Archive for October, 2007

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Convention centre costs could rise

Friday, October 26th, 2007

VANCOUVER: Acting-AG says no guarantee final price tag will be $883.2m

JOHN BERMINGHAM
Province

The convention centre expansion under construction on Vancouver’s waterfront yesterday. GERRY KAHRMANN — THE PROVINCE

Don’t rule out more cost overruns at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

In his report on the project next to the Pan Pacific Hotel on Vancouver’s waterfront, acting auditor-general Errol Price said there’s no guarantee the final price tag will stay at $883.2 million — which is already nearly double its original estimate.

“There’s still a long way to go on the project,” Price told The Province yesterday.

The B.C. government rushed the project to get it done before the 2010 Olympics, he said. Ground for the centre was broken even before its final design was completed, he said.

The Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project board of directors estimated construction costs would rise by only five per cent a year. In fact, they jumped by an average of 11 per cent a year. Price labelled the cost spiral “a perfect storm,” adding, “The inflation in the construction industry took everybody by surprise.” Complications also cropped up during pile-driving, and there was a shortage of key equipment.

Price said the project’s board “painted a rosier picture” than existed but was slow to react when costs started climbing in 2006. Price said the board should publish monthly reports updating the public on the project’s cost.

Property developer David Podmore, who was brought in this year to see the project through to 2009, vowed that the cost will not exceed the current $883.2-million estimate.

“That is the bottom line,” said Podmore, adding that 85 per cent of the construction costs are now fixed.

He rejected the suggestion that the project was rammed through to meet the 2010 deadline. “I don’t feel that the project has been rushed, and I don’t feel it’s been driven by the Olympics,” he said. “It’s not a boondoggle. The reaction I get [from the public] is that they are very pleased with the progress of the project.”

Convention bookings have risen from 54 to 77 in recent months, equal to 1.1 million delegate days.

NDP Leader Carole James said the government “has completely mismanaged a very large project with huge costs for the taxpayer. Ultimately, the premier [Gordon Campbell] has to carry the can for this.” $499.6 million, with the rest from the federal government and Tourism Vancouver. The three fast ferries were budgeted by the NDP at $210 million, but cost $454 million.

James said the government rushed through the project, then hid the rising costs.

As opposition leader and then premier, Campbell should have learned from NDP mistakes in managing mega-projects like the fast ferries, she said.

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CMHC opens way for more Canadians to become landlords

Friday, October 26th, 2007

Wendy McLellan
Province

Canadians can become landlords more easily with a new CMHC mortgage-insurance product that allows people to buy rental properties with no down payment.

For a premium based on the loan amount, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. now insures mortgages so investors can buy up to four units of rental housing with little money down.

The Crown corporation now allows 100-per-cent financing on one or two units and 90-per-cent financing for a third and fourth rental units.

Until last month, CMHC required a down payment of 15 per cent on investment properties.

The new product, introduced last month, also changed the way financial institutions calculate the ratios used to qualify borrowers for mortgages, which makes it easier to buy rental property.

It’s a complicated formula, but rather than adding 80 per cent of the rental amount to the borrower’s income, then working out the debt ratio, a 20-per-cent shortfall is added to the expense side of the calculation. The change reduces the income needed to qualify for the mortgage.

“The small rental enhancements help qualified Canadians take advantage of opportunities to invest in rental properties,” said Pierre Serré, CMHC’s vice-president of insurance products and business development.

“By purchasing these properties, these borrowers will help increase the rental housing available . . . and maintain the stock of affordable housing.”

The insurance premium is 7.25 per cent of the mortgage amount for 100-per-cent financing.

Paula Siemens, a mortgage broker with Invis Canada in Vancouver, said the new product will be attractive to investors who are interested in becoming landlords and have a reasonable cash flow to handle unexpected vacancies and expenses.

“For people who are self-employed or who don’t have a pension plan, this could give them an investment option that will generate cash flow in retirement,” Siemens said. “The rent will pay down the mortgage and when you’re ready to retire, you will have the revenue from your rental properties as income.”

© The Vancouver Province 2007

 

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Vegetarian food in Paradise

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

The pork, chicken and seafood are made out of soy or wheat products. Stocks are from vegetables

Mia Stainsby
Sun

Owner Kim Nguyen offers wonton soup and do-it-yourself tofu deluxe roll. Photograph by : Peter Battistoni, Vancouver Sun

Paradise is more than just a pretty name at this humble vegetarian restaurant. It’s a state of mind where the two owners live, peacefully and perhaps even blissfully.

