Pelican Cove at Tsawwassen Shores: Natural elements on display inside and out

Mary Frances Hill
The Province

Pelican Cove at Tsawwassen Shores

Where: 1875 Tsawwassen Drive

What: 42 townhomes and 20 duplexes in the final stage of the Tsawwassen Shores waterfront community

Residence sizes and prices: Two to four bedrooms from 1,270 to 1,700 sq. feet, starting at $599,900.

Developer and builder: Aquilini Development

Sales centre address: 1875 Tsawwassen Drive (last right before the ferry terminal)

Sales centre hours: noon — 5 p.m., Sat — Thurs

When the new residents of the townhomes and duplexes at Pelican Cove move in, each will bring a unique history of home ownership.

Whether they’re downsizers, first-time buyers, or young families, every one is marking a new phase of life with one of the most important purchases of their lives. But as diverse as their backgrounds may be, they’re united by the desire to live in a home made of materials and finishes that reflect the natural beauty of the waterfront steps from their front doors.
“Geography and location definitely play an integral role in our planning and conceptual design,” says Shannon Haerdi, principal of First Impressions Design, which completed the interiors on the three display homes for Aquilini Development.
“Our first stage of design is visualizing who the potential buyer would be and how would they like to actively live in these beautiful homes. The natural elements in this community made our job easier to conceptualize and put into fruition.”
Pelican Cove is Aquilini Development’s fifth project in the master-planned community of Tsawwassen Shores, a 270-acre site within walking distance of the ocean, nature trails, and a two-kilometre boardwalk.
In one living area, First Impressions Design introduces darker earthy tones in the rug, flooring and stairs, a bold touch at a time designers often go for an all-white palette to offer home hunters a blank canvas. Again, the natural surroundings of Tsawwassen inspired the warmer shades in the display. In fact, Haerdi looked to the environment for nearly every decision she made in her colour schemes.

 “We love the colour scheme in this living room as it works well with the natural exterior elements that are so prevalent in the Tsawwassen area. The grey, ‘greige’ [a combination of grey and beige] and turquoise colours in this space are reminiscent of the sand and water’s edge just outside the doorstep of this beautiful master planned community.”

A kitchen and a bathroom show Haerdi’s preference for blending light and dark hues to accompany stainless steel, a combination of materials that also reminded the First Impressions Design team of the sandy beach just footsteps away, she adds.
The suites have laminate wood flooring and nine-foot-high ceilings. Complemented by oversized windows, the ceilings add to the feeling of openness and space in the homes. Setting darker hues against natural light was essential to Haerdi’s design decisions.
“Some of the qualities we love from this project are all the large and beautiful windows that shed natural light into each room, and that the floor plans utilized generous use of space.

“These elements made our design decisions easier because there were several furniture layouts that could be made possible in these rooms.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

City wants 600 more modular housing units built for homeless

Cheryl Chan
The Province

The City of Vancouver wants to see 600 modular units built at a cost of $45 million to shelter the city’s homeless by this winter. 

The proposal builds on the success of a pilot project at 220 Terminal Ave., which was completed in February at a cost of $3 million for 40 units. 

“We learned a lot from the project on Main and Terminal,” said Kathleen Llewellyn-Thomas, general manager of community services. “We believe that if we have the funding and the sites, we could get 600 units built before the snow falls.” 

The 600 units, which would be accompanied by necessary supports for tenants, would be scattered across the city at up to 15 under-used or vacant sites pending development. Each building would be made up of 40 units, with each site housing a maximum of two buildings. 

The modular units are estimated to cost $75,000 each and take two months to build.

Llewellyn-Thomas said the city is in talks with the province to help fund the project. 

The Main and Terminal project was funded by the federal government, Vancity and a private donation, with the land donated by the city.  

On Wednesday, Vancouver council is expected to decide whether to refer a motion to fast-track the rezoning process for developments where at least 70 per cent are for low-cost housing to a public hearing.

Vancouver had announced new interim housing targets Tuesday to address the city’s housing affordability crisis. 

It plans to add 72,000 new housing units over the next 10 years, including 12,000 supportive and social housing units — a 50 per cent increase from previous targets.

The city also wants to open 315 extra year-round shelter beds to help ease the seasonal spikes in street homelessness.

Jean Swanson, of the Carnegie Community Action Project, said studies have shown that housing people costs less than leaving them on the streets, yet the numbers of homeless people continue to swell. 

