James, 290 West 1st Avenue
Special neighbourhood, special name
Vancouver Sun
Saturday, June 26th, 2010
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
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