Development is small, luxurious, high-end and designed to fit into the community

Jeani Read
Province

Dunbar, one of the last bastions of the single-family home on the tree-lined urban street, is slowly giving way to pockets of multiple dwellings.

Tasteful pockets, that is. Small, tasteful pockets. Luxurious, small, tasteful pockets. Smart. High-end.

Like Duke.

“It’s time,” says Cressey vice-president Hani Lammam, who lived in Dunbar while he was going to university and loves it — so it’s kind of personal for him. “Dunbar has been a sleeper neighbourhood so far; it hasn’t seen a lot of development. Unless you live there, you don’t know about Dunbar.”

But Duke is part of the start.

There it stands at 18th and Dunbar, close to traditional retail spots and right at the edge of the neighbourhood. Central to the rest of the city, it’s a mere 20 minutes to downtown depending on traffic and offers easy access to the University of B.C.

It’s five minutes away from Stongs, the neighbourhood’s favourite independent grocer, and close to tons of neat boutique shopping, such as Jools clothing and jewelry and Pinks gifts for home and garden.

And there’s also the Dunbar library and community centre just up the hill.

“It’s all about community,” says Lammam. “Parents are buying in Duke for their student kids and people are buying for their parents. And, of course, for themselves.”

John Langley is one of the above. His parents have been living with him and his wife Joanne in their Dunbar house for three years, since the older couple moved here from the English countryside.

“Now that they’re acclimatized, it’s time for them to move on,” says Langley. But not too far.

The small business owner has had his eye on Duke, conveniently situated at the other end of the block from his home, since work started on the site.

“I love it,” he says. “It’s a great location, and I think that part of Dunbar is going to improve.”

In terms of Duke’s floorplan, there’s a big focus on the kitchen, which features stainless KitchenAid appliances — including built-in fridge with bottom-mount freezer plus a built-in wine fridge — stone counters and undermount sinks.

Floors in the living area are wide-plank manufactured hardwood and there’s a gas fireplace. A special social feature is the rooftop garden with a plot per home (great puttering for Langley’s parents), barbecue, compost — and a stunning view.

All homes have part of this view, Lammam says, which is basically the water-and-mountain vista you get turning east down the long 16th Avenue hill from Dunbar — spectacular.

Each home has a parking space and storage downstairs. Move-in dates are soon: this summer. Which reminds us: There’s air conditioning throughout.

The Facts

WHAT: Duke on Dunbar is 18 condominiums and five townhouses on Vancouver’s west side

WHERE: Dunbar at 18th Avenue

DEVELOPED BY: Cressey Development Corp.

SIZES: 663 sq.ft. — 1,524 sq.ft.

PRICES: $419, 900 to $1.18 million

CONTACT: Open Saturdays and Sundays 2-4 p.m., 3595 West 18th Ave, 604-734-3853, dukeondunbar.com

© The Vancouver Province 2007

You need a lawyer

Tony Gioventu
Province

Dear Condo Smarts:

What happens when what you buy is not what you get? I purchased a two-bedroom condo in False Creek, and with it came two parking spaces, two small storage lockers and a marina slip for my boat. All of these were itemized in the sales agreement drawn up by the seller.

The strata council now informs me that the permit on my boat slip has expired and to renew it will cost me $5,000 a year. The seller claims he bought the two parking spaces from the developer, and had a 99-year lease on the marina slip. Where do I go now?

— Casey M.

Dear Casey:

The first thing you need to determine is the designation of the parking spaces, storage locker and marina slip.

Are they common property, limited common property or part of the strata lot? If they are filed as common property of the strata corporation they remain as common property of the strata corporation unless the designation is changed in accordance with the Strata Property Act.

Next, you should be determine whether the strata has any bylaws and/or rules that pertain to the use of the spaces, lockers and slip.

If the strata corporation has changed common property to limited common property, or has sold off a portion of the common property and made that portion part of the strata lot in question, the transaction will be indicated with the Land Title Registry.

Before anyone signs an agreement for sale, here is a checklist to follow:

– Always read the registered bylaws of the strata corporation.

– Verify in writing with the strata corporation which parking, storage or marina spaces go with the property.

– Obtain a copy of the registered strata plan and any common sheet amendments and review your share of the costs and use of space.

– Closely read the minutes of the corporation.

– Obtain a Form B Information Certificate and read the strata rules for common property.

If you have any doubts or questions, put them in writing and get the agents to respond. Don’t wait till the day of sale to talk to your lawyer. By then, it’s usually too late. In this case you will need to take a copy of the registered bylaws, rules strata plan and lease to a lawyer for assistance.

