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Archive for May, 2007
Tora Sushi’s early days feel like a dream come true
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007Some of the freshest fare in the Royal City draws both dine-in and takeout customers
Alfie Lau
Sun
Tora Sushi owner Glen Obara presents his Chicken Bento Box. Photograph by : Glenn Baglo, Vancouver Sun
Amidst the Queensborough Landing shopping mall is a sushi restaurant that not only serves an underserved community, it’s drawing customers from all over the Lower Mainland.
Tora Sushi, opened by owners Shannon and Glen Obara in December 2006, is the culmination of a dream. The couple wanted to start their own business and scouted out the Queensborough location as ideal because of the lack of competition and the ability to draw from both New Westminster and Richmond.
Glen chose the Tora name, which means tiger in Japanese, because he was born in the year of the tiger.
“The first couple months have really been wonderful,” Glen said. “It’s really exceeded our expectations with how many customers keep coming back. It’s been phenomenal.”
The couple weren’t exactly resting on any laurels, as prior to opening Tora Sushi, Glen worked for two decades as a prosthetics technician while Shannon continues to be a stockbroker in downtown Vancouver. Glen is training to be a sushi chef and in the meantime relies on three expert sushi chefs, Andy Chen, Koji Tanaka and Susumu Machida, to provide some of the freshest sushi in the Royal City.
One recent weeknight, the place was all hustle and bustle during its evening rush, with both dine-in and takeout diners keeping Glen and staff very busy.
We got the last table and decided to go with a mix of hot and cold foods.
Starting with the hot dishes, we went with the chicken yakitori, unagi (barbecue eel) rice bowl and miso soup.
For sushi, we went with the deluxe 10-piece sashimi, which included tuna, sockeye salmon, snapper, surf clam and scallops, along with single nigiri portions of salmon roe (ikura), tuna belly (toro), roe (tobiko) and surf clam (hokkigai) and the spider roll, which contained deep-fried soft-shell crab.
My gourmet friend loved her roe, as she had also hoped to have herring roe (kazunoko) — Obara tries to fulfill special requests as long as the food is in season — and I almost had to fight her off for the sockeye salmon sashimi.
She found the unagi a bit overdone and commented that the miso soup needed a bit more punch but her attention was clearly focused on the sushi and sashimi.
I can’t ever get enough of the sockeye salmon and tuna sashimi, but found room for the yakitori, a flavourful and juicy chicken breast nicely marinated.
The spider roll went down smoothly although I probably smothered it in too much soya sauce.
As for the other sashimi servings, the scallops were so good I contemplated ordering more while the hokkigai was a bit too rubbery for my liking. The snapper was fine, but paled in comparison to the tuna and salmon.
We finished off our meal by sharing some French vanilla ice cream, our second choice because they had run out of mango.
The Obaras plan to add some summery twists to their menu when the good weather comes, as they want to incorporate mango and pineapple flavours into their various rolls. And with patio seating adjacent to Starbucks, customers will be able to enjoy their food outside.
‘The best thing about this job is I’m meeting so many customers who have given us positive feedback,” Glen said later in a telephone interview. “This really has been a lot of fun.”
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TORA SUSHI
Unit K-120 — 805 Boyd St. in the Queensborough Landing shopping centre, 604-526-8672
Open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
April home prices rise 11.9 per cent in Greater Vancouver over 2006
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007‘Prices beginning to eat into sales and demand,’ CMHC market analyst says
Derrick Penner
Sun
Lower Mainland real estate prices took big steps up in April despite a downward trend in sales and an upward trend in the number of listings.
In Greater Vancouver, the so-called benchmark price for a typical single-family house hit $659,069 in April, an 11.9-per-cent increase from the same month in 2006, according to Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver statistics released Wednesday.
Vancouver sales did climb 1.3-per-cent to 3,387 units compared with April a year ago, thanks to a big jump in townhouse sales.
However, the number of property listings on Vancouver’s market jumped almost 26 per cent to 11,347 units.
Elsewhere, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board reported that the average single-family house price increased 15 per cent to hit $523,205 in April compared with the same month a year ago.
Fraser Valley sales, however, declined five per cent to 1,781 units in April compared with the same month a year ago, while the pool of property listings increased 51 per cent to 5,130 units compared with a year ago.
Robyn Adamache, a market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said prices are still rocketing upward because typically there is “a bit of a lag time” between prices and changes in the market.
“Prices are sticky on the way down,” Adamache added.