“It’s a crisis,” said Swanson. “We desperately need more housing for people, not shelters.” 

She welcomed the proposed modular housing units, but questioned whether 600 was enough. The latest homeless count pegged Vancouver’s homeless population at around 2,100, with 600 living on the street and the rest in shelters, she noted. “The targets should match the need. Asking for 600 is masking the crisis.”

Swanson also pointed out that for all the talk about targets, there’s no commitment of funding on the table right now. 

“There’s no talk about where they’re going to get the dough. They’re hoping the province would come through. I’m hoping too — we have to put a lot of pressure on them.” 

Mayor Gregor Robertson said the city can’t do the work on its own.

“The city will keep doing everything we can to put forward innovative ideas like modular housing, offering city land for affordable housing, building co-ops and expanding inclusionary zoning but we can’t meet the need without help from the B.C. or federal governments,” he said.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc

Ephraim Vecina
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

The continuous demand for Vancouver’s high-end homes mirrors the hunger for this property type among Chinese would-be buyers and investors.

A notable example of this is the 30-storey, 256-unit JOYCE development, the brainchild of developer Westbank. Over 3,000 interested parties attended its Vancouver sales gallery upon its opening in mid-June, and another 200 individuals visited its exhibition in Hong Kong just a week after launch.

According to Luke Fehon, the Hong Kong-based managing director of Westbank, JOYCE is already 90 per cent sold a little over a month after its inauguration.

“Vancouver has always been attractive to foreign home buyers — whether it’s for retirement, education or leisure,” Fehon said, as quoted by The Edge Markets, which counts Chinese users as a significant proportion of its readership.

“From an investment perspective, Vancouver is a mature real estate market and does not experience large market swings like those in Asia.”

Helping Vancouver’s popularity is the fact that it has consistently placed among the top ranks of the most “liveable” cities worldwide, being 5th in the Mercer Quality of Living Survey (2017) and 3rd in The Economist Intelligence Unit’s most recent poll.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Mayor outlines ?ambitious? new affordable housing plan

Cheryl Chan
The Province

The City of Vancouver has released a 10-year housing target that shifts its housing strategy towards renters, low to moderate-income earners, and families. 

On Tuesday, the city announced a plan to add 72,000 new housing units over the next decade with an eye not just towards boosting rental supply but ensuring that supply is the “right supply” affordable for residents. 

“One of the really big moves of the housing strategy here is to turn the spigot on for rental housing,” said Gil Kelley, the city’s planning general manager — a recognition from planners and politicians that for many in Vancouver renting is the only affordable option to stay in the city. 

About two-thirds of the 72,000 units will be rentals, including 20,000 purpose-built market rental units, which is quadruple the city’s previous target set in 2012.

Seventy per cent of the new homes are aimed at households earning between $50,000 and $150,000 a year.

Nearly 29,000 units, or 40 per cent, will be for families, including about 13 per cent that’ll be “ground-oriented” units, such as townhouses, laneway homes and coach houses.  

The new housing targets are part of the city’s housing “reset” launched earlier this spring. The final housing strategy will be presented to council in the fall. 

Mayor Gregor Robertson called the plan “the most ambitious and aggressive affordable housing plan Vancouver has ever seen.”

He said the city has a responsibility to get more rental housing built “to make sure we are shaping the market forces that have focused on the high end of the market for too many years. We need to be sure we are creating supply that meets the incomes of people in Vancouver.” 

The plan is the city’s latest salvo to try to alleviate pressures of a sky-high real estate market detached from local incomes and a low rental vacancy rate that has left close to 70 per cent of renters saying they’re unsure whether they’ll stay in the city over the next three to five years. 

Despite a record number of housing starts and a significant jump in the number of market rentals in Vancouver, affordability has only worsened over the last five years. Even with the aggressive targets, a staff report noted Vancouver’s ability to correct its current course would take longer than 10 years.

According to the report, the city will be unable to meet the projected 54,800 units needed by low- and moderate-income households by 2026 without assistance from the federal or provincial government. 

“You can’t build social or supportive housing without funding from the provincial and federal government,” said Robertson, who called on both levels of government to step up. 

The city said it is already pursuing new programs and policies to achieve its housing targets, including enabling laneway houses, coach houses, and duplexes in single-family neighbourhoods, the implementation of the empty homes tax and new regulations around short-term rentals. 

