[Surrey] The Urban Village | 102m| 35fls | Completed

[Whalleyboy]

Okay so the second tower of this development is being called west village. It will sit on the corner of the new 103 ave road and 133 street. It will be 36 storeys and will be 111m in height. Make the second tower taller then ultra. There have also been some tweaks to the retail building and public space.

Its also worth noting another little 18 storey tower is being planned across 133 street right now to but I'll talk about that later in the surrey thread.

I will look at trying to upload some photos in the next day or two

[Whalleyboy]

here are the newest photos of west village.

First I want to start with this. While I know this photo has been shared before but this one is a little different with the add on of SFU taking the land at the corner of university drive and 102 ave.

[Cypherus]

Thanks for the update. Looks like the building's design has been slightly redesigned from its original render, especially the north facing facade. I am not too keen on its simple appearance however, but it suffices. Any word on when this will start presales?

[CurtisVerbatim]

Originally Posted by Cypherus

Thanks for the update. Looks like the building's design has been slightly redesigned from its original render, especially the north facing facade. I am not too keen on its simple appearance however, but it suffices. Any word on when this will start presales?

Well the sales center is up on 104th if that means anything

[CoryHolmes]

The outside of the sales centre is advertising concrete homes "from $93,900!". I suspect these will be tiny micro-suites, but that's not a bad starting price.

[GMasterAres]

It's called Evolve: http://evolvecondos.com and yes the prices start at $93,900 for micro[machine]-suites.

Weststone is learning though based on the last building's excessive prices. They clearly don't want to take 8 years to sell this building.

[Cypherus]

Originally Posted by jhausner

It's called Evolve: http://evolvecondos.com and yes the prices start at $93,900 for micro[machine]-suites.

Weststone is learning though based on the last building's excessive prices. They clearly don't want to take 8 years to sell this building.

$100,000 taxes in for 313 sq. ft is reasonable, but the tower is marketed to young single adults and students. Even their show suite has beer and pizza in the fridge, typical of a student diet. They might as well just admit that the tower will be full of college kids and partygoers. Of course this being Surrey, you will have your bad tenants including guys dressing up like Vanilla Ice and drug dealers.

Other units are less than 400 sq. ft which are impractical in this modern age. There is no need for micro suites to this extent since Bosa's tower next door already has such a supply. Another thing I noticed is the cheap finishing inside the units. I expected more from this building to be equal to if not better than Ultra but it looks like Weststone is cheaping out with this one. Micro-suites and studios don't have good resale value but make for a good investment if you can rent it out for profit annually.

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by Cypherus

$100,000 taxes in for 313 sq. ft is reasonable, but the tower is marketed to young single adults and students. Even their show suite has beer and pizza in the fridge, typical of a student diet. They might as well just admit that the tower will be full of college kids and partygoers. Of course this being Surrey, you will have your bad tenants including guys dressing up like Vanilla Ice and drug dealers.

It's the drug dealers wearing suits and driving Bentleys I worry about. Nobody ever goes after the Vanilla Ices with guns.

I agree that price is pretty good and as I argued in the "Chinese investors taking over the world/Vancouver/housing market" thread last week, it's a stepping stone for as you pointed out, young single students. At those prices they will be buying and I have found in my experience that when your name is on the title and you're paying a mortgage, even the youngest of people suddenly take better care of a place. I think students OWNING will just automatically reduce the problems compared to a pile of students renting.

Also comes down to the Strata council and their enforcement of rules and policy.

Other units are less than 400 sq. ft which are impractical in this modern age. There is no need for micro suites to this extent since Bosa's tower next door already has such a supply. Another thing I noticed is the cheap finishing inside the units. I expected more from this building to be equal to if not better than Ultra but it looks like Weststone is cheaping out with this one. Micro-suites and studios don't have good resale value but make for a good investment if you can rent it out for profit annually.

Personally I could never live in something that small. After 2 years in 600 sq foot 1 bedroom my wife and I were going stir crazy and are now in a 1400 sq. foot townhouse. I think micro suites are a good thing for a small demographic but you're right it may be a bit too much. That said and playing the other side though, SFU Surrey is slated to have more students than SFU Burnaby Mountain in coming years, so some of these places are going to serve as dorms/residences even though they officially aren't. Unless SFU Surrey is going anywhere or downsizing anytime soon, I have a feeling that proximity will be a benefit for this project.

You can throw a rock afterall at SFU Surrey from the balcony of one of those units.

I agree on the cheapening though but the prices reflect that. Ultra was touted as "luxury" and the ridiculous prices showed that off. It was well over-priced and the fact it took them 10+ years to sell the building out (if it is even sold out now?) I think showed them they had to swing the other direction.

We shall see. It's another tower going up and another tower legitimizing Surrey Central as an area developers can build and sell.

[Blease]

Any idea when SFU Surrey will start to expand/build more buildings. I've been hearing for a while now that the Surrey campus is full and can't cope with the demand from new students. And do you know where exactly the newer SFU buildings may go up and what they may look like?

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Blease

Any idea when SFU Surrey will start to expand/build more buildings. I've been hearing for a while now that the Surrey campus is full and can't cope with the demand from new students. And do you know where exactly the newer SFU buildings may go up and what they may look like?

I saw a plan last year that had them taking up the current parking lot in between the mall and the Skytrain station. This was at a presentation so I don't know if they are available online.

However, funding was contingent on the provincial government making the investment. Better luck waiting for pigs to grow wings.

