Consultants’ proposal sees city donating at least $50 million in land for housing

Frances Bula
Sun

VANCOUVER – Vancouver can solve its homelessness problem only by presenting governments with a new model that will get them interested in providing money, say the two men who have come up with some radical new mechanisms to finance housing for the mentally ill and drug-addicted.

That plan, developed by former deputy premier Ken Dobell, and Don Fairbairn, former chief financial officer of the Canada Line project, would see the city:

– Establishing a Vancouver Homelessness Foundation, to which it would give at least $50 million in land at a dozen sites scattered throughout Vancouver.

– Creating a Vancouver Homelessness Limited Partnership, with a goal of getting $60 million in investments from private individuals, companies and foundations as the down payment to build 1,500 units of housing on the foundation land. Those investors would get substantial tax credits, provided some federal laws and rules were changed.

– Leasing and upgrading 500 residential hotel rooms for 10 years at a cost of $10,000 per room.

– Allowing models of housing with smaller room sizes or bedrooms grouped around common kitchens as a way of building housing for less money.

– Giving developers floor-space bonuses for building housing units for the homeless.

– Dropping its requirement that megaproject developers set aside 20 per cent of their land for social housing and allow them to make a cash payment instead.

Dobell and Fairbairn, who were given a $300,000 contract from the city last fall to come up with new proposals to tackle homelessness, acknowledged that the limited-partnership plan would not reduce the amount of money that governments would have to provide for housing.

Their plan still envisions the provincial government putting in new money, to the tune of $48 million a year in supports and subsidies, by the time all 1,500 units are built.

But Dobell and Fairbairn both stressed that the government is more likely to provide that money if it sees it going into a different kind of structure.

“The province needs to make this investment, but what makes it easier for them is if they see community engagement and people with money at risk. Then you have a story that encourages the politicians.”

The foundation and limited-partnership organizations will create a sense of community buy-in, as local investors put their own money into housing, Dobell and Fairbairn said. They added that those investors and the limited-partnership board will be able to put pressure on the provincial government to contribute in the way that city politicians can’t any more, because the province is so tired of hearing their repeated demands.

And the limited-partnership board, which would have people from the business community on it, will encourage more effective operations of non-profit housing, while the foundation could fund innovative pilots and support programs for the groups and people who work with the homeless.

So far, the complex plan is being received with caution by some and with open opposition by others.

“Why fund housing through this complicated formula?” said opposition Coun. Raymond Louie of Vision Vancouver. He said the whole thing seems to boil down to an extremely complex borrowing scheme that is ultimately paid for by taxpayers anyway in the tax credits given to investors.

“Why go through this when we could just get the provincial and federal governments to come to the table with money?”

The city’s housing centre director, Cameron Gray, has warned in his report to council that there are significant disadvantages to the city giving its land away.

And that has even the ruling Non-Partisan Association pausing.

NPA Coun. Kim Capri said “that’s a huge policy shift.”

Capri, who said she and others haven’t had a chance to really absorb all the implications yet, said there are some interesting and exciting pieces to the recommendations.

“But it does call for a strong departure from things we’ve held sacred, like giving away our land.”

Capri said she also wants reassurances that the recommendations don’t just mean Vancouver has to do everything by itself to solve homelessness, while other municipalities in the regional district do nothing.

“I need to hear from other communities in that they are willing to embrace this model.”

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

Abode sprouts from a few seeds, is good for the planet

Chris Lackner
Sun

Humanity can ease the burden it places on the environment by growing “living, breathing” homes, according to a team of researchers that has created the blueprint for an organic, two-storey “tree house.”

If the team of engineers and architects has its way, future habitat construction will require a green thumb and some time rather than skills with a saw or a hammer.

The Fab Tree Hab is an all-green concept home that will grow from “a few seedlings into a two-storey, water-recycling, energy-efficient abode,” according to researchers, largely from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They expect it will take a minimum of five years for one of their homes to grow, depending on the surrounding climate.

“The intention is to create a home that is a positive contributor to the climate as opposed to something that’s taking away,” said architect Mitchell Joachim, who helped craft the concept as an MIT doctoral student.

“Not only are these zero-emission homes, but they are healthy for the environment.”

Tree Habs would be powered by a combination of solar energy and wind turbines.

