Archive for June, 2010

Buyers want out of Olympic Village

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

FALSE CREEK CONDOS: Eleven people demand deposits back from Millenium Water

John Bermingham
Province

Cyclists ride past the Olympic Village condos at 1633 Ontario St. in Vancouver on Friday. Eleven people are trying to get out of their purchase. Steve Bosch — PNG

Eleven condo buyers at Vancouver’s controversial Olympic Village want to back out of their pre-sale deals.

Lawyer Bryan Baynham said his clients don’t want to move into the suites any more — and they want their deposits back.

The unhappy buyers say washers and dryers haven’t been installed in their units, and the $5,000 electric fireplaces aren’t working properly.

“Once you lose faith in a project, people say ‘I just don’t want to be there’,” Baynham told The Province on Friday.

“It’s a whole series of things,” he added. “Nothing seems to go right with this project.”

The buyers put down deposits of between $60,000 and $300,000 for False Creek condos priced from a low of $550,000 to units that sold in the millions of dollars.

They’re being asked to close their deals by the end of the month.

On Thursday, Baynham filed writs in B.C. Supreme Court against developer Millennium Water on behalf of six of his clients, who have addresses in Vancouver and West Vancouver.

Baynham says the City of Vancouver is the owner of the property, after bailing out Millennium when it couldn’t get financing. But that’s not disclosed in the sales agreements, he says, so the contracts are invalid and should be rescinded.

“If the city is a developer and is marketing the units, they had to sign the disclosure agreement,” Baynham said.

The Province requested interviews with the buyers, but they were unavailable for comment Friday.

Meantime, the man hired to sell the project and the woman who runs the city’s operations both disagree with the disgruntled buyers.

Realtor Bob Rennie, who says he’s currently closing 264 pre-sales in the 737-unit project, told The Province only eleven buyers have a problem.

There’s a lot of buyers that are very happy with their purchase,” he said.

Rennie said Millennium, and not the City of Vancouver, is the developer they’ve signed deals with — and those deals are now closing.

“These people have bought in a development owned by Millennium,” he said.

Rennie said it was unfortunate the buyers and their lawyer went to the media with their complaints about appliances and fireplaces.

“Those are things you sit down with the developer, and you resolve,” he said.

Vancouver City Manager Penny Ballem said it’s normal for some buyers not to want to go ahead with their deals.

“We’re not at all concerned about it,” said Ballem. “We’ve never been the developer and we don’t intend to be.”

“The city is the lender, we are the bank,” she added. “We are not the developer. We are not the marketer.”

Vancouver real-estate lawyer Kenneth Pazder said the average buyer signs a pre-sales contract that is written by the developer and may not understand all the fine print.

“[The contracts] are so one-sided,” he said. “People are completely taken off guard.”

Pazder said it’s impossible to predict where real-estate prices and interest rates will be when the contract eventually comes to closure.

“People don’t understand them,” said Pazder, who has referred clients to Baynham to litigate. “They don’t understand the risks.”

Pazder suggested that it’s time for the provincial government to introduce a prescribed pre-sale agreement, similar to a rental agreement, that’s legally enforceable.

© Copyright (c) The Province

 

All eyes on Spyglass in North Delta

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Homes in first phase sold out in just three months

Province

Polygon Homes’ recently launched second phase of the Spyglass at Sunstone community in North Delta is comprised of 38 town houses. IAN LINDSAY / PNG

Kitchens in the new Spyglass project will be fitted with polished granite counters and imported ceramic tile backsplash. — Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, PNG, The Province

The view from the stairway window (above) in one of Spyglass show homes. In succession below, the lower-level lounge will allow residents some quiet time for relaxation; the main living space, one level above the foyer, includes a dining/living room area that leads to a kitchen; large windows in the living and dining area enhance the sense of spaciousness. Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, PNG, The Province

Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, PNG, The Province

Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, PNG, The Province

Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, PNG, The Province

the theartr room — IAN LINDSAY / PNG

The Sunstone Club at Spyglass is a 12,000 square foot amenity centre that includes two guest suites, an outdoor pool, fitness room and a kitchen and party rooms.

the pool and deck area — IAN LINDSAY / PNG

the fitness room — IAN LINDSAY / PNG

the games area. — IAN LINDSAY / PNG

THE FACTS

Spyglass at Sunstone

WHAT: 38 three-and four-bedroom townhouses in second phase

WHERE: North Delta

DEVELOPER: Polygon Homes

SIZE: 1,350-2,050 sq. ft. PRICE: From $499,900

OPEN: Sales centre: 8355 Delsom Way, North Delta

HOURS: noon -6 p.m., Sat –Thur

The Sunstone community in North Delta has been a big draw in the area. And that, says Polygon’s Ralph Archibald, may have something to do with the fact that new homes in North Delta are so rare.

“There hasn’t been anything new built in North Delta for over 25 years, of any scope,” says Archibald, Polygon’s vice-president of sales and marketing. “There wasn’t the land to do it, and this is a unique piece of property.”

Sunstone, situated just off Nordel Way, has attracted attention in North Delta since the opening of the Radiance project, which brought a queue of wannabe homeowners who camped out overnight. It sold out quickly.

The 50 town houses in the first phase of a project known as Spyglass sold out in three months; the recently launched second phase includes 38 homes.

Once it’s complete, the entire master-planned community, including every project connected to Polygon.

Radiance, the sold-out Cardinal Point, and Spyglass — will include 800 homes linked by a network of trails and parks.

A typical Spyglass townhouse layout — they have either three or four bedrooms — rises a level up from the foyer, with a large dining/living room space that leads to a kitchen and dining area overlooking yet another lounge or living space, and bordered by a powder room and walk-in pantry. The third floor contains a master with a walk-in closet, and ensuite bathroom with double sinks and separate tub and shower. Two more bedrooms and a full bathroom and laundry room fill out the top floor.

Design-wise, the Spyglass project plays on an East Coast-theme with shingles and gabled roofs, covered porches and Juliet balconies.

That look is reflected across the street from the new builds, where the ground has been broken in preparation for a shopping area designed in a similar architectural style.

Across the street from the future shopping village stands the 12,000-square-foot Craftsman-style Sunstone Club, which houses two guest suites, games and party rooms . . . and more.

© Copyright (c) The Province

New law clear on need for smoke alarms

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

They must be in place now, but strata corporations must find out who’s responsible for them

Tony Gioventu
Province

Dear Condo Smarts: We received a notice that the government brought in new regulations regarding mandatory smoke alarms in residential buildings. Our council gave notice to all the owners in our complex regarding the requirements for the smoke alarms, but several owners have refused and come back to the strata council and demanded that we install the smoke alarms. We don’t know how we are supposed to enforce the regulations. We are a strata of detached town homes, and the strata has no authority or obligation to maintain or repair the inside of the strata lot. We are concerned that this might put our insurance in jeopardy, and council is afraid of being sued if we don’t bring our buildings up to date. So how can we get our owners to co-operate?

— J.S. Myers, Nanaimo

Dear Ms. Myers: The B.C. Fire Code requires that every residential building built before March 31, 1979 shall have a smoke alarm installed by May 1, 2010. This new law applies to every private home, suites within apartment buildings and sleeping rooms such as those found in hotels or motels.

It also includes strata-titled residential buildings. Owners of these buildings are permitted to install battery-operated smoke alarms rather than alarms that are connected to the building’s electrical system.

Before any strata corporation can determine who is responsible for the smoke alarms or fire-safety systems, it needs to first understand whether the system is part of the strata lot, part of the common property, or a system that forms the common property. Once you understand where the responsibility lies, you then have to look at each of your bylaws to determine if your strata corporation is responsible for those portions of the services or safety systems.