[Cypherus]

Originally Posted by jhausner

It's the drug dealers wearing suits and driving Bentleys I worry about. Nobody ever goes after the Vanilla Ices with guns.

I agree that price is pretty good and as I argued in the "Chinese investors taking over the world/Vancouver/housing market" thread last week, it's a stepping stone for as you pointed out, young single students. At those prices they will be buying and I have found in my experience that when your name is on the title and you're paying a mortgage, even the youngest of people suddenly take better care of a place. I think students OWNING will just automatically reduce the problems compared to a pile of students renting.

Also comes down to the Strata council and their enforcement of rules and policy.

Personally I could never live in something that small. After 2 years in 600 sq foot 1 bedroom my wife and I were going stir crazy and are now in a 1400 sq. foot townhouse. I think micro suites are a good thing for a small demographic but you're right it may be a bit too much. That said and playing the other side though, SFU Surrey is slated to have more students than SFU Burnaby Mountain in coming years, so some of these places are going to serve as dorms/residences even though they officially aren't. Unless SFU Surrey is going anywhere or downsizing anytime soon, I have a feeling that proximity will be a benefit for this project.

You can throw a rock afterall at SFU Surrey from the balcony of one of those units.

I agree on the cheapening though but the prices reflect that. Ultra was touted as "luxury" and the ridiculous prices showed that off. It was well over-priced and the fact it took them 10+ years to sell the building out (if it is even sold out now?) I think showed them they had to swing the other direction.

We shall see. It's another tower going up and another tower legitimizing Surrey Central as an area developers can build and sell.

Good points. The prices are affordable and there are actually only a handful of 313 sq. ft units in the building, which would be prime real estate for students or even investors who would have a guaranteed source of income so long as SFU is nearby. In essence, it is a great condo for investment purposes but as you said, the units are rather small and not practical for a lot of people to consider as their primary residence. The studios will probably be more sought after by investors just because it gives some future flexibility to the space.

Note that mid-height the prices start increasing exponentially just like Ultra did, but it is about $50,000 cheaper than the 2 bedrooms in Ultra, and the higher you go it is almost $100,000 cheaper than Ultra 2 bedroom floor plans. You can see in the below picture the sudden jump in prices despite the overlain of cheaper finishing, but affordability is key.



Even though my 613 sq. ft. condo in Ultra is small, the layout is very open, airy, and enough space for two people. It really comes down to the floor plan layout and was hoping to see similar layouts in Evolve. Many 1 bedrooms are impractical, with the bedroom in the middle of the floor layout with no windows and a transparent wall. The upper units floor plans are pretty good though. There are still unsold units in Ultra, although probably less than 15 or 10 units.

Looking forward to seeing this one go up right beside me, but like you my next purchase is going to be a townhouse and one that has no over-rated clubhouse either.

[w34lth]

Out of curiosity for a friend who is looking to purchase at ultra.

I heard at first it was filled with shady tenants... any word if it has cleaned up? or if that was false information

[Cypherus]

Originally Posted by w34lth

Out of curiosity for a friend who is looking to purchase at ultra.

I heard at first it was filled with shady tenants... any word if it has cleaned up? or if that was false information

Check out the reviews here:
http://www.condoadvisory.com/item.php?item_id=27412

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by Cypherus

Check out the reviews here:
http://www.condoadvisory.com/item.php?item_id=27412

Are... Are those reviews really for real??? Just wow! I would have never guessed a brand new tower would see such life.

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Are... Are those reviews really for real??? Just wow! I would have never guessed a brand new tower would see such life.

The reputation of the area is based in reality. My brother had similar stories after living in Quattro.

[osirisboy]

Wow I couldn't imagine living in a place like that!! Do any owners actually live there? Talk about an inactive strata. I don't get when Stratas don't enforce bylaws and fines.

[w34lth]

Went to the building. Seems great. Area was nice as quiet.

Park place, city point etc are way worst. I dunno how reliable that website is.

[Shift]

I live in Ultra and can say that it's not that bad at all. I used to live downtown, and can honestly say I get way better value for my money out here. I have a beautiful 1 bedroom unit on a high floor with a panoramic view south, west, and north as far as the eye can see to the Gulf Islands, airport, Bowen Island (Can actually see ships moving in the Georgia Strait), with stunning sunsets.

The unit I rent has a great layout, is fairly spacious, and is high quality. For the price I'm paying here I would be living in a run-down studio in the west end. It works for me because I happen to work a block away at the Central City office tower.

The area is certainly in transition, but i've never had a problem here. The building is very well kept by a daily cleaning service, and the complex is a mix of people including young professionals, families with kids, and new immigrants. While I'm sure there have been some isolated incidents, the reports on that website sound pretty exaggerated.

[Cypherus]

I live in Ultra as well, and can vouch that the first reviewer on that website was correct. The tower was pretty bad in the first couple years with disgusting things in the elevator, druggies, random assaults, suicides, hookers, locker break ins, a car had all 4 wheels taken off of it, 2 fires in the building. It was a free for all freak show to put it mildy. I live in the upper floors which was quite isolated from the lower floor issues, but I would see the aftermath of the night before when I would grab my mail in the lobby. Now, the Strata is doing an excellent job enforcing the bylaws and fining both the tenants and negligent owners. Ultra now has a lot of nice tenants and owners and any bad apple is evicted immediately. The building has really been great in the last 6 months.

[w34lth]

Glad to hear.

He found a unit for his son at a good price... So I will advise him to go for it.