Instead of being just environmentally friendly, the structures would naturally blend in with surrounding ecosystems, he said.

The group is currently working with Plantware, an Israeli arboriculture firm, to test techniques for growing the lattice-like weave of vines and roots that would help form the walls of the homes. The design technique combines an ancient gardening technique called pleaching — the weaving together of tree branches to form living archways and lattices — with computer technology that controls the growth and shape of a tree.

Based on a computer model, wooden jigs would be placed at key portions of young saplings in order to guide the formation of the walls and roof. A dense layer of vines and other plants would be grown to reinforce the exterior, which would also feature soy-based plastic windows.

Tree Habs can be created using almost any tree in its natural habitat, and are expected to have a lifespan of approximately 100 years, said Joachim, who is also the executive director of Terreform, a non-profit group of environmentally conscious architects and urban designers.

“This marks a massive shift in building technology and architecture,” he said. “Just imagine the impact these homes could have on the planet.”

Despite the all-natural exterior, the homes are expected to look normal on the inside — the interior walls will be lined with clay and plastered to keep out the elements.

“The interior is absolutely contemporary — if you still want to live in an ultra-urban environment, you can do that,” Joachim said, noting wireless Internet and communication technology will allow Tree Habs to include modern technical luxuries.

The homes would include a roof-top water collector and recycling system that can provide water for bathing, cooking and an eco-friendly sanitary system.

But, Joachim admits his concept green home has “many kinks” to work out before becoming a part of the marketplace.

“How do you insure a tree-based home? How do you find a carpenter that is also a botanist? How will a [municipal] planning board deal with a home that’s always expanding?” he asked. “These are tough questions, but the benefit to the environment is huge.”

Joachim said he doesn’t think his homes will prove more susceptible to storms or fires.

“They’re trees; they’re fitted into the ground,” he said. “They’re meant to respond to winds as opposed to resist them . . . when it come to fire, we’re on equal footing [with normal homes]. Wood is wood.”

Entire homes could be grown on a nursery and then transplanted to nearby locations, Joachim said, adding he envisions entire, pre-planned communities being groomed for habitation.

Joachim said his group’s concepts are already being employed to build a “50 per cent” organic home in California.

He said “50 per cent” projects — which combine traditional construction and natural elements — might be a viable first step, and could include growing tree-based garages and storage facilities.

He said he hopes to see one of his full-scale green homes planted within the next few years, and is currently studying ways to improve on the initial concept.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

 

3,000 low-income units, 250 for Games workers, 50% welfare rate hike among panel suggestions

Frances Bula
Sun

Vancouver will need as much as $1 billion worth of housing and support in time for the 2010 Olympics in order to meet the promises the province and city made to prevent homelessness and protect inner-city residents.

According to the 24 recommendations made by the Vancouver Olympics’ housing round table, obtained by The Vancouver Sun and due to be released next week, the city requires in its three inner city neighbourhoods of the Downtown Eastside, downtown south and Mount Pleasant:

– 3,000 housing units, 80 per cent of them to be new construction, for low-income residents.

– 250 housing units for temporary Games workers, to be converted to social housing afterwards.

– 300 shelter beds for young people likely to flock to the city during Games.

– An increase in the subsidy for the 250 social-housing units at the Olympic Village so more low-income people can live in them.

It also recommends a provincewide, 50-per-cent increase in welfare rates, which the province’s recent budget only went partway towards meeting.

And, the report says, work has to start immediately or finding a solution will become difficult, if not impossible.

“Unless this issue is tackled quickly through a focused program as set out in the report, the problem will become larger, more visible and increasingly difficult to solve. The national media and, to some extent, the international media already know of the social and homelessness issues that prevail in Vancouver’s inner city. When Vancouver welcomes the Games in 2010, what will the world’s media see?”

No dollar figures were supplied with the recommendations, but some members of the round table, which included representatives of social agencies, developers, apartment owners, along with the federal, provincial and city governments, say that $1 billion is a reasonable estimate of the investment required.

Social-housing developers say that it currently costs about $200,000 a unit for social housing, making the cost of the 3,000 units alone about $600 million.

All the recommendations were agreed to unanimously, except for two — the moratorium on conversions and a recommendation to change a current part of the residential tenancy act — which the private-sector members disagreed with.