The Strata Property Act sets out a definition for common property in Section 1. If it is common property as defined in the act, then it will fall on the shoulders of the strata corporation to inspect, maintain and repair the system.

A simple example of this relates to the emergency sprinkler systems in a condo building, where the entire system is interconnected and monitored by the strata corporation. This is routinely a common system that is inspected, maintained and repaired by the strata.

If you look at a typical older town house complex or condo before 1979, the interior services and obligations of most of the units are contained within the strata lot boundaries of that unit, and their services may not be part of a common system or interconnected; therefore, not part of the obligations of the strata to maintain and repair.

If a smoke alarm is not monitored or connected by the strata corporation, then it is the responsibility of each strata-lot owner to install his or her smoke alarms, maintain, and repair them. There are a few options for strata corporations. The first is a bylaw that reflects the requirements of the legislation, requiring smoke alarms in all residential units. The same bylaw may also set standards that require owners to maintain and repair the smoke alarms.

There still remains the challenge for the strata corporation to enforce the bylaws and inspect the units for compliance. Another option is for the strata corporation to adopt a new bylaw, where the strata corporation will be responsible for installing the smoke alarms and maintaining them annually. There are benefits to this bylaw in that the strata corporation can control the installation and service; you can gain the economics of cost.

For more information on the new regulations go to: www.housing.gov.bc.ca

Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners’ Association. E-mail: [email protected].

© Copyright (c) The Province

Rolston – Privacy sells, and resells, in Yaletown

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Sun

Apartment residents want their sleeping quarters behind interior walls, if the preferences of buyers of a new-home project in Vancouver’s Yaletown neighbourhood are representative. The developer of The Rolston says that four to one of the early buyers have bought the traditional Yale floor plan — canIgetyouadrink? thebedroom’srightthroughtha tdoor — over the Cecil plan — whileIpou rwhydon’tyouyoupullthewallouttatheway? “Visitors say they love the cool design of the Cecil, but when it comes to purchasing, the majority are choosing the Yale,” says Bill Szeto, the Ralston sales-campaign organizer. “Over the past decade, Vancouverites have become savvy real estate purchasers. Everyone now thinks of real estate as an investment, even if they plan to make it their home. So they think of resale potential when they purchase, and they know that the majority of buyers want a traditional suite.”

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

James, 290 West 1st Avenue

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Special neighbourhood, special name

Sun

An artist’s rendering of the exterior of Cressey Development’s James new-home project in False Creek, above, a rooftop view below, and an front view at bottom.

The James bathrooms and ensuites will feature porcelain tile tubs and shower surrounds. Standard features include pocket doors to the den and a vertical cover in a standard built-in entertainment unit to hide the television.

Kitchens come with standard task lighting and island breakfast bars. Standard built-in features are designed to take advantage of every square foot of valuable urban space; a small study takes advantage of the natural light.

Project location: 290 West 1st Avenue

Project size: 155 homes, including condos, lofts, town houses, and penthouse flats

Residence size: 553 — 1,449 sq. ft.

Prices: $379,900 -$1,299,900

Developer: Cressey Development Group

Architect: Foad Rafii

Interior Design: Insight Design Group

Sales centre: 289 West 2nd Avenue

Hours: noon — 5 p.m., Sat — Thur

Telephone: 604-675-1000

E-mail: [email protected]

Web: www.jamesliving.com

Tentative occupancy: Summer 2012

Five years ago, the Cressey Development Group cast its eye on the Southeast False Creek neighbourhood and saw it was someplace special, notes marketer Cameron McNeill.

“[Cressey] identified this neighbourhood as the best place to live in terms of parkland, amenities and transit,” says McNeill, whose company, Mac Marketing Solutions, is the organizer of Cressey’s new-home James development.

“With its proximity to downtown and to the waterfront, it had all of the livable fundamentals we look for when we plan our communities,” he says of the 155-home James neighbourhood, to be located just a five-minute walk east of the social hub of the Millennium Water community — the former Olympic athletes’ village — and its grocery stores, coffee shops, banks, drug stores and community centre.