© The Vancouver Province 2007

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Generous storage, spare detailing introduce expansiveness into live/work residences from Intracorp

Sun

JACOBSEN

Location: East Second at Scotia, Vancouver

Project size: 125 apartments and townhouses, 6-storey building

In the Jacobsen homes, walls will do so much more than separate space or enclose spaces, the show-home expanse of kitchen, home office and hallway storage declares. They will also help create space or, at least, an impression of spaciousness. “You don’t need a lot of space; you just need to be organized and compact,” interior designer Donna Kurtz comments. Ian Smith, Vancouver Sun

Residence size: 695 sq. ft. – 798 sq. ft.

Prices: $377,900 – $539,900

Sales centre: 2501 Main, at Broadway

Hours: noon – 5 p.m., Sat – Thu

Telephone: 604-709-9844

Web: jacobsenliving.ca

Developer: Intracorp

Architect: Christopher Bozyk Architects Ltd.

Interior: Christopher Bozyk Architects Ltd.

Tentative occupancy: Summer, 2009

“If a building becomes architecture, then it is art.”

– Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971),

architect, designer

and ”Danish Modern” initiator

westcoast homes

A namesake building demands of architect and builder at least a nod to the spirit of the remembered or commemorated.

At the Jacobsen new-home project, accordingly, the task for builder and designer is a building that will stand the test of time.

Arne Jacobsen was a designer of classics, buildings and furniture, with the Ant, Egg and Swan chairs (1952 – 1958) the principal foundation of his claim to (emulative) fame.

Jacobsen is a live/work development in a neighbourhood of live/work developments.

Architect Craig Taylor says his goals were a building “reflective of the semi-industrial artist-use” of other buildings in the neighbourhood and, further, a building that mixes typical industrial materials, such as steel and glass, with warmer materials like wood.

The balconies he has designed also give the building a sense of individuality. No two are the same.

Their exteriors, too, differ around the building. Metal mesh will clad some balconies; cedar screens or tempered glass, others. Galvanized-steel structural framing will be used on most.

“We wanted people to have a sense of belonging rather than feeling they were in an anonymous cubicle,” Taylor says.

“It’s a responsible way to design. To make buildings as timeless as possible so the building is made to last. It’s not trendy; . . . it won’t date.”

Inside, the open-plan layouts provide modern flexible living appropriate for the live/work lifestyle, with expansive walls of glass maximizing the introduction of natural light.

Donna Kurtz is responsible for the interior architecture of the residences. They are not large, but they will be eminently livable, because of the storage and spare detailing she has specified.

Kitchen appliances will be hidden behind frameless cabinet doors; stacking washer/dryers, behind mirrored doors, again frameless, in the bathrooms. Cupboards will reach the ceilings.

“You don’t need a lot of space; you just need to be organized and compact,” Kurtz says. “We kept the details clean and modern.”

Kitchens will run along one wall, in a simple palette of high gloss white highlighted by inserts of teak veneer.

Kurtz has specified a 24-inch Blomberg refrigerator for the kitchens, very popular in Europe, but new to Vancouver. (She has also specified a dishwasher from Blomberg.)

She has specified a Bosch cooktop and a wall oven clad in stainless steel

In the show home, she used translucent glass extensively. A closet behind sliding doors of translucent glass runs for more than 10 feet in the show-home hallway. More translucent glass will define sleeping quarters, to expedite the passage of natural light into the sleeping quarters from the generously glazed main living quarters.

Balconies will be generous extensions of the residency opportunity in Jacobsen. The smallest offers about 65 square feet; the largest, about 100 square feet.

Kurtz did not include a bathtub in the show-home bathroom. Instead, she had a shower installed, a watering-can shower-head up and slats of wood down. Buyers who prefer a tub can opt for one.

Marble will top bathroom counters and clad backsplashes. (Mirrored doors above the vanities will hide shelving.)

“We wanted the bathroom to have a spa-like feeling,” Kurtz says.

All involved also wanted to pay homage to sustainability. Toilets will be dual flush. (And local materials have been specified when and where possible.)

Common amenities will include an exercise room; a crafts room; and a gallery on the first floor, with a small kitchen attached. By opening the gallery’s glass doors, Jacobsen hosts will create an even larger space for their public functions.

The 125 homes include 11 penthouses and 16 townhouses. The penthouses have all been sold. The townhouses will have their own addresses and entry court on the north side of the building.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

Cheryl Rossi
Van. Courier

The city, residents associations and renters are worried about the amount of rental housing in Vancouver.

City staff want to prevent further reductions in Vancouver’s declining rental housing stock. They suggest developers should be required to supply the equal number of market rental housing units on or off site with new developments, or a smaller number of non-market, or subsidized, housing units.

Aaron Jasper, a director with the West End Residents Association, hopes city council will support this staff recommendation.