Vancouver is the first Olympics to have included a promise to promote “inner-city inclusivity” and specifically to protect inner-city housing.

“It’s a big, hairy, audacious goal to put in there,” said Linda Coady, the Olympics’ organizing committee’s vice-president of sustainability.

Other Olympics have set environmental goals and Vancouver will build on what previous Games have achieved and try to go further in that area. But no Games bidder has yet tried to make promises and set goals with something as difficult to grapple with as social inclusion and housing.

“It’s tougher with a public-policy issue like housing but the expectations are there,” said Coady.

Vanoc has no financial ability to pay for that kind of goal and no legal power to force governments to meet it. But it did convene the housing roundtable to come up with clear targets, which does exert some force on a province and city that will have to prove to the world what they were able to do about one of its most serious social problems.

“What everybody wants to show in 2010 is a community that has responded,” said Coady.

“The story we want to tell the world is how Vancouver dealt with its problems in an open, progressive way. That’s the story that’s in the bid that we promised to tell.”

The question now is what the various levels of government will do to act on that.

“I think the report is great in that it acknowledges the magnitude of the problem,” said Martha Lewis of the Tenants Rights Action Coalition. “But I’m pessimistic because I don’t think we will see any level of government doing anything fast enough.”

Although the bid language appears to imply to some that there is a legal commitment to meet promises, “It’s not a legal commitment that’s very defined,” said Lewis.

She said the discussion at the roundtable indicated that the province believes that it can achieve the goals set out in the recommendations with private partnerships.

The answer to that is likely to be revealed in part today, when Ken Dobell, the former deputy premier and former Vancouver city manager, releases his report on how the city can build housing by leveraging in private investment.

According to those who have talked to Dobell, he is looking at options like setting up a city housing foundation, changing city policies to give developers bonus space if they build low-cost housing, and providing a financing mechanism that would encourage the private sector to invest money in low-cost housing projects in return for tax benefits and an investment return with four or five-per-cent interest at a later date.

But Al Kemp, CEO of the Rental Owners and Managers Society of B.C., said he doesn’t see any way the goals can be met.

“They’re valid, they’re desirable, they’re laudable. But where’s the money going to come from? It’s billions, well, a billion at least. If the money was to magically appear today, where’s the land, where’s the drawings for the buildings, where’s the labour.”

How much housing could realistically be built — factoring in both money and logistics — by 2010?

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

 

COOL VIRAL VIDEO. Idea is to want to come home here

Jeani Read
Province

Donovan is Cressey’s latest development in Yaletown, and you can tell Tracy Chong, Cressey development manager, is really proud of it. Yes, it is her job to be proud, but Chong clearly has a fondness for Donovan and for Yaletown that goes beyond the call of duty.

This is one of those cool, super-marketed projects that goes so far as to feature a five-chapter mini Internet lifestyle movie called a “viral video’ that people can pass along.

Storyline? Cute girl breaks up with boyfriend, goes to the big city where gay friend lives in cool Donovan apartment, parties are held, wine is drunk, romantic confusion ensues in attractive square footage — how not to feel affection for something that smartypants?

“Donovan is a sexy project,” says Chong. “And Yaletown has it all. You don’t need to go anywhere else. There’s a little bit of everything for everyone. There’s Urban Fare, Choices, the seawall — everything. For me, it’s the best part of downtown.”

With Donovan they’re trying to sell a lifestyle, says Chong, and for once, all of Yaletown’s charms aside, they’re trying to sell the idea of staying home as well as going out.

“The intention is to be warm, comfortable and intimate,” says Chong. “We all work so hard that our home should be our haven.”

With hi-tech geothermal heating and air conditioning that is energy efficient and eco-friendly, Donovan also goes high-end with appliances — Miele — and finishes, including gorgeous wide-plank hardwood flooring in all the living areas and many of the bedrooms. Bedrooms feature huge headboard built-ins for storage, and one upgrade is to a platform bed with more storage underneath. The bathrooms feature dramatic square rain-shower showerheads, drop-in tubs and custom sinks that are of a piece with the counters.

The amenities area, too, is part and parcel of what they wanted, in terms of lifestyle and of home being a haven, says Chong. There’s a fireplace lounge, a full kitchen, pool table, TV and 3,000 square feet of fitness space, complete with steam room, sauna, yoga space, spa — “It’s almost like living at a hotel,” says Chong.

