Vancouver’s latest initiative to secure the title of greenest city in the world is raising red flags from builders, who want to do the right thing, but don’t want to be told how to do it.
Just as many opponents of the Hornby Street bike lane decried what they perceived as a lack of genuine consultation with stakeholders, many building managers and developers fear a new renovation policy that emphasizes environmental efficiencies is being drafted without adequate consultation.
Indeed, many sources contacted over the past two weeks were unaware of the current status of the initiative and unable to voice much more than concern despite city staff’s intent to present the policy to council by the end of the year.
November 2-8
Forget local beaches, Scott Broughton has gone to northeastern B.C. to find sand.
The Vancouver-based miner believes his latest venture, Stikine Energy Corp., could be exactly what the province’s burgeoning shale gas sector has been waiting for.
Tight gas or shale gas production requires two commodities – water and sand.
When mixed together (plus some chemicals) the viscous cocktail is pumped miles into the earth where it’s used to shatter shale rock caps and displace the natural gas hidden inside.
Water can be sourced locally, but currently B.C.’s shale gas producers import their sand from the Prairies, Wisconsin and, in some cases, Texas.
November 2-8
Cindy Lee plans to do with Osaka what she did with T&T Supermarket: expand the grocery store chain into a national player.
Lee’s second Osaka grocery store is set to open November 17 and employ 205 people in West Vancouver’s Park Royal Shopping Centre.
When she opened her first Osaka store in Richmond in 1998, it was out of necessity. Her foray into Park Royal is by design.
“North Shore people have high incomes,” said Lee, who built T&T Supermarket from scratch before selling it to Loblaw Companies Ltd. for $225 million in July 2009.
November 9-15
B.C.’s harmonized sales tax claimed its highest profile casualty last week with the resignation of Premier Gordon Campbell.
The decision’s timing surprised some, but perceptions were mixed about whether his resignation will improve B.C.’s business climate.
Said Andrey Pavlov, an associate finance professor at Simon Fraser University, “I am quite concerned that this is going to send the wrong impression to the investment community. What worries me here is the link with the HST. Everyone is going to link Gordon Campbell’s resignation with the HST, and this is a bad link.”
November 9-15
The T’Sou-ke First Nation collected an award last week for its solar project on Vancouver Island, but Chief Gordon Planes isn’t looking for baubles; he wants to get the renewable energy word out to First Nations communities across B.C.
In fact, Planes believes the best way to get aboriginal communities to adopt clean energy technologies is through a First Nations-to-First Nations mentorship program that focuses on shared experiences.
Planes told Business in Vancouver that First Nations have a better chance of communicating the benefits of clean energy to other aboriginal communities than industry does, because all First Nations share a common history and cultural heritage.
November 16-22
Franchisors who expand into new territories grapple with the reality that most franchisees want to capitalize on brand recognition and goodwill that other franchisees have built through the years.
That makes it tougher to snag quality franchisees in an area where the franchisor’s brand has little resonance.
Mona Bains, however, sees advantages in being a pioneer. She bought B.C.’s first Charley’s Grilled Subs’ franchise with husband Nab and recently opened in Surrey’s Central City mall.
November 16-22
A spate of new office towers planned for Vancouver’s downtown highlights the success of city initiatives to create a core that’s defined by more than its residential component.
It’s been six years since the city placed a moratorium on the rezoning of office sites for residential development in the central business district extension area adjacent to the downtown core. That residential development wave had pushed prices for downtown development sites to record levels and prompted architect Bing Thom to warn that Vancouver’s downtown was in danger of becoming more a resort community than a business centre.
November 23-29
Graffiti, vandalism and guerilla artwork – outdoor advertisers don’t like any of it but accept it as an inevitable cost of doing business today.
With the rise of street artists like the United Kingdom’s Banksy (and the Lower Mainland artists he has inspired) and with graffiti being a common form of protest against issues such as the flood of Olympic advertising in Vancouver earlier this year, defaced billboard and transit ads are becoming increasingly common.
“Are we seeing more than there was 15, 20 years ago? Absolutely,” said Nick Arakgi, general manager, CBS Outdoor Canada, which owns half of CBS/Decaux, one the largest outdoor, or out-of-home, advertisers in Vancouver.
November 23-29