftCoaster]

This tower has sold quite well, still more than a few units left but they will be proceeding to construction and shutting down the sales centre. Next focus for LedMac is likely Southgate but I'm not totally sure.

[SpongeG]

the crane is mostly up now.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

This tower has sold quite well, still more than a few units left but they will be proceeding to construction and shutting down the sales centre. Next focus for LedMac is likely Southgate but I'm not totally sure.

They have a tower going up in Metrotown at Nelson Ave, and Bennett St. opposite Lobley park.

Demolition and site clearing is currently underway.

[HighPockets]

After Covid and market downturn, HighPoint was shelved, then on again... but is it off again?

The site seems to have no activity and the shallow excavation is now a pond.

[jasonpark]

Originally Posted by HighPockets

After Covid and market downturn, HighPoint was shelved, then on again... but is it off again?

The site seems to have no activity and the shallow excavation is now a pond.

Yeah, it is really weird that they stopped sales altogether for that project. My guess is that they're not really in a hurry considering how much prices have gone up. They probably sold enough units for financing and now they're holding a lot of units back to sell in the future.

I bought Concord Brentwood back in 2019 and they promised it will be done by winter 2021. Now they pushed it to 2023. I don't mind though since the value has gone up 30%

[Klazu]

Sounds like you're not planning on living in your unit. Good thing property taxes keep going up.

[invisibleairwaves]

Originally Posted by HighPockets

After Covid and market downturn, HighPoint was shelved, then on again... but is it off again?

The site seems to have no activity and the shallow excavation is now a pond.

Are you thinking of Townline's project a block to the south? That one seems to have stalled prior to 4th reading. Highpoint seems to be underway still, the fairly deep excavation is done and they're doing foundation work now.

[jasonpark]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Sounds like you're not planning on living in your unit. Good thing property taxes keep going up.

At the time in 2019, I was definitely planning to live in it. I was single and worked downtown at a tech company, a 1 bedroom condo was perfect for me.

Now it's 2022 and I'm working from home and I have a partner. Both of us are renting a 2 bedroom together so circumstances have definitely changed especially with a 2023 completion date. ~540 sqft is also a bit too small now

I have my life savings tied up to it as well so I can't really do anything but hold. Oh well, first world problems here

[Klazu]

That makes sense. I hope you rent it out and it will benefit someone else as well.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by HighPockets

After Covid and market downturn, HighPoint was shelved, then on again... but is it off again?

The site seems to have no activity and the shallow excavation is now a pond.

the one that is a block south, which is next to Lougheed Heights is a pond, the site has been cleared but not much action lately, Highpoint is still going strong.