Bowen Island
“If you ask people in Vancouver if they want to live and work on an island in the city, many would say yes,” wrote Barry Broadfoot in a charming 1976 essay that pays homage to Vancouver while celebrating his life on the island in question, Bowen.
A short ferry ride from West Vancouver, Bowen features home prices that have long been competitive with those on the mainland, for those willing (as Broadfoot himself noted) to commute by ferry. Indeed, in 2012, the Cape on Bowen Community Development Ltd. touted spacious home sites at Cape Roger Curtis for a fraction of what similar lots in Vancouver and West Vancouver (some with existing homes needing demolition) cost.
Now, the Cape on Bowen is seeking buyers as principal Don Ho returns to building seniors housing. Ho, who sold CPAC (Care) Holdings Ltd. to Chartwell REIT in 2005, is a partner in Element Lifestyle Retirement Inc. Element is pursuing projects in Langley and Vancouver, the latter located kitty-corner to the King Edward transit station.
Ho, having seen the first two phases of the massive 618-acre Bowen Island project through to completion (a total of 24 lots), has given CBRE Ltd. a mandate to sell 350 acres comprising the project’s third phase of 35 lots.
The lots average 10 acres, with similar lots fetching approximately $2 million apiece two years ago.
CBRE vice-president David Ho, who has the listing, didn’t return a call for comment regarding interest, or expectations regarding pricing (a list price is not given).
The Cape isn’t the only offering on Bowen.
Avison Young broker Rob Greer is also marketing a portfolio of three residential buildings containing 12 rental units, as well as the Bowen Island municipal hall. The asking price is $3.4 million.
Flocking to Canada
Colliers International expects 2015 – the Year of the Sheep – to see Chinese developers continue to shepherd capital into Canada.
A report last week focusing on the phenomenon singled out Vancouver-based Brilliant Circle Group Investments Ltd.’s purchase of the 232-acre land adjacent to the former Imperial Oil refinery in Port Moody and Anmore among the examples of Chinese-funded development plays.
Redevelopment of the property – home to a refinery since 1915, though the plant was shuttered in 1995 – has been discussed since 2008. Consultant Michael Geller, known for his work with Simon Fraser University on Burnaby Mountain, was engaged early on regarding the site.
During an interview with the Vancouver Sun in spring 2008, Geller described the site as one of the largest undeveloped Lower Mainland properties outside the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Geller didn’t respond to a request for comment on the site’s future, and Colliers also shied from commenting on the implications of the purchase.
Colliers managing director Kirk Kuester said Brilliant Circle, like other Chinese investors, prefers to stay under the radar. It has appointed architect James Cheng, who is overseeing planning matters, as its representative.
Cheng said the scale and timeline for the project are undefined, but rezoning to allow greater density is likely.
While the project’s value remains pegged at $100 million in the B.C. major projects inventory, Cheng confirmed that this simply represented the basic cost of infrastructure rather than a total capital cost estimate.
The site is desirable not only because of its secluded nature, but because it is an eight-minute drive from Ioco station on the Evergreen rapid transit line, which is scheduled to open in 18 months. •