Sisters Kim and Yen Nguyen opened Paradise Vietnamese Cuisine four years ago in the hopes of turning people on to vegetarian food.

They are devout followers of a spiritual form of meditation (you’ll note the photos of their supreme master in the dining room) and, as Kim says in her imperfect English, “We just have idea, want to have people to be vegetarians. Some of people never try.”

find God and a happy life.

“Our master [a female] teaches to go beyond meditation. She will show whoever follow her teaching to find God and enjoy Heaven while you are living,” Kim says.

Back at the more earthly pursuit of eating, you’ll see dishes like Grilled Pork Rolls; Barbecued Ham or Chicken; Beef Rice Noodle Soup; Steamed Fish Roll; and other dishes with ingredients that once had legs or swam.

It seems somewhere along the line, Asian vegetarianism took the fork that led to making vegetables and grains act like meat and seafood. The pork, the chicken, the seafood are made out of soy or wheat products and so vegetarians can — without fear or loathing — safely eat pork, chicken, shrimp and ham here. Stocks, too, are made from vegetables.

“We begin thinking, how can we cook stock with no bone? We have to prove [vegetables] can be more tasty,” Kim says. So flavour comes from carrots, radishes, broccoli, cabbage and other vegetables.

The food at Paradise is healthy, hearty Vietnamese home cooking. There are some 50 items, nearly all dishes are less than $10 for generous portions and more in the range of $8.

The mysterious Special Salad is a huge coleslaw-like salad with tofu; the wonton soup is made from scratch; Panfried Stuffed Eggplant is one of their best sellers, as is Spicy Lemongrass Chicken and the Do It Yourself Dinner (rice paper wrap with tofu, steamed veggies, lettuce, “meat,” or “fish,” and herbs). The last is the most expensive at $12.95.

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday. You’ll find food for your spirit as well as your body.

– – – PARADISE VIETNAMESE CUISINE

8681 — 10th Ave., Burnaby (Crest Plaza), 604-527-8138

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

 

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New eatery makes sport of grilling steaks

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

Group of athletes team up to create Players Chophouse, where steak’s a good bet while cheering on the hometown favourites

Mia Stainsby
Sun

Dave Rouleau (left) and Chad Walton, both of Pitt Meadows, pose with their server Whitney Murton at Players Chophouse, before taking in a Canucks game. Photograph by : Stuart Davis, Vancouver Sun

What do you get when a dozen professional hockey and football players, an Olympic/ World skeleton racing champ, an actress, and a former chef to Wesley Snipes get together? They could spawn a whole new sport or. . . of course! A new restaurant. (The Olympic skeleton racer silver medallist, by the way, is Jeff Pain.)

There’s quite an athletic team behind Players Chophouse, which is within walking distance to GM Place, BC Place and the theatres. When you walk into the restaurant and are confronted by the 14-by-10-foot video projection screen and the plasma TVs, it feels like the modern equivalent of the Roman coliseum.

Players was previously another steakhouse called Wilsons, which met an unfortunate end, assisted by the 2004/2005 NHL lockout. It’s a spacious, dark, wood-panelled room, with the manly attributes of a modern steakhouse.

Sports fanatics might be able to decipher the column of numbers stretching from the main floor to mezzanine level but since regular people will never guess, I’ll tell you: They’re the jersey numbers of the hockey and football players within the ownership.

I’m tempted, like Gertrude Stein, to say a steakhouse is a steakhouse is a steakhouse but, of course, that’s not entirely true. The quality of steak rules, of course. What the crowd wants here, as well as good meat, is permission to roar when there’s a goal or when one of the “players” is in the restaurant, visiting tables. And here, the room is big enough the ceiling high enough to withstand the decibels.

The food is really centred around steaks and chops; the seafood and other dishes definitely take a back seat, except for the crab cakes, which I found to be top-notch. On game nights, you might be better off in the lounge with its more beer-friendly dishes, including pizzas, starters and sandwiches.

A 14-ounce California rib-eye was cooked as requested, medium-rare, and it was juicy and flavourful. The vegetables were forgettable and they seemed to recur on other plates. Braised Asian pear shortribs were as tender and fall-apart as could be. The slow-roasted prime rib dish (14-ounce or 18 ounce) cried out for a 200-pound linebacker to absorb the shock of it. Here again, the meat outshone the veggies; furthermore, the Yorkshire pudding was too dry, not even warm, and entirely unappealing. Too bad, because I love Yorkshire pud.