Nearby is the retail hub that includes Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Winners and Whole Foods on Cambie and 7th Avenue. The Main Street-Science World SkyTrain is to the east and the Olympic Village Canada Line station is to the west.

“We have the waterfront location of Coal Harbour and Yaletown, but with a great balance of walkability, vibrancy, shops, services and far more park space than some of the other neighbourhoods,” says McNeill. “This neighbourhood is far more than just the athletes’ village, but includes all of the wonderful parkland west of the village, the seawall which connects to Granville Island and beyond, the walkability to South Cambie and the shops and services which have now revitalized Cambie Street plus the access to downtown and all of the transit.”

Cressey’s goal was to incorporate the residences into what the Southeast False Creek community is becoming: a diverse neighbourhood designed to please ecologically sensitive residents who would rather ditch their cars and bike or stroll along the waterfront, bring their family to parks that dot the seawall, to shop locally or zip downtown by nearby transit.

Inside the James’ display suite, a unit with one bedroom and a den, the design is in the detail.

All owners will be able to take advantage of the “ Up” Lounge, a clubhouse with a business centre, media room, sauna, steam room and yoga studio, a catering kitchen and children’s play area.

“ It is really an extensive list of amenities usually reserved for communities twice our size,” notes McNeill.

In a bid to reflect the spirit of Southeast False Creek’s plan, Cressey has also set up a co-op car-share program and a gardening space for residents. McNeill says it was expected that James would attract a diverse range of buyers, and those expectations are now proving to be accurate.

“ We’ve seen first-time buyers, investors, downsizers, young couples who will start a family, etc.,” he says. “ We have seen every ethnic background and every age category, and that is part of the beauty that will create the fabric of this community.”

McNeill adds that while Cressey is proud of every project it builds, James is somewhat of a standout.

“ James is special because of its location in the exceptional Southeast False Creek community,” he says. “ It’s very vibrant, so buying here is as much about purchasing a home as it is about buying into a neighbourhood.”

That neighbourhood has seen many changes over the years, and when it came time for Cressey to name its most recent project, it turned to Southeast False Creek’s gritty, industrial past.

“ The name James comes from the industrial heritage of the lands around SEFC,” says McNeill.

“ One of the companies in our neighbourhood was Progressive Engineering, which supplied deck equipment for over 200 Canadian Navy Vessels during World War Two, among other things.

“ The owner of the company was James S. Doherty. Therefore, by using his first name we keep it personal ( due to our boutique nature) and pay homage to the rich industrial history.”

 © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

If buying new, buy what you need to beat the HST

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

The tax on new construction priced less than rebate threshold of $525,000 will be no greater after July 1 than it is today

Peter Simpson
Sun

The excitement is building. There are only five more sleeps until HST becomes a reality in B.C.

Facetiousness aside, and despite the relentless protests against the harmonization of the federal and provincial sales taxes in this province, get ready to dig a little deeper into your pockets on July 1.

Great way to celebrate Canada Day and the start of the summer vacation season, huh?

Regarding new homes, there are some misconceptions about the new tax. First off, the HST, like the GST, will not apply to existing homes. Second, if the new home is priced below the rebate threshold of $525,000, buyers will pay no more tax after July 1 than they currently pay under GST.

And although it might be obvious that five per cent GST and seven per cent PST equal 12 per cent, buyers of new homes priced above $525,000 will not pay the full 12 per cent for their homes because various rebates and tax credits apply. But make no mistake, some homebuyers are still going to feel the sting.

Rather than delve, in this column, into the technicalities of the HST application and rules, I suggest you ask your builder or realtor to fully explain how the new tax will impact your specific transaction.

There is also a lot of useful information posted on the Internet by various government and industry organizations, including the Canada Revenue Agency, the B.C. government, Canadian Home Builders’ Association of B.C. and real estate boards throughout the province.