It said phase 3 of the Cambie Corridor project will create 4,200 homes over the next decade, including 1,000 units slated as social housing or below-market rentals. 

It is also proposing a pilot program for all-rental buildings that’ll require a minimum of 20 per cent below-market units for renters earning between $30,000 to $80,000 a year. The program is being tried out in the Oakridge Municipal Town Centre, with the goal of producing 4,000 of these units. It’s in the “testing phase,” said city staff, to see whether there is interest from developers and to make sure it’ll work. 

NPA councillors George Affleck and Melissa De Genova expressed skepticism the city’s plan would work without a region-wide initiative, noting other cities such as Burnaby and White Rock are losing rental units. 

“Vancouver is trying to do this alone again,” said Affleck. “The rest of the region is relying on Vancouver, and we can’t afford to do this alone. We can’t afford to build the rental units that are required for the entire region.” 

On Wednesday, staff is expected to present the second part of the city’s housing strategy to council, focused on homelessness and housing for lower-income people. 

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

MITCHELL THOMPSON
The Vancouver Sun

Housing sales figures may be declining in Toronto and Vancouver, but with listings remaining scarce, economists are warning that significant gains in affordability may prove elusive.

Existing home sales in Toronto fell 15.1 per cent in June, a secondconsecutive monthly decline that left resale activity 42 per cent below its March peak, according to a report from TD Economics.

June sales were also weak in Vancouver, falling four per cent from the previous month and 29 per cent below their February 2016 high, after a recovery blip petered out.

But when it comes to prices, the declines haven’t been nearly as dramatic, and likely won’t be until more houses hit the market.

“Toronto cooled in terms of sales quite abruptly, on par with 20082009 recession but you didn’t see much of a decline in prices because the market still remains short on supply,” said TD economist Diana Petramala. “When listings grow faster than sales, it will put downward pressure on prices.”

Desjardins senior economist Jimmy Jean said the slowdown in existing home sales has lowered prices slightly but agreed that further reductions are in doubt.

Jean said prices in the Greater Toronto Area fell seven per cent in May and 5.8 per cent in June. Still, Jean noted Toronto prices are still above last year’s average by 6.3 per cent. “That speaks to how high we’ve been and how fast that growth was. We’re erasing the growth we had but it hasn’t been erased yet. The same way it was moving fast on the upside, now it’s moving down and, I think, by the fall, we should see some flattening.”

Despite the rapid price increases seen in Toronto earlier this year, there isn’t a serious price reduction in sight, Jean said.

“The bidding wars you’re seeing might not be the case any longer but it won’t curb demand fundamentally. The market will remain tight because people are coming to the city …. Prices have been out of reach for years and growing much faster than incomes, so it will take more price declines and income growth before we have a situation where the market can be deemed affordable.”

“We’ll still have very lofty prices in Toronto and Vancouver. If we’re expecting the market to become instantly affordable that’s not going to happen. Given the low interest rates and rapid population inflow, they will still be expensive markets but we’re moving away, thankfully, from the days where there was incredible pressure for buyers to get in before prices grew another 40 per cent,” Bank of Montreal senior economist Douglas Porter said.

For now, rising interest rates and targeted taxes, such as those on foreign buyers, should work to “bring activity down to normal levels,” Bank of Montreal economist Robert Kavcic said. Higher rates should slow resale activity and the foreign buyer’s taxes should reduce the incentive for speculation.

Beyond that, Royal Bank of Canada economist Josh Nye said it’s down to psychology: “People in the market, foreign buyers or not, see the government stepping in to limit price growth. That impacts the way they behave. It means people say ‘Well, the government sees 30 per cent price growth, and that’s not sustainable, and they’re stepping in, so maybe it’s time to cash out and put the house up for sale.’ “

At present, that doesn’t look likely and there isn’t much policy makers can do to boost listings, Petramala said.

While noting that the regulation had helped cool the market, she cautioned that interest rates may soon have to do most of the heavy lifting.

“The impact of the foreign buyer tax is in our rear-view mirror, it usually only lasts 2-4 quarters, so it’s really higher rates that will hold the market down, going forward.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc

Ephraim Vecina
REP

A seismic shift in how the retail segment operates is fuelling an ever-stronger demand for industrial space in Vancouver, according to a discussion at a recent meeting of commercial real estate association NAIOP.

Panel moderator and Deloitte LLP partner Rick Kohn noted that the most significant development was that brick-and-mortar retail has become increasingly about the top-end shops and volume retailers, with the middle being hurt the most by cross-border shopping that stemmed from globalization and the internet.