The seafood in the paella was overcooked, which was not surprising considering how scorching hot the dish was. “Charred” mussels were a letdown; they cooked, I guess, in their own juices and lemon. I prefer them in a yummy broth.

West Coast seafood chowder also featured overcooked fish; and if only the seared yellowfin tuna was as sparklingly fresh as the peashoot salad it came with.

Entree dishes cost upwards of $24; steaks and chops go from $24 to $46.

Players isn’t a foodie destination but if you’re looking for an upscale sports bar with straight-ahead steaks and a linebacker, skeleton racer or goalie in the house, you’ll be very pleased.

– – –

PLAYERS CHOPHOUSE

Overall: 3

Food: 2 1/2

Ambience: 3 1/2

Service: 3 1/2

Price: $$$

808 Beatty St., 604-694-2467, www.vancouverchophouse.ca

Open for lunch and dinner, Monday to Friday; 3 p.m. to midnight, Saturday and Sunday.

Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

 

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Trio of B.C. wireless firms make top list

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

WebTech, Tranzeo and Ascalade are among the fastest growing on continent

Michael Kane
Sun

British Columbia‘s status as a hotbed of wireless technology was confirmed Wednesday when three Vancouver-area firms were named among the 50 fastest growing in North America.

All the more remarkable is that the three managed to outpace many U.S. rivals when the Canadian dollar was much weaker than it is today, said Fraser Liptrot, a partner in the technology practice at consultants Deloitte in Vancouver.

The first-ever Deloitte Wireless Fast 50, compiled in the U.S, identifies North America’s fastest-growing wireless companies based on five years of fiscal year revenue growth between 2002 and 2006.

Wireless Inc. of Burnaby, Tranzeo Wireless Technologies Inc. of Pitt Meadows, and Ascalade Communications of Richmond.

“I think it is fantastic for companies in B.C. to compete against much larger and well-financed neighbours in this industry and to grow as much as they have,” Liptrot said in an interview.

“The thing that strike me about all of these companies is their global reach. We should be proud that Vancouver has companies that compete with the U.S. and have far-flung operations.”

According to the Wireless Innovation Network of British Columbia, the industry employs more than 5,500 people and generates revenues in excess of $1 billion.

To qualify for the Fast 50 list, companies must have grown operating revenues from at least $50,000 US in 2002 to more than $5 million US in 2006. They must also own proprietary wireless technology or intellectual property.

WebTech Wireless, ranked 18th with growth of 1,888 per cent, is a leading provider of wireless tracking devices for the transportation industry.

With about 130 employees, it sells in 41 countries around the world. Development takes place in Burnaby while most manufacturing is outsourced to China.

“This recognition tell us that we’re doing the right things,” said CEO and co-founder Anwar Sukkarie. “We’re executing very well in our business plan. This tells us that our customers really put value in our products and services, and investors trust in our outlook and vision.”

Tranzeo Wireless, ranked 23rd with growth of 1,072 per cent, employs about 110 people to develop and manufacture high-performance wireless network equipment.

It operates a distribution centre in San Diego and recently opened an office in Shannon, Ireland, to serve a growing base of customers and distributors throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

“It is very exciting to be named to the Deloitte Fast 50,” said Tony Kot, vice-president of sales and marketing.

“One of the beauties of Tanzeo is we do all of our own design, development and manufacturing in-house. We’re not working with third-party product that we get from Taiwan or a trade show.”

Ascalade Communications Inc., ranked 31st with growth of 503 per cent, designs, develops and manufactures digital wireless and communication products, including digital cordless phones and digital wireless baby monitors.

Thirteen Canadian companies made the inaugural Top 50, including Ottawa‘s BTI Systems Inc. which tied for fourth place with Toronto‘s Tira Wireless Inc. at 16,610 per cent growth, and Toronto‘s MyThum Interactive which placed sixth with 13,900 per cent growth.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

 

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Kick back in the cactus patch

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

Burritos, etc. are good but try something different

Mark Laba
Province

Roberto Molina of Mi Mexico restaurant, with a dish named Camarones Al Mojo De Ajo (prawns, garlic oil, rice and salad with tortillas). Photograph by : Arlen Redekop, The Province

MI MEXICO

Where: 3853 Hastings St., Burnaby

Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-677-1602

Drinks: Fully licensed

Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. lunch; 5 p.m.-9 p.m. dinner; Tues.-Sun., closed Mon.