Financial management student and Bank of Montreal customer-service rep Darveen Sidhu says she’s looking forward to using those amenities when she gets home to Donovan at night, from her busy life. She and her dad picked Donovan as being a good spot for her at a good moment.

When Donovan’s completed and it’s time to move in, it will also be time for 20-year-old Sidhu to transfer from B.C. Institute of Technology, where she is studying now, to the University of B.C.

Location was prime in her mind when it came to finding her first place on her own. From Surrey, where she lives with her family, UBC is “quite the commute: three hours,” she says. “When I’m at UBC, Yaletown will be best for me.”

Sidhu says she liked what she saw right away at Donovan’s show home. “I’d heard so many good things about Cressey, and I loved the layout, the finishings, the dark-chocolate colour scheme — it was perfect for me,” she says. “It’s a one-bedroom, and for me being just a student it was very attractive. I was sold. I’m so fortunate to be able to get a nice place.”

Yaletown is also a draw for her. “It’s the most happening place in Vanccouver, especially for younger people in their 20s and 30s. And there are lots of celebrity sightings.”

And although she hadn’t yet seen the viral video on donovanlife.com, her courses in marketing have made her totally appreciate the company’s strategy. “I like the marketing scheme. I like the way it attracts a certain generation.”

Which would be young professionals and soon-to-be young professionals, that is. Just like Sidhu.

QUICK FACTS

DONOVAN

What: 142 condos in an 18-storey tower plus 10 townhouses in downtown Vancouver

Where: Yaletown

Developer: Cressey

Sizes: Apartment homes, town homes, penthouses from 573 sq. ft. to 1,777 sq. ft.

Prices: $395,900 to $2.1 million

Open: By appointment daily, 1295 Seymour, between noon and 5 p.m. (except Fridays)

Contact: Register at www.donovanlife.com or call 604-696-9030

© The Vancouver Province 2007

 

EcoDensity in capable hands

Peter Simpson
Sun

When you are the new boy on the block, you can either blend in slowly or make a bold statement that gets you noticed right away. Vancouver’s new planning director, Brent Toderian, pronounced Todd-er-an, chose the second route — with a little nudge from Mayor Sam Sullivan.

Just 37, Toderian has carved out impressive planning credentials.

His previous posting was Calgary, where he managed centre city planning and design, leading the rejuvenation of the downtown core there. His Vancouver predecessor, the celebrated Larry Beasley, calls Toderian a “sophisticated urbanist.”

Toderian is articulate, passionate about his new role, somewhat inspiring and a tad idealistic, which makes him the ideal person to steer Mayor Sam’s new sustainability initiative, EcoDensity.

EcoDensity was to be launched to great fanfare Feb. 22.

Obviously, no one told Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham, who chose that day to announce his retirement, creating a feeding frenzy for newshounds. The EcoDensity announcement was pushed deep into the news pages.

Vancouver’s EcoDensity initiative is billed as an examination of what changes need to happen for Vancouver to grow into a truly sustainable city that is also livable and affordable.

Yes, those buzzwords have been heard many times before. And there is no shortage of definitions and perceptions of sustainability, livability and affordability.

What makes this initiative different? Well, to promote a greener lifestyle, Vancouver spent a barrel of green to publish a glossy, full-colour, 40-page booklet that fully interprets EcoDensity and how Vancouverites can get involved in the public-input process. There’s also an informative website.

The booklet contains lots of photos — happy men, women and children, tree-lined streets, destructive storms, tony residences, ice floes, bicycles, parched land, flowers and community festivals — a combination of impending ecological calamities and the world according to Ward and June Cleaver.

There are no photos depicting clogged arterial roads, homelessness or drug addiction.

The city hall news conference staged to announce EcoDensity included no prominent mainstream developers or builders. Instead, the speakers included representatives of organizations that live and die by eco-friendly — even no-growth — benchmarks.

Fair enough, I believe in holding true to principles, but the message would have sold much better had it been delivered by, say, David Podmore of Concert Properties, or David Negrin of Concord Pacific, influential development leaders who have played major roles in shaping the face of Vancouver.