DIG360 principal David Gray concurred, saying that retailers are now leaning upon volume sales heavily.

“[Retailers] have to sell more items today to even keep pace with what you were doing last year,” Gray explained, as quoted by Business in Vancouver. “As a consumer, we’ve probably never had it any better.”

The consequence of these changes is that retailers are now exclusively focused on the point of delivery, rather than on the point of sale.

“Competition for the right location is increasing,” Colliers International stated in its recent study of Metro Vancouver industrial properties, which took into account these estates’ accessibility to existing road networks.

“Distributors are willing to pay higher rents in strategic locations to reduce transportation costs and improve responsiveness,” the Colliers report noted, adding that 31 per cent of Metro Vancouver’s industrial commercial space is situated within 1,000 metres of a highway. Among these properties, parcels located within 800 metres of a major thoroughfare have a vacancy rate of just 1.1 per cent.
 
“The growth of e-commerce is further creating shifts in demand for industrial real estate and the necessity of efficient transportation networks to support fulfilment to end-users,” Colliers explained.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

Further interest rate rises may or may not be on the cards in 2017 with no expert consensus as yet.

Following the increase on July 12, Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz said that further rates would depend on data. The latest retail figures, released by StatsCan last week along with rising inflation have some calling for another rate rise before 2017 ends.

TD Securities’ Fred Demers told Bloomberg that an interest rate hike in October “is a very likely scenario,”
while Benjamin Reitzes of BMO Capital Markets added: “October is still a very reasonable call for the bank.”
CIBC economist Avery Shenfeld is less certain due to the current rise of the loonie, even without support from commodities. He says that the BoC should make clear its policy if the Canadian dollar keeps rising.

“Better for the Bank of Canada to send a signal to markets soon that rate hikes could be deferred if the Canadian dollar extends its run,” Shenfeld wrote in a new report. He added that Governor Poloz could give that assurance following September’s expected hold-steady on interest rates.

Shenfeld also expresses concern about the impact of policy on the housing market, which is already slowing.
“A soft landing that eases Ontario and BC house prices and mortgage growth would be welcome news for macroeconomic stability,” Shefeld says. “But nobody can be too sure of what kind of landing we’re now in.
Better to carefully phase in further changes in rates and regulatory policy to avoid piling on to a market that might be facing a less-than-soft retreat.”

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Granite at McKinley Beach offers best of both worlds

Michael Bernard
The Vancouver Sun

Granite at McKinley Beach

Project Location:  3450 McKinley Beach Drive, Kelowna

Project Size/Scope:  A first phase of 36 of 100 condominium homes and 18 three level semi-detached townhomes. The condos average about 1,100 sq. ft. and the townhomes range from 2,300 to 3,000 sq. ft., all with 180-degree views overlooking Okanagan Lake. Condo buyers will enjoy a rooftop hot tub and BBQ deck, and share access with townhomes to a ground-level swimming pool.

Price: $388,000 to more than $1 million.

Developer: Acorn Homes Ltd.

Architect: GTA Architecture Ltd., Kelowna

Sales Phone: 250-212-1809 or 1-866-942-2676

Website: acornhomes.com

Occupancy: Late 2018

Those who buy a townhome or condo apartment at Granite at McKinley Beach will have the best of both worlds. Their country world is perched on a solid granite hill facing west with panoramic views of Lake Okanagan while the urban world lies just 20 minutes down the road in the bustling, growing city of Kelowna.

“This is for people who like to have state-of-the-art urban architecture and its features but like to be a little closer to the wilderness,” says developer Greg Bird of Acorn Homes. “It’s more of the fresh-air experience.”

Bird was co-developer of the McKinley Beach property, a 572-acre lakeside parcel devoted to the construction of single-family homes, but he saw an opportunity to sell his share to a Calgary firm and keep 5.2 acres, what he calls the “crown jewel” for his Granite residential development.

“Not only do homeowners at Granite get to enjoy living as close to the lake as possible but they also get to enjoy it through the marina and a kilometre of lakeshore,” he said.

The homes come with the stamp of approval from TV host and repair guru Mike Holmes under his Make It Right certification program. Holmes, who attended an April 30 project launch, has made a business and career on HGTV of advising people on how to correct renovations gone wrong.