– – –

It was another beautiful Vancouver day. Beautiful if you were a snail or slug, anyway. But X-Man and I were headed to a Mexican shindig out Burnaby way to throw a little sunshine into our dismal surroundings. I’d heard the view was great from this place on the second floor of a row of non-descript stores and, from the outside looking up, this joint appeared to be no great shakes but the inside told a different story.

Tropical hues, Mexican-themed artwork festooning the walls, a beach umbrella opened in the centre of the room to guard against an invisible sun’s rays, exotic plants with lazy fronds that you could picture waving in a tropical breeze and, over the tiny bar, a TV broadcasting satellite soccer games.

X-Man and I grabbed a table near the window and put our peepers to the panorama. It was a looker, highrises framing the scene but in between was a clear view of a valley of greenery stretching out to distant condos on the horizon.

“What’s that area called?” I asked X-Man.

“Still Creek,” X-Man said. “That’s the kind of name they retain for what places would look like if they didn’t touch them. I used to live on a street called Wild Brambleberry Way where you’d have been hard-pressed to find even a weed pushing up through the concrete.”

The owner of this eatery is Roberto Molina, who plays on the B.C. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team. Suffice to say this restaurant is completely wheelchair accessible, from the washrooms to the second entrance around back. His aunt, Dona Molina, is the cook, whipping up some hearty Mexican home-cooking.

X-Man and I put the pedal to our molar metal with the complimentary homemade chips and great salsa while awaiting the main event. For me, on the advice of our server Tara (who also makes a mean margarita, according to the regulars) was the chicken molé ($12.99), while X-Man opted for the whole fried tilapia ($14.50). Tilapia to me is like the baloney of the sea — popular, found most everywhere, breeds in the most adverse conditions and, depending on what you do with it, can be OK or downright exhilarating.

The chicken molé was a deep, rich, reddish-brown mire, served with rice and beans and tortillas on the side. The sprinkling of sesame seeds overtop this dish was a nice, authentic touch and the sauce had all the pizzazz of ground chili peppers tempered by bittersweet Mexican chocolate.

X-Man was impressed by the visual display of his plate. The whole tilapia had a forlorn expression as if saying “Why me?” but who cares what he thought. Proclaimed to be seasoned with grandma’s secret recipe, the crackling skin had a salty finish and tender, slightly sweet flesh that added a nice balance. X-Man wasn’t crazy about the dish but I think he had a bone to pick with all the bone-picking the fish necessitated.

If you visit, maybe overlook the usual burritos, enchiladas and quesadillas (not that they’re not tasty) and instead venture into new territory with the Camaron à la Diabla, a prawn and chipotle– chili sauce concoction, the Chiles Rellenos or the Alambre with peppers, onion, sausage and cheese. And for dessert, the homemade flan is excellent.

“So, what say you, X-Man?”

“What with the food, the Dos Equus and the hurricane outside, I feel like I’m on my last Mexican vacation.”

THE BOTTOM LINE: All the trappings of a day in the Yucatan, minus the iguanas, of course.

RATINGS: Food: B+; Service: A-; Atmosphere: B

© The Vancouver Province 2007

 

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Boomers boost demand for holiday homes

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

Property prices rise as new cottages sell out quickly

Glenda Luymes
Province

Kevin Ault fears the latest development will worsen congestion on the only road into Cultus Lake. – JUDY BECKER FILE PHOTO — FOR THE PROVINCE

Vancouver retirees hunting for holiday homes are driving up the price of recreational property in the Fraser Valley.

Earlier this month, 93 cottages at a new resort near Cultus Lake sold in six hours after a marketing campaign targeted big-city buyers.

“We knew interest was going to be significant,” said George Hare, president of Residential and Recreational Project Marketing.

“The price and the proximity to Vancouver made it a very attractive development.”

Located 90 minutes from downtown Vancouver on an 18-hectare treed area at the end of Cultus Lake in Chilliwack, the cottages will be built on private land.

The homes — ranging from 900 square feet to 1,700 square feet and priced at between $330,000 and $580,000 — will be built in stages, with the first few ready next summer. More than 100 additional homes will eventually be built in the area, but no date has been set for the pre-sale.

Many of the buyers were aging baby boomers buying a second home for holiday use, said Hare.

