[Burnaby] Sovereign | 155.9m | 45fl | Completed

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by Ronald Jack

Thanks Hollywood North! I wrote from notes, without checking. You are right.
It is Hazel. By the way, I was on the site today and took a few more photos.
I just updated the Blog. I don't think I am going too far out on a limb sharing my thoughts. I plan a potted comparison of the twin towers soon ... SOVEREIGN and METROPLACE that is. The cost per square foot in SOVEREIGN is painful, but if Bosa had taken deposits Tuesday and this afternoon, it would already be sold out. There is incredible appetite for these two towers.

http://therunagatesclub.blogspot.com/

great work and thanks for the pics and updates .... keep em coming!

if only Metroplace sales center site + old royal bank could be developed next

also don't forget about Concords first for foray into Burnaby with >> http://www.themetburnaby.com

and then the Sears Auto site ...... we could very well see 4 towers at various stages of construction at metrotown over the next 2 years .... and then toss in metrotown 3 .... lots of change on the skyline (no pun intended)

[SpikePhanta]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

great work and thanks for the pics and updates .... keep em coming!

if only Metroplace sales center site + old royal bank could be developed next

also don't forget about Concords first for foray into Burnaby with >> http://www.themetburnaby.com

and then the Sears Auto site ...... we could very well see 4 towers at various stages of construction at metrotown over the next 2 years .... and then toss in metrotown 3 .... lots of change on the skyline (no pun intended)

Wasnt the site where RBC was about to be purchased when crystal mall was under construction, but then the landlord got greedy, but ended up with nothing?

Also don't forget about the redevelopment of Station Square!
Metrotown is going to be a very exiting place to watch construction!

[seastar]

drove past the site this morning, already about 10 people lined up for the start of sales on the 19th.....

[GeeCee]

Originally Posted by seastar

drove past the site this morning, already about 10 people lined up for the start of sales on the 19th.....

I don't think so..

[logan5]

Originally Posted by seastar

drove past the site this morning, already about 10 people lined up for the start of sales on the 19th.....

thats funny

[phesto]

EDIT: Appears the line is for the final preview tonight. Still, people waiting in line for a preview???

[seastar]

I went to the final preview tonight, the lineup is now around 100 people for this Saturday, 19th. Looks like a tent has been set up now to keep the people dry. I think one can assume this project will be sold out in a matter of hours.

[SpongeG]

nice
so the base will be retail - hmmm simons? nordstrom? something like that perhaps?

[madmigs]

One of BC's biggest developers denies paying people to stand in line and create hype around a Burnaby condo project.

Bosa Properties sales and marketing Vice President Daryl Simpson says they don't pay people to stand in line.

"that's certainly not something we engage in."

He's aware of a Craiglist ad offering to pay people to queue up at the Sovereign Development but, insists it's not a marketing tactic cooked up by his company.

"there's absolutely no truth to that whatsoever. what we've learned is that there may have been some Realtors who were paying some people to stay in line to get a number for them, for their client."

Sovereign goes on sale Saturday morning.

Simpson says there's huge appetite for condos in the Metrotown area, and more than 1000 buyers have already expressed interest in the 200 units.

http://www.cknw.com/Channels/Reg/New...spx?ID=1367059

[seastar]

Sold out in under 5 hours! I was hoping to get a unit to live in, but no luck. The demand for the units were mixed - from investors, but also a large demand from people like myself for living in. The people I talked to in line were real people, no phonies hired by whoever to line up by the developer...what a bunch of BS that was whoever started that notion. This is a quality project, and the people buying knew that, end of story.

[vanman]

^ Were all the units up for sale or just a select few? Either way, that is very impressive. There is some serious demand for Metrotown condos, I remember Centrepoint sold out in less than a month. I don't understand why developers have been ignoring the area for so long.

[madmigs]

Originally Posted by vanman

^ Were all the units up for sale or just a select few? Either way, that is very impressive. There is some serious demand for Metrotown condos, I remember Centrepoint sold out in less than a month. I don't understand why developers have been ignoring the area for so long.

Its all about opportunity, there aren't really any empty lots that are suitable for towers. Its a lengthy process to acquire enough land(most owned land in the area probably has multiyear leases on it), to designing something, getting the approval from city hall making any necessary changes, etc, to finally building it.

That said i'm glad to see that more and more of the Kingsway streetfront is being modernized especially around Metrotown. There have been a lot of changes to that area since I used to rent in the area in 2001-2003. It used to look really run down but not so much anymore. Look what Nood furniture did to the A&B sound building, it looks great now with the open view, A&B had it all blocked off so you couldn't see in. Now only if more of that stuff across Kingsway from the mall could be rebuilt and there's no reason why many of the stores or stores like it could return in streetfront commercial.