If a new home is in your future, there are many condos, town houses and single-detached offerings from which to choose -and priced low enough that you won’t have to fret about the dreaded HST. Take your time looking and choose a home that matches both your budget and the needs of your family.

Meanwhile, the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association and its members intend to step up efforts to try to persuade governments at all levels to eliminate or mitigate the impediments to affordable home ownership. Government-imposed costs combine to total more than 20 per cent of the price of a new home in many regions, including Metro Vancouver. That needs to be examined.

Peter Simpson is the president and chief executive officer of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association. E-mail: [email protected]

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Clearview in Nanaimo is to see, and see from

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Hilltop location means most suites are view apartments; nearby Woodgrove Centre means all are near to shopping, services

Suzanne Morphet
Sun

Clearview apartments give residents easy access to beautiful beaches and Nanaimo and vicinity’s largest shopping mall.

Views from the Clearview penthouse kitchen

Clearview @Regency Vista

Location: Nanaimo

Project size: 42 residences, 4-storey building

Contact: Betty-Ann Huberts, Coast Realty Group

Telephone: 250-758-7653 or 250-933-5452

e-mail: [email protected]

Web: clearviewliving. com

Developer: Mike Woodsworth

Architect: Mark Garrett

Interiors: Gannon Ross Designs

Occupancy: immediate

On a clear day you can see the Sechelt Peninsula from Nanaimo. Clear or cloudy, you can pick seashells by the seashore, especially if you’re living in the north end of the city, close to some of the most beautiful beaches in the region.

The new Clearview condominiums allow owners both those luxuries -even if they don’t care for tongue-twisters -plus the convenience of being just a block away from the city’s largest mall, Woodgrove Shopping Centre.

Clearview is Mike Woodworth’s first development project. He grew up in Vancouver, but has been living on Vancouver Island for the last 13 years.

He was looking for a small project to cut his teeth, when one day he came across a big hole in the ground on top of a hill in north Nanaimo.

“ Around 1996, somebody bought the property with the idea of turning it into a care facility or a place for seniors, so they dug a hole and then they walked away from it,” he explains. “ I came along and was standing there thinking, ‘ Holy smokes.’ ”

It wasn’t the size of the hole that had Woodworth exclaiming, but the enormity of the views. “ Views across the water to the Winchelsea Islands, the ocean and the Coast Mountains beyond. We simply felt that this was the spot to be.”

After Woodworth and his Victoria-based partner did their due diligence and found no problems with the site ( the previous developer simply ran out of money), they tracked down a local construction company with a good reputation – Dueck General Contracting – and forged ahead, using the same blueprints that had been approved by the city for the original project. Woodworth says it might have been possible to come up with a different design, but that would have taken more time and “ and they could say ‘ no.’ ”

The result is a four-storey, 42-residence building from which all but three residences have some ocean views. “ It’s a beautiful building inside,” says Woodworth, “ with balconies on all of the units, but the ones on the penthouses are huge, they go right across the whole complete front and down part of the sides.”

The residences range from 1,062 square feet to 1,775 square feet and Woodworth estimates the balconies on the penthouses are about an additional 800 square feet. Layouts are two or three bedrooms with bright, open floor plans. Penthouses start at $ 459,000 and other units are as low as $ 262,000. Strata fees are “ incredible,” according to Woodworth, averaging $ 186 a month.

Rozmin and Ab Sayani are middle-aged empty nesters in West Vancouver and were looking for a second home on the island when they came across Clearview by accident one day. Rozmin says they fell in love with it.

“ The look, the location, the view, the set-up – everything was a perfect fit for us … … We had looked at other locations on the island, but found Nanaimo to be truly special. From the exceptionally friendly people to the beautiful surroundings, we are really happy to own a home there.”

For retirees Daphne and Ronald McCormick, formerly of Victoria, Clearview is their new year-round home. Daphne says they were finding Victoria “ a little too compact” after 12 years there.