“Nothing like this exists at the lake right now,” he added.

But year-round Cultus resident Kevin Ault said he’s concerned the new development will make summer traffic on the Columbia

Valley Highway even worse.

“There’s one road in and out,” he said. “We already have to pick and choose our times to come and go . . . It’s all well and good to bring in development, but we need the infrastructure to support it.”

Richard Wenham, a Chilliwack realtor with Homelife Glenayre, said he’s watched property prices at Cultus rise in recent years, more than doubling due to interest from people across Metro Vancouver.

“Some of the residents I’ve

spoken to are a little concerned

. . . about the burden more people will have on existing facilities at the lake itself,” Wenham said.

“This is a desirable place to have a vacation home. The prices just continue to go up.”

Cultus isn’t unique — the holiday property hype seems to be sweeping the Fraser Valley.

In Mission, RE/MAX realtor Al Kubas said prices around Silvermere Lake and Lake Erroch have “gone berserk.”

“I can’t believe it. It scares me a little. I’ve never seen the market go 51/2 years like this,” he said.

Because private property around many local lakes was purchased long ago and the remainder is often provincial park land, when a private property goes up for sale, the price is steep.

Many of the buyers are from Vancouver, retirees or people with “old money,” said Andy Tepasse, a realtor with RE/MAX in Hope, where property within walking distance of Kawkawa Lake has more than doubled.

A four-bedroom home with a lake view now costs about $380,000 when three years ago it would have cost $150,000.

“We’re only two hours away from Vancouver, so it’s an easy weekend trip,” said Tepasse. “We’re definitely seeing people from Vancouver taking an interest.”

The downside is that “it’s driving the prices up for the local home buyer,” he added.

And the trend doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of letting up.

“I’ve been predicting a stop to this for the last two years, but it seems that locally, provincially, even globally, there’s just more people in the market for holiday homes.”

© The Vancouver Province 2007

 

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RIM – maker of Blackberry mobile devices to sell in China – stock hits a high with Acatel-Lucent deal

Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

David George-Cosh
Sun

TORONTO — Investors sent Research in Motion Ltd. stock to a record high Tuesday — at one point making it Canada’s most valuable company — after it revealed it had partnered with telecommunications giant Alcatel-Lucent to sell BlackBerrys in China.

RIM’s stock surged to $120.42 on the TSX, up 8.2 per cent, after the announcement that the 8700 BlackBerry model would be distributed in the booming Chinese market later this year. No specific date was given for distribution.

Peter Misek, Canaccord Adams’s senior technology analyst, said RIM’s developments in China are just the beginning of what could be a banner year for the Waterloo, Ont.-based company.

“This is going to be the biggest company in Canada,” said Misek, who rates RIM a “buy.” “The company is a world beater and its technology is second to none.

“It’s got an excellent execution engine and tremendous earnings growth. This is just step one for RIM in China. They’re going to have additional partnerships, additional devices, additional services.”

China poses a huge opportunity for RIM. The country is relatively untapped in terms of wireless-device penetration. More than 10 million workers are employed in Fortune 1000 firms and about 400 million middle-class residents are flush with disposable income in a culture that embraces new technology.

However, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky said Tuesday’s market reaction was ahead of itself and valuing RIM mostly on its long-term prospects rather than what he called “modest traction in the short term.” He rated the stock as an “outperform.”

Still, the announcement drove RIM’s market capitalization to a peak of $69.2 billion, surpassing Royal Bank of Canada as the country’s most valuable company for much of the afternoon.

RIM’s shares are the biggest success story on the TSX, rising 138 per cent this year and more than twentyfold over the past five years.

Concern over RIM’s entering the risky Chinese market, said Misek, should be calmed with its decision to partner with Alcatel-Lucent, which has strong roots in China.

“Alcatel-Lucent has been … in China a lot longer than RIM has, for about the past 25 years,” he said. “You have to have senior politburo contacts in order to do business in China in the scale that they’re looking at.”

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

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Penthouse at Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, 699 Howe, Vancouver, BC gets sold for $18 million to a Portland Oregon Businessman

Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

Bruce Constantineau
Sun

An unnamed Portland, Ore. businessman has paid a record $18 million for a 48th-floor penthouse suite in downtown Vancouver.

The 7,400-square-foot unit in the Private Residences at Hotel Georgia won’t be ready for occupancy until 2011, when the $400-million development near Georgia and Howe is completed.