Council adopted a “rate of change” policy-the percentage net loss of rental housing units in the 365-day period prior to the date a developer submits a rezoning or development application for a dwelling of six or more units-in 1989 for Kerrisdale, South Granville-Fairview and the West End, with amendments in 1990 and 1996. The current rate of change threshold is five per cent in Kerrisdale and Granville-Fairview and zero per cent in the West End.

“Before, as long as that development fell in whatever the rate of change, say five per cent or whatever, that didn’t even have to come by council,” Jasper said. “With having a zero rate of change it still allows the developer the possibility of doing their development, but it brings it out in the open, they’ve basically got to work out a deal with council.”

No rate of change policy is in place for Mount Pleasant, Grandview-Woodlands or Marpole, areas that contain much of the most affordable housing stock.

Staff wants the city to have more say in the potential loss of rental housing stock.

“The preservation of rental housing stock is critical,” staff’s report to council states. “Fifty-six per cent of Vancouver’s households occupy rental housing, and 31 per cent of those households are in core need in that they pay more than 30 per cent of their gross income towards housing.”

The city has seen an increase in redevelopment activity that parallels the rapid increase in condominium prices, and it has already issued demolition permits for more than 260 rental housing units this year.

Rental vacancy rates in the city fell from 0.7 per cent in 2005 to 0.3 per cent in 2006, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Rob Whitlock, a senior housing officer with the city, explained staff don’t imagine such a policy would be in place for an extended period of time, which is why staff recommends a comprehensive rental study. That study, which looks at the role condo rentals play in the market, is to be completed by the end of 2009.

A 2006 CMHC survey reports that 27.9 per cent of the 55,943 condominium units in the city are rented out. But the average rent for a two-bedroom rented condominium is 22 per cent higher than the average two-bedroom apartment.

Little development of rental apartments has occurred in the city since the 1970s because of the withdrawal, at that time, of federal tax incentives. Growing competition from condominium development, and 50 per cent of the city’s rental housing stock was built before 1966 also affected development.

Staff also recommends contacting the federal and provincial governments and urging them to reinstate tax incentives.

A public hearing on the issue was previously scheduled for May 15 but was deferred to May 17, after the Courier’s press time. Twenty-six speakers, including renters, developers and representatives from tenants associations had signed up to speak at Tuesday’s meeting. Council was to reach a decision about whether to proceed with the recommendations at the hearing or wait until its next regular meeting, May 29. If all of the speakers couldn’t be heard last night, May 24 at 7:30 was reserved for a second hearing in council chambers.

Northern Lights shine bright

Brian Morton
Sun

The Northern Lights Real Estate Board represents one of the smallest population bases in B.C. But it’s also an area that’s red hot.

Just ask Ryan MacIvor, a Dawson Creek resident who bought his first home there last July, just one day after the bungalow was put up for sale for $195,000.

“There were five or six other couples in there, and there were multiple offers,” MacIvor said in an interview. “We [MacIvor and his fiance] paid above list, though not significantly. But it’s par for the course everywhere here. It’s a robust economy in the whole Peace region, and people are moving up here and investing.

“We’re happy with the house, and the price we purchased it for.”

According to a survey released Thursday by the B.C. Real Estate Association, home sales in April rebounded across B.C. for the first time in 10 months, with overall prices rising 11 per cent and sales volumes up 17 per cent.

The most astonishing highlight of the survey, however, was that residential real estate prices in the region known as Northern Lights — which includes Dawson Creek, Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge — rose 75.8 per cent during the past 12 months.

That’s nearly triple the increase in the province’s second-hottest region, the South Okanagan, which saw prices rise 28.5 per cent over the same period.

Local RE/MAX realtor Brenda Banham expects that Tumbler Ridge’s current 120 listings alone should sell very quickly — especially the 65 single-family homes.

“If we continue the [oil, gas and coal mining] activity, and the demand [for housing], the houses should be sold within a month,” said Banham, who is also president of the region’s real estate board. “There’s a lot of people moving in and buying us up.

“It’s a hot market. There’s a lot of oil, gas and coal mining activity throughout northern B.C. 2006 was a little slower [than years previous], but the activity’s moving up again.”

But Banham said there are other factors at play besides the strong northern economy.

“The biggest thing is we [still] have the lowest prices in the province. That’s a big drawing card. We’re getting people from all over — from Alberta, the 100 Mile House area, even Victoria.”

According to the survey, B.C. home prices rose by an average of 11 per cent during the last 12 months, with the average price of a home reaching $431,945 as of April, up from $388,889 during the same month last year.

Besides Northern Lights and South Okanagan, hotspots included Kamloops, which saw prices rise 24.1 per cent to an average $270,244, and Kootenay, which saw prices increase 19.2 per cent to $252,236.

