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  #21  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2013, 4:10 AM
Kapten Kapten is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinion View Post
How can you believe the 1-4% foreign ownership thing from the real estate board? Go to any high rise condo sales centre opening and it is 99% non-Canadian Chinese people milling about. Look at these building at 7pm, five years after they're sold out, and they're still dark. You have to ignore what your eyes see to believe a board that has a vested interest in continuing foreign sales.

I like the look of Vancouver's towers but I can't deny anything else the Portland article said, besides maybe the environmental impact angle.

Portland is basically Vancouver 20 years ago and I'm not sure we've become a better city in that time.
I live in a newer tower (completed 2012). It's basically full and majority owner- occupied. "Darkness" is a tricky way to measure occupancy - but I can tell you that many newer downtown condo towers are quite full (such as Cooper's Lookout and the Spectrum development). Census data also reves a big population increase in the tracts where newer condo developments have been built.
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  #22  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2013, 6:06 AM
Vin Vin is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinion View Post
How can you believe the 1-4% foreign ownership thing from the real estate board? Go to any high rise condo sales centre opening and it is 99% non-Canadian Chinese people milling about. Look at these building at 7pm, five years after they're sold out, and they're still dark. You have to ignore what your eyes see to believe a board that has a vested interest in continuing foreign sales.

I like the look of Vancouver's towers but I can't deny anything else the Portland article said, besides maybe the environmental impact angle.

Portland is basically Vancouver 20 years ago and I'm not sure we've become a better city in that time.
I believe it is a fallacy that many in the Lower Mainland believe that most newer downtown condos are empty. Drive downtown after the sun sets and please point out which condos are mostly dark? Sure, other than a couple of very expensive Coal Harbour buildings, I would dare say most downtown condos are almost fully occupied. I think the rumour about empty condos is created by sour grapes who can't afford to buy into the ever unattainable real estate here and start blaming foreign buyers, especially the loaded mainlander Chinese. The fact is that most condos not lived in by buyers are rented out, and they are not always 'left empty' like many people believe.

If Vancouver never started building many condos from the 60s till now, we would be like Winnipeg today. And I'm sure people who drive into downtown Portland are not impressed with the skyline there, but the same cannot be said about downtown Vancouver. We do have a beautiful skyline and a more lively downtown.

Last edited by Vin; Oct 7, 2013 at 6:42 AM.
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  #23  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2013, 10:19 AM
officedweller officedweller is offline
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In order to see if a condo is occupied, you'd have to do a timelapse over 48 hours to get a reasonable idea if the lights go or not.

Remember, condo residents are not "homebodies" and don't often have lights on. People are used to seeing pics of cities with office towers, whose lights stay on for cleaning staff and late night office workers.
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  #24  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2013, 2:03 PM
WarrenC12 WarrenC12 is offline
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Agreed. I live in Yaletown and anybody who thinks the residential areas of downtown are some kind of ghost town hasn't spent any time in the area.

I know a friend's retired parents live not far from me, and they do a fair amount of travelling, sometimes they are out of town for 3-4 weeks. I can see how their unit might be considered empty if you're only looking for lights. But it is their only residence and certainly lived in full time.
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  #25  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2013, 2:06 PM
whatnext whatnext is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinion View Post
How can you believe the 1-4% foreign ownership thing from the real estate board? Go to any high rise condo sales centre opening and it is 99% non-Canadian Chinese people milling about. Look at these building at 7pm, five years after they're sold out, and they're still dark. You have to ignore what your eyes see to believe a board that has a vested interest in continuing foreign sales.

I like the look of Vancouver's towers but I can't deny anything else the Portland article said, besides maybe the environmental impact angle.

Portland is basically Vancouver 20 years ago and I'm not sure we've become a better city in that time.
People believe what they want to believe, and Canadians are too worried about being politically correct to challenge that 1 - 4% figure. And on top of that there's the question of how much a citizen one is, if the beadwinner is an astronaut effectively working and deriving all their income in a foreign country. Sure, on paper, for the purpose of real estate stats, the're "Canadian" but the USA's political culture wouldn't allow for that much ambiguity.

SSPers need to make it out to the Valley more, there's a reason prices there are so much lower that has nothing to do with distance from the "mecca" of downtown and everything to do with prices being tied to local incomes.

As to high rises and a lack of community, of course they're spot on. I'd challenge most high rise owners to name who lives just a couple feet away, in the unit above or below them.

As to Stockholm, it looks like some pretty significant road infrastucture there (tunnels etc). Of course, most tourists stick to public transport in Europe, so never get a sense of how the road network ties into the cities.
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  #26  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2013, 5:21 PM
WarrenC12 WarrenC12 is offline
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Originally Posted by whatnext View Post
SSPers need to make it out to the Valley more, there's a reason prices there are so much lower that has nothing to do with distance from the "mecca" of downtown and everything to do with prices being tied to local incomes.
Supply & Demand... Plenty of "working locals" live in the City of Vancouver for all kinds of reasons.
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  #27  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2013, 5:44 PM
Kapten Kapten is offline
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Originally Posted by whatnext View Post

SSPers need to make it out to the Valley more, there's a reason prices there are so much lower that has nothing to do with distance from the "mecca" of downtown and everything to do with prices being tied to local incomes.
I'm sorry, but distance from the city centre does have an impact on prices. An enormous body of research (recounted in Pamela Blais' book Perverse Cities and several other books and article sources) shows that commuting distance has a direct relationship with transportation costs and it often works out to thousands of dollars annually. The fact is that a typical household in Mission or Abbottsford will spend thousands of dollars more on transportation costs per year than a typical household residing within the city of Vancouver. Some of this has to do with commuting, and 2/3 of the office jobs in region are either downtown or in the "Broadway Corridor" (that figure may increase as several new office towers are under construction downtown and several mid-rise office buildings are underway or planned along or near Broadway). But "evening and weekend" trips are also cheaper for city residents: many Vancouver denizens can walk a short distance to retail, restaurants, and services whereas the typical resident of a new housing subdivision in Maple Ridge may have to use their vehicle for every trip outside of their house.

So prices in the Fraser Valley are lower, in part, because a typical household there has to spend much more on transportation. In the US, Location Efficient Mortgages are offered to centre city buyers to recognize the fact that location efficiency means lower transportation costs and the resulting capacity to afford a higher monthly payment.

I
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  #28  
Old Posted Feb 19, 2014, 1:26 AM
trofirhen trofirhen is online now
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Question Vancouver and Seattle ... culturally speaking

This is not about transit or urban development, but focuses on the Performing Arts in both cities.

While most people will acknowledge that Seattle is far ahead of Vancouver, especially in music, both classical and contemporary, Vancouverites will usually answer "yeah, but ...." meaning that we can't help it due to funding sources and regulations.

But is that the only reason? Seattle seems to have had a thriving cultural scene for decades, even when it was smaller than Vancouver is now, and it seems to continue to thrive, despite its own budget limitations. Is it the civic attitude? The ethnic origins (quite different) of the cities. The economies? What?

This excerpt from CROSSCUT takes an (IMO) objective look at this, and leaves me wondering ... "Where is Vancouver at culturally?" Any comments or feedback more than appreciated. To any of you who have the interest to read and respond: Thank you all for your time

http://crosscut.com/2013/01/28/music...cities/?page=2
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  #29  
Old Posted May 10, 2015, 12:45 PM
trofirhen trofirhen is online now
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bear with me, please ...

When comparing two cities, it is relevant that they be of similar in size, and perhaps economy.
Comparing Paris transport and Vancouver transport is rather unrealistic, Paris being so much larger, with a large, very developed system, (in a city of 9,000,000+ )
SO ... we take a look at two rather similar cities: Vancouver and Brisbane. Both have similar metro populations, and share other features, such as the dense downtown.

Brisbane has an extensive rail system, Vancouver has Skytrain. If interested please read the links below and compare stats. The results are often a little contradictory.

A Brisbane overview .....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane#Transport
Then more specific ....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Brisbane

A nice little map

A closer-up view of the Brisbane Citytrain network
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensl...l_City_Network
check pax numbers ..... then look at the figures for skytrain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_%28Vancouver%29

the lesson here? It seems Vancouver moves more pax with fewer lines, using a grade seperated system, (not even finished yet).
I guess it mostly boils down to low-density suburban sprawl, and the manner needed to serve it. And of course we have Vancouverism. Brisbane, apparently, does not.
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  #30  
Old Posted May 10, 2015, 8:58 PM
Sheba Sheba is offline
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This should probably move here...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheba View Post
Toronto needs more mid-rise condos, report says

The GTA is plagued by “dead zones” along many of its major streets that could become affordable new family-friendly neighbourhoods and vibrant shopping areas if rezoned for desperately needed mid-rise condo projects.

Whole stretches of prime real estate — especially along key transit routes like the Bloor-Danforth subway — are hobbled by outdated zoning and low-rise buildings that would make ideal spots for five- to 11-storey condo complexes and new walkable, transit-oriented neighbourhoods, notes a new report being released Friday.

...

British Columbia amended its code back in 2009 and now has some 250 mid-rise projects built or under construction.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topst...ays/ar-BBj0nrL
Outside of the downtown core, Vancouver doesn't really have that many high rises. There are a lot of areas that could be zoned up for more mid-rise buildings though. It's happening on Cambie.
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