Sotheby’s International Realty Canada president Ross McCredie said the buyer wants to remain anonymous, but the Vancouver property will be one of several he owns throughout the world.

“It’s not the first time he’s bought a penthouse suite in a big city,” he said.

McCredie said the unit will feature an “incredible” rooftop deck and custom finishings throughout the suite. Owners of the 155 condos in the development will also have access to services and amenities provided by a restored Hotel Georgia, including round-the-clock concierge and valet services.

McCredie said Vancouver billionaire Jim Pattison bought a unit in the project, as did former prime minister Kim Campbell. He wasn’t certain what Pattison bought, but Campbell paid just under $2.5 million for a two-bedroom unit.

The $18-million price for the penthouse suite exceeds the amount paid recently for a 6,500-square-foot, two-level penthouse in the Fairmont Pacific Rim Vancouver. That unit is believed to have sold for well in excess of its $12-million asking price.

Potential buyers are mulling over a $17.6-million suite on the 60th floor of the Shangri-La development and an $18.2-million price tag for a 6,900-square-foot condo on the 26th floor of 1000 Beach Avenue.

Three units on the 60th floor of the Ritz-Carlton project on Georgia Street have asking prices ranging from $10.8 million to $12.8 million while actor Jean-Claude Van Damme is believed to have listed his 7,500-square-foot suite on the 41st floor of the Shaw Tower for a whopping $19.8 million.

McCredie said more than half of the 155 units for sale in the Hotel Georgia project have been sold since sales began last Friday. More than $200 million in sales took place on opening day, with most being in the $2.5-million-to-$3-million range.

“A lot of local buyers just gulp at those prices but international buyers are not as fazed,” he said. “We constantly hear from international buyers that this price point is relatively cheap in their minds.”

McCredie plans to market more of the units next month during a sales trip to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Moscow.

Vancouver condo marketer Bob Rennie said penthouse buyers constitute a market unto themselves.

“They’re high-net-worth individuals with a lot of discretionary money who want the absolute best,” he said. “It’s often a second, third or fourth residence for them.

“I know people hate these terms but as Vancouver becomes more of a world-class city and resort city, the take-up of these units is becoming stronger.”

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

 

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Buyers competing hard for post- Olympic condos

Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

Athletes village units go on sale Thursday; buyers began lining up Saturday

BRUCE CONSTANTINEAU
Sun

Condo fever has hit the Olympic athletes village near False Creek, with prospective buyers already lining up for sales that don’t start until Thursday afternoon.

The athletes village becomes a marketpriced housing project — Millennium Water — after the 2010 Games.

The lineup began around noon Saturday, meaning buyers or their representatives will have been in line for five days for the right to spend $ 600,000 to $ 3.4 million for one unit.

About 30 people were lined up Tuesday, with lawn chairs neatly arranged against the outside wall of the project presentation centre at 212 West First.

North Vancouver realtor Austin Gangur grabbed the number 11 spot in line on Saturday, as he works for a client anxious to buy a two- bedroom unit.

Wearing a yellow T- shirt and sporting a four- day growth of beard, he looked nothing like the clean- cut professionallooking realtor featured on his own website.

“ I know I look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club right now but I don’t care — it’s just part of the job,” said Gangur, with Sutton Group West Coast Realty.

“ It’s a service you provide for clients and it makes you look good. Hopefully, it leads to repeat business.”

He said lineup participants allow each other to leave for a while to eat or use washroom facilities but other than that, they have to remain on site the whole time or risk losing their place. Many sleep in their cars which have been parked nearby.

Chris Shin, who was near the front of the line, said he’s being paid $ 10 an hour by a realtor to keep a spot for a client.

“ I’ve done this before but usually it’s just for a few hours or maybe a day — not five days,” he said.

Rennie Marketing Systems director Bob Rennie said the lineup was not supposed to start until midnight today but buyers came early and refused to leave.

“ They started forming a line so we just left them to it,” he said.

“ It’s crazy but it’s the Olympic Village, which is a legacy project.”

The condo units range from about 500 to 2,500 square feet and 302 units go on sale Thursday, with another 400 expected to be sold in February.

Gangur said chaos would have resulted if project marketers had not allowed an early lineup.

“ At least people know where they’re at instead of everyone coming at the same time Thursday and screaming at the door that they were first,” he said.

Gangur said his client wants to live in the project but also wants the option to sell his contract to another buyer for a higher price if real estate values continue to soar.

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