Also if you look at the City of Burnaby's major projects page(http://www.burnaby.ca/cityhall/depar...ng_mjrprj.html), there are a lot of projects in various states of advancement all through Burnaby, most in the Metrotown area, followed by the Brentwood area.

[seastar]

As far as I know, all units sold except for the penthouse suites which they are taking bids on. A lot of disappointed potential buyers went home empty handed (including me).

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by seastar

As far as I know, all units sold except for the penthouse suites which they are taking bids on. A lot of disappointed potential buyers went home empty handed (including me).

no worries sport ... there are 3 or 4 other solid projects all set to sell within the next 6-12 months in Metrotown .... so put that deposit in the bank and sit tight

[mrjauk]

Originally Posted by seastar

As far as I know, all units sold except for the penthouse suites which they are taking bids on. A lot of disappointed potential buyers went home empty handed (including me).

You're in luck, sport. Go crazy and buy three! I mentioned the fact that there are no investors in the Olympic Village project. It looks like the speculator bug has hit some people hard:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bn...224133573.html

Looks like this guy/gal is looking for three greater fools.

Any body who is interested in an assignment please contact me.

I have 3 units ready for signing

2 one bedrooms
1 studio

Adding $25k assignment to original pre open day price. (first 80 units)

If you are interested - you need to be quick cause these will be signed over on monday or tuesday (no assignment fees if done in the next few days)

SOLD OUT BUILDING ( in one day)

Basa http://www.bosaproperties.com/sovereign/

Email with phone number and cash needs to be ready.

Thanks

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by madmigs

That said i'm glad to see that more and more of the Kingsway streetfront is being modernized especially around Metrotown. There have been a lot of changes to that area since I used to rent in the area in 2001-2003. It used to look really run down but not so much anymore. Look what Nood furniture did to the A&B sound building, it looks great now with the open view, A&B had it all blocked off so you couldn't see in. Now only if more of that stuff across Kingsway from the mall could be rebuilt and there's no reason why many of the stores or stores like it could return in streetfront commercial.

Eventually Metropolis will build out to the Kingsway streetfront - but that'll probably be office space - and we all know how long it takes for a market to develop for office space.

[Ronald Jack]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

great work and thanks for the pics and updates .... keep em coming!

if only Metroplace sales center site + old royal bank could be developed next

also don't forget about Concords first for foray into Burnaby with >> http://www.themetburnaby.com

and then the Sears Auto site ...... we could very well see 4 towers at various stages of construction at metrotown over the next 2 years .... and then toss in metrotown 3 .... lots of change on the skyline (no pun intended)

Thanks Hollywoodnorth! As you might guess, my research and interviews
produce more than I can use in these news Blogs. I am following ALL developments in Metrotown, but don't want to get too far ahead of events.
For example METROPLACE is whetting appetites with sexy new CGI views
and it was tempting to mate them with interviews I've done, but I sense
we're missing something.
What I do find interesting is that all area newspapers, including the SUN,
were only interested in SOVEREIGN when it SOLD OUT. They did not cover it until receiving Bosa's self-congratulatory press release. The BURNABY
newspapers were rewarded with very expensive BOSA ads but remained
silent until the sale concluded. What is your 'take' on that? Most people are interested in timely information, are they not? I assume that is why they read this Skyscraperpage thread, and of course my articles in Blogspot at
http://therunagatesclub.blogspot.com/
I did a post mortem on SOVEREIGN Sales yesterday, but again I pulled my punches. My goal may seem to cheerlead project development, but
I am equally interested in promoting fair trading practices. SOVEREIGN turned out to be a clean sale.... compare that to the skullduggery underway at
False Creek.
Cheers! ronjackbc@yahoo.ca

[logan5]

I really hope there are plans in the works to redevelop old orchard across the street. The site is huge, but I think there is a market for it.

I envision this area looking similar to North York City Centre, except Metrotown has a higher density thus has more potential imho.

The hard part will be those damn Metrotown parking lots along Kingsway.

[madmigs]

Originally Posted by logan5

I really hope there are plans in the works to redevelop old orchard across the street. The site is huge, but I think there is a market for it.

I envision this area looking similar to North York City Centre, except Metrotown has a higher density thus has more potential imho.

The hard part will be those damn Metrotown parking lots along Kingsway.

There is no reason why we can't have the parking lots integrated into any new construction. Granted during construction parking would be limited, but once done the parking would again be available.

[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?