And I am growing quite weary of hearing the same, tired message that people who rely on vehicles to get around the region are fatter than people who live in walkable areas such as Kitsilano.

First, I love Kits, but if it is so walkable, why can you seldom find a parking spot there? Second, I know many vehicle-friendly people in the so-called suburbs who are fit and healthy. Give it a rest already.

The one speaker who did not represent an organization was David McMillan, a west-side resident who wants to convert his ramshackle, lane-access garage into a coach-house apartment for his grown children who can’t afford to buy a home in Vancouver. He says he has the support of his neighbours.

At times, Vancouver slips into a Torontoesque, centre-of-the-universe mindset, yet it is just one of 21 GVRD municipalities, some of which already permit secondary suites, accessory apartments attached to lane-access garages and other innovative housing forms.

Langley and Surrey are among high-growth municipalities enjoying successes, so it shouldn’t be much of a stretch for Vancouver.

EcoDensity takes a hard look at the city’s ecological footprint, and how it relates to land use, housing affordability, transportation and neighbourhood amenities. Vancouver, the booklet states, “will be looking to remove barriers, offer incentives, allow new development, and prioritize building types and energy-saving ideas that are sustainable and affordable alternatives to current development.”

Sociological issues aside, Vancouver is a wonderful — albeit pricey — city in which to live, work and play. The EcoDensity strategy contains noble, supportable goals, but it has its challenges, detractors and over-the-top wish list of what might be construed by some as crunchy-granola components.

One of the predictable challenges is the ever-present not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) cabal. The public-consultation process, including the EcoDensity Fair today and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Riley Park Community Centre, should address many community concerns and allay fears.

Renowned professor Avi Friedman will kick off the EcoDensity speaker series tonight at 7 at the Vancouver Public Library. Friedman is best known for his innovative flex-house designs.

Make up your own minds. Some of you will embrace the EcoDensity concept; others will add it to the confusing maze of “green” programs already on the ground. For information on the EcoDensity program, including details on this weekend’s activities, visit www.vancouver.ca/ecodensity.

I look forward to participating in the consultation process. EcoDensity has only just begun.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

 

Sun

Capitol Residences construction will reinvigorate the Orpheum Theatre next door.

In return, the Orpheum work gained the Capitol partners more storeys and sellable square footage.

“We freely acknowledge that is a huge increase in density,” says Ralph Segal, a senior planner at city hall.

He says that without the Orpheum spending, the Capitol site could only have supported a building of 15 to 17 storeys; with the Orpheum spending, it will support a building of 43 storeys (above).

The site is adjacent to The Orpheum Theatre, an 80-year-old building bought by the city in 1974.

Home to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra its users have long outgrown the tight working space. There’s no place to store instruments, the orchestra is forced to rehearse on stage and The Orpheum has been ruled out as a suitable venue for many large shows because it was simply too small to accommodate their needs.

After an “arduous review process,” which included an urban design and impact analysis, Segal says city staff recommended the increased density for the site because it brought a package worth about $14 million to the city in terms of improvements to the Orpheum and provide additional facilities to the city’s musical community.

In this case, the developers of The Capitol have agreed to created “back of house” space for the Orpheum, provide sorely needed below ground storage, a rehearsal hall for the Symphony Orchestra and a Music School of Excellence. The latter will be housed in the Capitol itself, which is directly adjacent to The Orpheum.

“This is in support of Vancouver’s music culture. Through development of negotiations Vancouver can negotiate daycares,cultural improvements, affordable housing and social housing for developers to build for us in exchange for increased density,” says Segal.

“Generally the Amenity Density Program is proving very beneficial in meeting a whole range of objectives [for the city].”

Segal says the city’s musical community now expects the improved Orpheum will be able to attract “high calibre musicians to both perform here and give instruction.”

And while 43-stories is high, Segal says this isn’t the tallest residential building in Vancouver. The Shangri-La, now under construction, on Georgia and Alberni, will be 57 stories when completed.

“There isn’t going to be a proliferation of 43-storey towers in the city,” says Segal.

“In the heart of downtown council wants to direct us away from residential [towers]. They are concerned we are becoming a resort town.”

The priority instead, he says, is to encourage the development of office towers.

“Companies right now are finding it difficult to get floor space and we need companies coming into Vancouver to attract more jobs.”

© The Vancouver Sun 2007