Suburbs set pace
"Be bold or move to suburbia" – this was the tagline six years ago when Bob Rennie sold Vancouver on the Woodward's building in what has since become a fashionable district.
But then the tides began to reverse, with Vancouver architecture critic Trevor Boddy telling this columnist at the start of 2010 that the suburbs were pulling ahead of Vancouver with respect to bold planning decisions.
"Vancouver's kind of paralyzed itself, politically and in terms of planning leadership," he said.
The selection of Brian Jackson as Vancouver's new general manager, planning and development, effective August 27, is fuelling a new debate regarding Vancouver's vision for itself.
Vancouver concluded a four-week international search June 15 that attracted 108 candidates to succeed former planning director Brent Toderian, who was fired in January. The city sought a director of planning keen to work with councillors to address "housing affordability, economic development, citizen engagement and a broad sustainability agenda."
Jackson, acting general manager, planning and development, for Richmond, has overseen $4 billion in development applications for a wide range of projects in the past four years, including applications for 520 social housing units.
He brings 32 years of planning experience to Vancouver, including seven overseeing the makeover of Toronto's central waterfront in the 1990s and a decade from 1998 to 2008 in the private sector with IBI Group overseeing major projects across North America (the city's press release touts his experience on major transit-oriented projects in California).
Speaking to commercial real estate association NAIOP last year, Jackson described a vision for the transformation of downtown Richmond into a series of neighbourhoods oriented around the Canada rapid transit line and anchored by "the Aerotropolis district" at one end, itself anchored by the River Rock casino, and the "Civic Heart" at the other anchored by city hall.
Vancouver, of course, has its own urban geography.
The initial hope voiced by the Urban Development Institute, in a statement circulated to media, is that Jackson will apply "his collaborative outcome-focused approach" to bring certainty to how community amenity contributions (CACs) are calculated for new developments.
Comparing values
Walking south from Spanish Banks beach a few weeks ago (and uphill), this columnist landed on Belmont Avenue. A derelict property in the 4700-block was spotted. A quick check on the B.C. Assessment Authority site pegged its assessed value at approximately $14 million. Subsequent walks have seen others equally fascinated by the property's presence on a block that boasts properties assessed in excess of $30 million.
Small wonder, then, that the Cape on Bowen Community Development Ltd. claims home sites at Cape Roger Curtis on Bowen Island, a half-hour sail from Vancouver, offer greater value than similar properties on the mainland.
Sure, there's a commute, but if you're looking for a lot to build something new – and there's been a lot of new construction happening on Belmont and other streets in Point Grey – a 10-acre waterfront lot on Bowen looks good.
Recent figures from the Cape on Bowen point to various waterfront properties in Vancouver and West Vancouver where the list price was from several hundred dollars a square foot. The price reflects the presence of an older home, which may need extensive renovations or, the developers claim, "even demolition." By contrast, a lot on Bowen offers a blank canvas from $3.90 a square foot (or about $1.7 million).
The first phase of 14 properties attracted nine buyers last year; the second phase of 10 lots is now being offered. A total of 59 lots are being offered on the 618-acre property, at an average price of $2 million apiece. •