“ Nanaimo is the perfect, small-sized city; it has a wideopen feeling, yet many places are in walking distance,” she says, adding that “ in the North Nanaimo neighbourhood where Clearview is located, we really like that the area has a completed feel and there won’t be construction going on all the time nearby.”

McCormick and her husband were also impressed with the quality of their new condo.

“ The finishes at Clearview are very classy. Everything is high end and I really enjoyed the feel of it. Bathrooms are large and full-sized and the bedroom is amazing. The kitchen has everything I ever wanted; too bad I don’t feel like cooking every day any more now that I am retired!”

Realtor Betty-Ann Huberts of Coast Realty thinks prices for new homes in Nanaimo may have been less affected by the recession than those in larger urban centres because there is less new product on the market. Still, she says, prices at Clearview have “ been adjusted to reflect market conditions and to be competitive.”

“ Furthermore, I am confident that the pricing today is such that Clearview is being offered at below replacement cost. Quite simply, homes of this quality and size could not be built in this location for the same price again.”

Huberts says about 40 per cent of the units are now “ spoken for.”

The penthouses, ranging from $ 459,000 to $ 649,000, are competing in price with new single-family homes in the area. Realtor Jim Stewart, also of Coast Realty, says “ you can get a fabulous new home, a really beautiful ocean view home if your budget is between $ 500,000 and $ 650,000.”

But Clearwater developer Mike Woodworth isn’t too worried about the local competition. “ It’s a lifestyle thing, if you want to cut the lawn and have your house and garden … [ but] a lot of people moving in here don’t want that any more, they don’t want to worry about that kind of thing.”

 © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

HST brings new rules for rebates

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Tax will change the process for claiming work expenses

Jamie Golombek
Sun

Not all work expenses are subject to HST. Photograph by: Aaron Lynett, National Post, Financial Post

If you’re an employee who has to pay some of your own expenses for which you are not reimbursed by your employer, chances are that many of these expenses include a component of GST or HST.

If this is the case, you should ensure that you are claiming the GST or HST rebate, as appropriate.

This will become more important for Ontario and B.C. employees, who on July 1 may start paying an extra 8% on some previously untaxed, non-reimbursed expenses.

Under the Income Tax Act, an employee can only deduct “the cost of supplies that were consumed directly in the performance of the duties of … employment and that the … employee was required by the contract of employment to supply and pay for.”

To claim these expenses, you need your employer’s acknowledgement on Form T2200, the Declaration of Conditions of Employment.

To get a rebate of the GST/ HST you paid on these expenses, you need to complete another form — Form GST370, the Employee and Partner GST/ HST Rebate Application form. You claim the rebate on line 457 of your income tax return.

Note that you can only claim a rebate if your employer was a GST/HST registrant and your employer is not a listed financial institution, which includes banks, investment dealers, trust companies, credit unions or insurance companies.

Also, you can only apply for a rebate of the GST or HST you actually paid. So, for example, you can’t claim the rebate if you purchased supplies from a small merchant who didn’t have to collect the GST/HST since its sales for the year were under $30,000.

Similarly, travel expenses outside of Canada would not have had a GST/HST component associated with them and no rebate can be claimed on those expenses either.

When it comes to meals and entertainment, keep in mind that since only 50% of such expenses are deductible, you can only apply for the rebate on 50% of the GST/HST paid on those expenses.

While you should file Form GST370 with your tax return for the year in which you deducted the expenses, if you forgot to file it for 2009, you can send it in separately, along with an explanatory letter, to your tax centre, being sure to indicate in your letter the tax year for which you are claiming the rebate.

You have up to four years from the end of the year to which the expenses relate to file an application. So, for 2009, you have up until Dec. 31, 2013.

Finally, when you receive the GST/HST rebate, you have to include it in your income for the year in which it is received. If you recently received your GST/ HST rebate that you claimed on your just-filed 2009 return, you will have to include it on Line 104 of your 2010 return that you file next spring.

Including this income makes sense, since it simply reverses the deduction you took in the prior year for the GST/HST paid on various employment expenses, which was subsequently reimbursed to you by the government and therefore is no longer considered an out-of-pocket deductible expense.

[email protected]

-Jamie Golombek, CA, CPA, CFP, CLU, TEP is the managing director, tax and estate planning, with CIBC Private Wealth Management in Toronto.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Conviction Restaurant: This is not a con job

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

An eatery staffed by former convicts opens for business today in Vancouver

Mia Stainsby
Sun

Marc Thuet ( right) and Biana Zorich ( second from right) with the ex-convicts who will staff their Conviction Restaurant.

Restaurants don’t usually go looking to hire ex-convicts, but then whoever said chef Marc Thuet and wife Biana Zorich do the “usual”?

They open Conviction Restaurant today, with 12 ex-cons working in the kitchen and front of house. The restaurant is at 1789 Comox and it’s an honest-to-goodness business. It is also a reality-TV show called Conviction Kitchen Season 2. Season 1 was shot in Toronto after the couple turned one of their own restaurants into the reality-TV restaurant and set. He was the chef and she was general manager.

The restaurant, owned by Daniel Frankel, was formerly known as Delilah’s. (Frankel also runs Prospect Point Cafe, Mill Marine Bistro, Stanley Park Pavilion, and Burrard Bridge Bar and Grill.)

Thuet has serious culinary chops, having worked in two-and three-Michelin-star restaurants in Europe and is now operating several bistro/ bakeries in Toronto.

Josh Wolfe, executive chef at Vancouver’s Coast restaurant, worked for Thuet and is thrilled to have him in the city. “I would say hands down, he’s probably one of the best cooks in this country,” he says.

Advance press material deals with the couple’s edgy personalities head on, referring to Thuet’s “leather-clad, Harley-riding, tattoo-sporting, hard-drinking, drug-taking, unfaithful, bankrupt past.” (He’s reformed.)

And she, “beyond her good looks and big heart, is also known by staff as the Dragon Lady when things go awry and describes herself as an ambitious, money-driven, career-focused control freak.” (The woman I met was cheerful, good-humoured and bright.)

“I was a very functioning chemical lab. I lived life through chemistry,” Thuet confirms. He’s been clean for five years and feels hugely indebted to Zorich for supporting him through recoveries and relapses. Conviction Restaurant is about paying it back.

“She has given me so many chances in life and inspired me to give others a chance, to make it easier for others,” he says with a thick Alsatian accent. “I had a good 25 years of addiction and it 100-per-cent affected my reason to do this. It is about 12 people who want to change their lives. That’s the No. 1 focus.”

Thuet and Zorich had been planning to go into prisons to teach restaurant skills. But when the production company Cineflix got wind of that, their plans morphed into Conviction Kitchen.

“At the end of the day, most people have a negative image of ex-cons. It’s very difficult for them to re-integrate,” says Thuet, in an interview at the restaurant.

“It’s heart-wrenching,” says Zorich.

All but two of the ex-cons from the first season are working in the food industry and some are still with Thuet. One came to Vancouver to help with the startup of operations here. One, out of that first group, went back to prison; another is a roofer.

They did have a selection criteria. “They couldn’t have committed hideous crimes like rape, murder, child molestation,” says Zorich. Beyond that, they looked for people who love food and the restaurant culture.

“We were looking for people willing to go along on this journey and looking to change. You can sense when a person desperately wants to change.”

In the Vancouver group, one accidentally slashed himself with a knife and had seven stitches. “He’s going to be a waiter now,” Thuet says.

“You become a family when you do something like this,” says Zorich. “They come to you with problems. They’ve made stupid decisions. There’s alcohol and drugs.

“It’s one-third social work, it’s one-third being a father and mother and a small amount of work,” Thuet says. He exaggerates on the last point. The Toronto crew were putting in 14 to 15 hours a day.