The three-level townhomes, set closest to the water, have three bedrooms with room for more on the lowest level, and range between 2,300 and 3,000 square feet. The two-bedroom condos behind average about 1,100 square feet. They are semi-detached, which means each townhome has windows on their open side.

The entire development is located about 22 minutes by car from downtown Kelowna and about 17 minutes to Kelowna airport.  About 50 per cent of the first phase condos and eight of the 18 townhomes have sold so far with buyers falling into three groups: locals wanting a principal lakeside residence, people seeking a second vacation home and investors.

“It makes for a very good investment because we are very close to the University of B.C. Okanagan campus and to the Kelowna International Airport,” he said. “You could easily have a student in the winter renting and then rent it (to vacationers) by the day or week or month in the summer time.

“It has quite good rental economics so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more investors in future, but right now they’re a minority,” he said, adding there are no restrictions on rentals for the first five years.

“If you took the most prime areas of downtown, we’re about $100 a square foot less in cost where we are,” Bird said. “The difference between downtown and our product is that downtown is fairly flat and you have to be in a tall building or right on the waterfront to enjoy the lake view.

“At McKinley you are steps away from the lake but you also have a lake view from up the hill.”

The property is dotted with Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, with outcroppings of granite and lava rock. It was homesteaded back in 1896 by John McKinley who came from Ontario via the U.S. in a covered wagon. He established the landing as a waypoint for CPR Railway boats that ferried materials up and down the lake. Crews would come ashore to collect wood for the steam-driven ships’ furnaces.

The townhomes are built on three levels with the 1,350-sq. ft. main level featuring a great room, kitchen and dining room. Folding glass doors provide an unimpeded floor-to-ceiling view of the lake and access to a glass railing balcony. The lower level features three bedrooms while more could be built on the lowest level which opens onto a walk-out patio.

Farther up the hill, the condo apartments are one-level two-bedroom-and-ensuite homes with a glass curtain front more typical of commercial rather than residential buildings in the Okanagan, giving them a highly urban feel, Bird said.  All homes have balconies and there are four larger penthouses.

Both the condos and the townhomes feature hardwood floors with carpeting in the bedrooms and porcelain tile bathrooms. Condos come with a stainless steel kitchen package, which can be upgraded while town homeowners can choose their own appliances.

Homeowners can also enjoy a swimming pool at ground level plus a hot tub and outdoor BBQ kitchen on the roof of the apartment.

Bird said Acorn is also purchasing watercraft for the six slips Granite owns in the lakeside marina, which the homeowners will share in their own “yacht club.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Marcon?s Mirabel at English Bay takes prime position in the West End

Kathleen Freimond
The Vancouver Sun

Mirabel at English Bay

Project location: 1345 Davie Street, Vancouver

Project size: Neighbouring 18- and 19-storey buildings (149 homes) with studio/one-bedrooms (405 to 915 square feet), two-bedrooms (756 to 1,336 square feet), and three bedrooms (2,132 to 2,659 square feet)

Price: One-bedroom homes from $615,900, two-bedroom homes from $910,900, three- bedroom homes from $5.25 million

Developer: Marcon Developments

Architect: Henriquez Partners Architects

Interior designer: Alda Pereira Design

Construction: concrete

Warranty: 2-5-10

Sales centre: 1283 Davie Street, Vancouver

Hours: open by appointment

Phone: 604-681-8110

Website: mirabelbymarcon.ca

With livability as a priority for its new residential projects, Marcon Developments focused on this theme for Mirabel at English Bay, side-by-side 18- and 19-storey buildings in Vancouver’s West End, one of the city’s most central and character-filled neighbourhoods.

Nic Paolella, director of development for Marcon says the two concrete highrises on Davie Street are designed to fit right into the existing ambience of the area, where the local residents enjoy the proximity to the beaches of English Bay, the unique elements of the local parks like the A-Maze-Ing Laughter public art installation in Morton Park, and the convenience of the commercial area with its shops and restaurants.

The name of the development—Mirabel—is a nod to the heritage of the area.

“Walking around we noticed many buildings from the 1950s and ’70s with personified names. They seemed to convey an approachable and friendly character that is reflective of the neighbourhood. The name Mirabel rang true in the context of this community,” says Paolella.

Located in a prime position in the West End, at the crest of the hill to English Bay, Richard Henriquez of Henriquez Partners Architects paid special attention to the siting of the building to deal with the slope while maximizing the dramatic sightlines to the West and South.

