A city-sponsored community forum last Friday discussed the importance of Chinatown’s so-called legacy businesses – “stores that the community cherishes because of their connection to history, contribution to neighbourhood character and integral role in the community’s way of life.”
But developers are questioning the legacy of the city’s decision to not grant Beedie Living a permit for its planned condo development at 105 Keefer Street, which met the letter of city guidelines if not the spirit of the moment. Will the new year bring new surprises when it comes to project approvals – or rather, disapprovals?
During a development issues panel commercial association NAIOP convened last month, participants felt the city played politics with policy but deemed the move a one-off gambit.
“What separates Canada from a lot of parts of the world is that we can all wake up and think we’ve got a pretty predictable system of judgment and we have this set of rules,” said John Conicella, COO at Serracan Properties Ltd., pointing out that it seemed odd for an advisory panel to be the choke point.
“Can we trust the political structure, and what everyone’s role, responsibility and obligation is?” he said. “There must be predictability, and that’s the part that for me is the concern.”
GWL Realty Advisors Ltd. vice-president Geoff Heu, whose father sold chicken in Chinatown, believes 105 Keefer was the latest example of Vancouver using the permit process to address not only land use but also social and political issues.
“It’s a unique circumstance,” he said. “We’ll all get through it, and we just have to use the city process and land-use process for what it’s really made for.”
Community groups often oppose proposals, Oxford Properties Group vice-president Chuck We said, and developers should acknowledge the fact. City policy might be straightforward but community feedback isn’t.
“Where, maybe, the system falls apart, is in that linear thinking of things,” he said. “You can get tripped up by these things that aren’t covered by any policy.”
Foreign legacy
Provincial numbers indicate foreign investment in B.C. residential properties totalled $2.3 billion in the latest six months, or 2.8% of all residential transactions. That’s down slightly from a year ago.
The prospect of a withdrawal of foreign capital – primarily from Asia – from commercial markets doesn’t perturb industry, however. While it represents about 45% of all investment today, its disappearance tomorrow would provide room for local players such as Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP to step up.
“Our strategy around foreign capital, quite frankly, is to avoid it and not compete with it head on, and try to do deals where foreign capital doesn’t go,” investment director Adam Mitchell indicated to NAIOP last month.
PCI Group vice-president Jarvis Rouillard said there’s plenty of domestic capital to take its place.
“There’s significant domestic capital to backfill it; there’s significant capital from the U.S. that’s trying to get into these markets now,” he said, noting that asset values wouldn’t be significantly affected.
Resort developers expressed similar sentiments at the Western Canada Lodging Conference.
“Despite slowdowns in Chinese capital, I don’t see slowdowns in available capital for real estate in Canada, none,” said Azim Jamal, co-founder and CEO of Pacific Reach Properties Ltd., which acquired the Rosewood Hotel Georgia after Hong Kong investors stepped away.
Bamberton legacy
Malahat Nation’s acquisition of the Bamberton lands in July 2015 laid a foundation for the 320-member band’s future economic development, but meant the demise of Steelhead LNG’s plans for a floating liquefied natural gas facility at the 1,300-acre industrial site.
A land-use code defines development terms for the site, which was formerly home to a cement plant and remains largely industrial. Steelhead’s facility promised 200 long-term, high-paying jobs in addition to hundreds of other ancillary positions.
While next steps for the site are uncertain, the Malahat land-use code ensures the long-term vision for its development to the band’s benefit remains in place. •