The worst occurrence was when one of the ex-cons used heroin during service in the bathroom.

“It affected a lot of us who were obviously trying to stay clean. We came together and worked through it,” says Thuet, adding that all the males in that group had addictions.

As for the food, it will be in keeping with the Vancouver zeitgeist of using local, fresh and sustainable products. Expect Fraser Canyon rabbit, Sloping Hill pork, Organic Ocean shellfish, Nass River sockeye and Brooks Peninsula ling cod done in French bistro style “with a twist.”

Expect also some firsts, even for Vancouver’s leading-edge restaurant scene. The menu features horse meat tartare, an initiation for Vancouverites (but very French). Frankel was at a tasting and loved the food, but had, he says, a hard time with a salad of lamb testicle, pig brain and tongue.

But the squeamish need not quake. There will be ling cod, poached in olive oil; risotto with braised pork cheeks and boudin noir; pan seared onglet with frites and shallot reduction, and more.

Conviction Restaurant is open Wednesday to Sunday for dinner. Reservations can be made at [email protected] 604-687-3424.

The show airs this fall on Citytv on Sundays at 9 p.m. but the date is not yet set.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Neighbourhood group opposes social housing in Mount Pleasant

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

TIFFANY CRAWFORD
Sun

The graphic shows an artist’s rendering of a proposal for an 11-storey social housing building at 675 East Broadway. A group of residents is opposed to the proposal because of concerns over an increase in violence

Residents in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood are fighting a proposal to build social and lowincome housing at the intersection of East Broadway and Fraser Street, one of the 14 dedicated sites promised by the municipal and provincial governments to battle the city’s homeless crisis.

The city of Vancouver is expected to vote today on a proposal to rezone 675 East Broadway to allow for construction of an 11-storey building for homeless, troubled youth and low-income renters to live.

Under the plan, there will be groundlevel retail space, the Broadway Youth Resource Centre, 24 market rental suites and 103 single-room-occupancy suites for adults who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including 30 for at-risk youth.

But unlike two other approved social housing sites in the Mount Pleasant area — 225 West Second and 1723 Main — this proposal is facing opposition from a group of residents.

At a public hearing tonight, members of the group will argue the building is too large and does not fit the Mount Pleasant heritage esthetic.

The group says it welcomes social housing in the community, but would prefer to see the site developed into a 50-unit building with mixed social housing, according to its website mountpleasantneighbours.org.

There is also concern that many people from the Downtown Eastside would move into the building and the level of drug-related violence would increase.

But Ian Mass, executive director of Pacific Community Resources, a social service agency which runs the youth centre, argued that most of the residents who would occupy the units already live in the neighbourhood.

“ Many of the youth we see are couch surfing or living in substandard basements,” he said. “ We support the whole project. It will open up more rental housing and it will be for those who can afford it.”

Part of the plan includes expanding the youth centre on the ground level and increasing the number of support staff to manage and provide social support to the residents.

“ We’re not just looking at a building, we’re looking at creating a community.”

If approved, the Vancouver Native Housing Society will operate the building.

The society runs 15 housing complexes on the east side of Vancouver.

Executive director David Eddy said some residents are fearful that drugs and crime will be imported from the Downtown Eastside and that the place will be full of people with mental disorders and drug problems. But he denied this would be the case.

“ We would not put a person with severe addictions or severe mental health issues in that building. We have other buildings in the Downtown Eastside that can provide for that level of need,” Eddy said.

“ We are cognizant of the neighbourhood and we want to be good neighbours and fit in.”

He cautioned that not all homeless people suffer from addictions or mental disorders and noted that many people who used to live in Mount Pleasant have been displaced because of high rent.

The proposal is part of the city and the province’s 14 dedicated social housing sites. At the end of 2007, the two levels of government announced they would construct 12 buildings with 1,200 rooms, dispersed across the city. It was later expanded to 14 sites.

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