The survey noted that the average price of a home in Greater Vancouver rose 12.2 per cent to $565,375. The Fraser Valley saw prices rise 8.9 per cent to $427,481.

According to the report, residential sales volumes rose to $4.2 billion in April, up 17 per cent compared to the same month in 2006. Residential unit sales increased five per cent to 9,677 over the same period.

“This signifies a strong month, but it’s too early to tell if this is an upswing,” said Cameron Muir, the B.C. Real Estate Association’s chief economist. “Prices are not climbing as rapidly as in the past.”

Muir said contributing factors are a favourable labour market and a 25-per-cent increase in the number of homes for sale across B.C.

“Provincial economic growth continues to reinforce housing demand,” added Muir. “However, affordability remains the largest constraint to home ownership in B.C.”

Muir agreed that Northern Lights is benefitting from its resource base.

But he also singled out Kamloops as doing well. “Kamloops has been discovered over the past year by many recreation and retiree buyers because of its relative affordability.”

Blaine Nicholson, managing broker for RE/MAX in Dawson Creek said the local market is brisk, but they’re not seeing as many multiple offers on homes as they saw last year.

“There’s a lot of natural resource extraction in the area. We get a lot of investors because of the increase in activity.”

NORTHERN REAL ESTATE HOT

The Northern Lights region of B.C. (which includes Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, and Tumbler Ridge) saw real estate prices jump more than 75 per cent in the past year, with an average residence now selling for well over $200,000. Here are average residential prices (as of April) in the various regions of the province, with the percentage change since the same month of 2006:

Northern Lights $218,264 75.8%

South Okanagan $319,242 28.5%

Kamloops $270,244 24.1%

Kootenay $252,236 19.2%

B.C. North $188,593 15.8%

Okanagan $370,687 12.2%

Greater Vancouver $564,375 12.2%

Victoria $472,460 11.5%

Chilliwack $294,906 11.0%

Vancouver Island $312,030 10.5%

Fraser Valley $427,481 8.9%

Powell River $189,004 2.5%

B.C. Total $431,945 11.1%

Source: BC Real Estate Association

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

 

Environment a serious issue for business leaders

Ashley Ford
Province

Bob Rennie, no greenhorn when it comes to selling real estate, says going “green is going to sell condos, newspapers, magazines and get politicians elected.”

Said the head of Rennie Marketing Systems to the Urban Development Institute’s annual meeting yesterday: “My theory is for now we are all going to be opportunistic with green. It is our new lemon fresh.

“Today we are green because it is a marketing opportunity.”

The institute represents the development industry, and Rennie’s annual snapshot and projections about the market are closely monitored.

He said many influential political and business leaders are starting to take the environment seriously and signalling that it won’t just be business as usual in the future, because the planet and consumers will demand it.

“Instead of talking about going green or whether goals can be achieved, let’s just start by doing our part to achieve them,” he said of developers.

Rennie also had some harsh words about the situation in the Downtown Eastside, which he called “a disaster area all of us should be ashamed of.

“It’s a night of living hell taking an evening walk down there,” he said.

It may not be for much longer, however, as the city is fast running out of land to develop, the inner east side is already in developers’ sights, and prices are rising quickly.

Rennie said the current model of centralizing poverty doesn’t work and new ways are needed to integrate the “haves” and the “have-nots.” Although the province purchased 10 rooming houses/hotels last month for single-room accommodation, Rennie doubts Victoria is in it for the long term.

“My bet is that the province will maintain this housing in place until 2010 and post-Winter Olympics and then start to decentralize this housing to other areas and sell off or rebuild the sites,” he said.

He said the Woodward’s development — which consists of 200 non-market housing units and 536 market condos — may prove to be an example of a better way.

Asked about the market overall, Rennie suggested it’s more of the same — all systems go with ever-rising prices.

Prices are sustainable because there is virtually no inventory, he said.

Investors are buying because of equity growth and that is saving the rental market. But at the end of the day, said Rennie, Vancouver has been discovered.

“We are not a financial centre, we are not a head-office city, we are a real-estate city, a resort city and we are an amazing place to live,” he said.

Rennie’s comments came on the same day that a TD Economics report predicted that Canada’s major condo markets should remain strong this year and next.

The report, Condos To Remain An Attractive Option for Many Home Buyers, said a robust labour market, supportive interest rates and an aging population would support “robust demand” for condos.

It predicts the annual rise in Vancouver condo prices will slip to 10.5 per cent in 2007/08 from 16.3 per cent in 2005/06. Price gains in Calgary will fall to 10.5 per cent from 26.6 per cent while Edmonton price growth will drop to 12.5 per cent from 16.6 per cent.

© The Vancouver Province 2007