Henriquez also found inspiration for the buildings in the typical architectural elements of the West End.

“We interpreted the character of the area through a modern lens to create buildings that are both contemporary and respectful of the West End’s architectural heritage,” he adds.

Like many other buildings in the area, Mirabel will be set back from the street front, creating space for gardens, shrubs and trees to screen recessed residential entries.

The distinctive 24- by 8-foot staggered balconies deliver several advantages beyond the visual interest they add to the façade. The staggering effect will provide better privacy for residents, separating outdoor living space for each home, and they also play a role in shading the structure to keep the building envelope cooler.

A low threshold and sliding doors provide easy access to the balconies to seamlessly connect the indoor and outdoor spaces.

The two buildings comprise 149 units; 36 studio/one-bedroom/one-bedroom and den, 105 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom plus 68 social housing units that will be owned by the City of Vancouver.  

Buyers can choose from two colour palettes, Beach and City, says Alda Pereira, principal of Alda Pereira Design. The suite at the sales centre showcases the Beach option with white-oak engineered hardwood floors and white cabinetry. The City scheme is based on taupe colours that Pereira describes as a light, warm grey.

With the exception of the bathrooms, the oak flooring is used throughout, contributing to a sense of spaciousness in the units, says Pereira. In the two-bedroom show suite the den is presented as a multipurpose room and a good place for the TV.

“The living room is more an entertaining room with vistas of English Bay— it’s really more of a space for lounging, relaxing, or entertaining than for the TV,” she adds.

Pereira says the kitchens in the development are a standout.

“The kitchen is so well organized with plenty of storage in pullout drawers and cabinets. They are accessorized with all the organizers, so there are places to put plates, pots and platters,” she says.

Countertops, including on the three- by nine-foot island, are a light-coloured Caesarstone quartz with a honed finish while the Carrara marble hexagon-shaped tiles in the backsplash are inspired by the original buildings of that shape that were constructed along nearby Beach Avenue in the 1960s, says Pereira.

Although the residents at Mirabel are expected to dine out often at the many restaurants in the West End, the kitchen includes high-end appliances like a Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer and a Wolf cooktop and wall oven along with a Bosch dishwasher.

However, black accents such as the faucets in the kitchen and bathrooms and the frame of the den’s steel and glass doors add a contemporary flair to the space, says Pereira.

“The doors slide so you can open up the den area to the other rooms or close it off and enjoy it as a private space,” she adds.

The doors, that can be seen in the show suite, are a focal point in the larger two-bedroom units only.

In the master ensuite the hexagon shaped Carrara marble tile is used above the countertop line while the same marble in 12- by 24-inch tiles covers the walls and floor.   

The clean lines of the matte black Odin tap-ware fixtures by Brizo contribute to the elegance of the ensuite that also includes a wall-hung toilet by Duravit and a free-standing soaker tub by Victoria and Albert. A Carrara slab tops the vanity with double sinks while concealed lighting behind the mirror adds a stylish touch.

The black corner structure of glass shower enclosure continues the theme of black accents that punctuate the design of the unit.

Residents will have access to an indoor and outdoor amenity space above the podium, a well-equipped gym and a children’s play area.

Paolella says construction on Mirabel at English Bay is scheduled to start late in 2017 or early 2018.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

Thousands of new homes could be created in Vancouver after city staff announced proposals to allow more infill options for character homes.

All of the approximately 12,000 pre-1940s homes across the city would be eligible for incentives to densify with coach houses and stratified units while retaining the character home.

The proposals, which will go to the City Council next month, also include:

• Introducing laneway homes (rentals);
• Increasing the number of homes allowed on a 33’ lot from two to three;
• Introducing a new detached form for duplex that allows for two separate houses on a lot, with a larger house at the front and a smaller house at the lane; and
• Permitting large lots to build a new 4plex.

Vancouver’s Mayor, Gregor Robertson, says that affordability is the top concern of many residents and that the proposals will deliver housing to meet the needs and demands of residents while keeping to the affordability measure of no more than 30% of household income being spent on the home.

“These proposed changes from City staff respond to the desire for people to have more housing options in single family neighbourhoods—neighbourhoods where they currently cannot afford to live,” Mayor Robertson said.

The proposals are part of the wider Housing Vancouver Plan and would potentially create thousands of new homes, especially in areas such as including Dunbar, Kerrisdale and Arbutus Ridge, which do not currently allow coach houses and other stratified housing.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd