[Burnaby] Sovereign | 155.9m | 45fl | Completed - Page 5

madmigs · #81 Posted **Feb 28, 2011, 8:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skyhigh8

I really like the location, everything is in the walking distance. But the price is so high..... how high can it be? How much cost to build a 500 sqft condo?

Its not how much it costs to build it, its how much its valued. It's in a great location and new condos in the area are in high demand. Not to mention the condos start on like the 20th floor and on up, with hotel and 3 level retail below that. That to me sounds like all the makings for a higher end development.

SpikePhanta · #82 Posted **Feb 28, 2011, 4:26 PM**

The towers north and north west of the sovereign have people selling their condos for 600 K for three bedrooms and nice views, if you want to live in the area

trofirhen · #83 Posted **Feb 28, 2011, 5:23 PM**

This building seems emblematic of the "Chinese buyers driving up Vancouver house prices" thread.

Maybe we should move it there. It appears to have been pretty-much pre-sold to them, for the good, or the not good.

madmigs · #84 Posted **Mar 1, 2011, 2:03 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by trofirhen

This building seems emblematic of the "Chinese buyers driving up Vancouver house prices" thread.

Maybe we should move it there. It appears to have been pretty-much pre-sold to them, for the good, or the not good.

Umm you do realize there are a lot of Chinese/Asian living in the area right? There are many Chinese/Asian restaurants/tea shops/stores and even the Crystal Mall a hop across the road. The hotel also looks to be catering to an international market, so you can bet there will be more than a few Asian restaurants/stores in the 3 level retail section.

High demand and low supply is what is driving up prices. Most condos for sale(existing or pre-sale) in Metrotown and more and more now in Brentwood don't stay on the market for long. Vancouver was once again rated the #1 livable city which means even more will want to move here from overseas and from within Canada/North America. Those that can afford it that is. And since downtown/Cambie is full of people who fight tooth and nail against these high towers, it appears Burnaby is happy to satisfy the demand with both this and MetroPlace in different states of progress.

incognism · #85 Posted **Apr 14, 2011, 5:23 PM**

Hotel to be Starwood branded (Element).

Quote:

Bosa Properties has landed a Starwood Hotels and Resorts brand for its first venture in hotel development as an element of its landmark Sovereign tower at Metrotown in Burnaby.

The companies said on Wednesday that an eco-friendly 169-room Element Hotel will occupy 18 floors of Bosa's 45-storey Sovereign development. It is slated to open in 2014.

http://www.vancouversun.com/business...715/story.html

WBC · #86 Posted **Apr 14, 2011, 7:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpikePhanta

The towers north and north west of the sovereign have people selling their condos for 600 K for three bedrooms and nice views, if you want to live in the area

Exactly, there are plenty of condos in the area that could be gotten for much less. Also, the older condos tend to be bigger and some are in very well managed buildings. Frankly, if you are buying in pre-construction you will be just eating HST, paying for hype and not having a chance to assess the building once it actually exists.

vanman · #87 Posted **Apr 18, 2011, 12:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by trofirhen

This building seems emblematic of the "Chinese buyers driving up Vancouver house prices" thread.

Maybe we should move it there. It appears to have been pretty-much pre-sold to them, for the good, or the not good.

Subtle racism???

I don't see what is bad about Asian people buying Vancouver real estate. They are fueling demand for new housing which means construction, which translates into lots of jobs. Not only do developers get paid, but contractors, tradespeople, construction workers, real estate agents, construction workers the list goes on and on. If they were mostly European buyers I really don't think anybody would be paying attention. Housing affordability is a whole nother issue which all levels of government have to work together to solve. As long as Vancouver remains the beautiful place it is with limited land and mild weather, in one of the most stable, tolerant, prosperous nations in the developed world, Vancouver will remain expensive, and people will continue to buy homes here.

trofirhen · #88 Posted **Apr 18, 2011, 1:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanman

Subtle racism???

I don't see what is bad about Asian people buying Vancouver real estate. They are fueling demand for new housing which means construction, which translates into lots of jobs. Not only do developers get paid, but contractors, tradespeople, construction workers, real estate agents, construction workers the list goes on and on. If they were mostly European buyers I really don't think anybody would be paying attention. Housing affordability is a whole nother issue which all levels of government have to work together to solve. As long as Vancouver remains the beautiful place it is with limited land and mild weather, in one of the most stable, tolerant, prosperous nations in the developed world, Vancouver will remain expensive, and people will continue to buy homes here.

You're bang-on correct in your statement.
However, I want to say here that I wasn't intending any racism when I suggested maybe moving this thread - somehow - into the "Chinese investors driving up...." thread, simply because there seemed to already be that tone evident in this thread; then again I may be wrong; all I do know is that buyers with wads of cash, wherever they are from, push up the ceiling on the real estate market. We'll just have to live with that, as you say.
As to where the buyers are from, I really don't care as long as they're good people.

alan · #89 Posted **Apr 19, 2011, 6:11 PM**

How come no one post a new thread about this new condo in Metrotown area?

Burnaby - Chancellor
by Polygon

cornholio · #90 Posted **Apr 19, 2011, 8:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanman

Subtle racism???

I don't see what is bad about Asian people buying Vancouver real estate. They are fueling demand for new housing which means construction, which translates into lots of jobs. Not only do developers get paid, but contractors, tradespeople, construction workers, real estate agents, construction workers the list goes on and on. If they were mostly European buyers I really don't think anybody would be paying attention. Housing affordability is a whole nother issue which all levels of government have to work together to solve. As long as Vancouver remains the beautiful place it is with limited land and mild weather, in one of the most stable, tolerant, prosperous nations in the developed world, Vancouver will remain expensive, and people will continue to buy homes here.

Seriously? I remember in the early 90's when Czechoslovakia's communist government fell and "West Germany Germans" begun snapping up properties left right and center driving up real estate prices. Certainly was a problem there as the government needed to implement quick restrictions on foreigners pricing out the locals since the money didnt flow down to everyone like you think.

red-paladin · #91 Posted **Jul 18, 2011, 7:18 PM**

Gutting and demolition of the old low-rise that was used for the sales centre is underway.

red-paladin · #92 Posted **Jul 23, 2011, 11:54 PM**

They are digging up the 'lawn' and parking lot sections, continuing to demolish the building, and there are large portable tanks and pipes, presumably to help clean up the gas station's tanks.

LeftCoaster · #93 Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 8:51 PM**

Quote:

They are digging up the 'lawn' and parking lot sections

So has excavation started on this one then?

red-paladin · #94 Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 9:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

So has excavation started on this one then?

I would not call it excavation, as it is less than a metre. It's more that they are leveling and clearing the land. The gas station part has these big tanks and pipes, etc, Which I assumed are for sucking all the liquids from the underground tanks. Another section has all the guts from the former sales centre, which is still being gutted.

Metro-One · #95 Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 9:57 PM**

Yeah, i would say site prep is being done

red-paladin · #96 Posted **Jul 27, 2011, 3:31 PM**

Well, they certainly are 'excavating' now, as they have lots of backhoes and such working now. They are a lot deeper too. However, it still seems to be getting all the terrain from the parking lot and 'backyard' areas ready for actually constructing the building.

Still, great to see things getting serious.

Metro-One · #97 Posted **Jul 27, 2011, 7:17 PM**

Yeah, drove by yesterday and they had a ton of equipment on site. They still have not torn down one of the remaining old structures though, so i am hesitant to say excavation has fully started until that building is gone, hehe.

This is definitely the most exciting tower, oops, SKYSCRAPER

to be built in the burbs in a looong time.

LeftCoaster · #98 Posted **Jul 27, 2011, 7:34 PM**

Yeah, and It is going to look absolutely massive from DT too, due to perspective, and well, its massive size.

Canadian Mind · #99 Posted **Jul 27, 2011, 8:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Yeah, and It is going to look absolutely massive from DT too, due to perspective, and well, its massive size.

We found that out when we trashed JLs pad. It's going to be amazing. I'd love to see a line of mid-highrises down Expo line someday. Would be incredible.

red-paladin · #**100** Posted **Jul 28, 2011, 3:01 PM**

Today, I can see they are digging up the old gas station and continuing to dig in the north west corner. There are large hills of dirt now from all the digging. The old sales centre is still being gutted.