In the Lower Mainland’s situation, however, down simply means the price increases slowing from double digits to single digits, which Adamache expects to happen by the end of the year and through 2008.
“Certainly prices are beginning to eat into sales and demand,” Adamache said, but the province’s overall economic conditions remain strong with lots of new residents moving to the Lower Mainland and the region still generating a lot of new jobs.
Brian Naphtali, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, said townhouse sales in Richmond and Burnaby came close to record levels. April sales of townhouses across Greater Vancouver were up 17.6 per cent to 634 units.
Naphtali added that properties sold more quickly in April with the average number of days a listing stayed on the market declining to 39 from 56 days in January.
Fraser Valley Real Estate Board president Jim McCaughan noted that Fraser Valley prices were up between 12 and 17 per cent from Mission to north Delta.
McCaughan added that demand for condominiums is increasing in the valley “partly due to affordability, but also [as] a lifestyle choice.”
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
Hotel Georgia project attracts international celebrity-level interest
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007Condos in the mixed hotel, office and residence development range up to $6 million
Bruce Constantineau
Sun
Artist’s rendering shows the 48- storey tower for The Private Residences at Hotel Georgia. It will be the fourth- tallest building in Vancouver.
Vancouver’s latest high-end condo project has piqued the interest of real estate agents for celebrity clients like Jennifer Lopez, Shaquille O’Neal and the Saudi royal family.
About 25 Sotheby’s International Realty agents are expected in the city June 7 for an exclusive preview of The Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, part of a $400-million project expected to open by the summer of 2010.
Prices at the upscale 48-storey development near Howe and Georgia will range from about $685,000 for a 600-square-foot studio to $6 million for a 6,000-square-foot penthouse.
The tower will house office space and 155 condos when it opens next to a renovated Hotel Georgia, which closed in January and is scheduled to reopen in late 2009.
The project is being developed by the Delta Group and marketed by Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.
Sotheby’s agents like Carlos Justo from Miami, who handles real estate for Lopez and O’Neal, and Lee Summers from New York, whose clients include the Saudi royal family, will scout the project in Vancouver. The units are expected to begin selling in September.
Justo’s company profile says he’s “the broker of choice for industry leaders, international royalty, sports figures, and celebrities, and is considered the Prince of Real Estate and Broker to the Stars.”
Sotheby’s International Realty Canada president Ross McCredie expects a lot of international buyers will be interested in the project, especially those from the U.S., the U.K and Asia.
“It doesn’t matter where you go in Europe or Asia, everyone knows where Vancouver is and they still feel this is a very underpriced market,” he said in an interview.
McCredie also feels many buyers will be attracted to the high-end shopping near the project, with retailers like Holt Renfrew, Tiffany & Co. and Hermes within easy walking distance.
The 80-year-old Hotel Georgia — the historic Vancouver hotel of choice for celebrities of the day such as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne and Bob Hope — will be completely renovated and will reopen with bigger rooms. The number of rooms will drop from 267 to about 200.
McCredie said the hotel will feature a 20,000-square-foot spa and is expected to compete with upscale boutique Vancouver hotels like the Opus and the Wedgewood.
He said the number of potential hotel operators has been narrowed down to a short list of three, and a decision is expected within weeks.
The 48-storey condo/office building, at 150 metres, will be the fourth-largest tower in the city — behind the Wall Centre, Shaw Tower and Shangri-la (expected to open in 2009).
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
No other place like Roundhouse
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007Saved from demolition, a truly special place
Lynn Mitges
Province
Back in 1997, CPR steam engine Number 341 was moved into its new home while an operator manoeuvred a replica model. FILE PHOTO — THE PROVINCE
For 10 years, this big beauty has been making friends and influencing people.
It was 10 years ago today that the Roundhouse Community Centre first opened its doors to the public and took its place as a new beacon to community arts programming.
Within a decade, the Roundhouse has become a lifeline for artists, performers, the community, and every member of the family.
The celebration features several upcoming events and fundraisers, but the big deal is the Roundhouse 10th Anniversary Community Bash block party on May 12 from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. If you have a child who’s 10 years old, they, too, get to celebrate the first decade.
Mostly, it’s an opportunity for those who’ve made the Roundhouse such a success to say thanks to the public.
“So many times you get the building but then don’t get the funding to do anything,” says one of the Roundhouse arts programmers Elizabeth Kidd.
“We’ve got the whole package and we have enormous support,” she says.
There’s no other place in North America like the Roundhouse, which not only embraces all art forms and offers them to the public, but it’s a community centre with working studios and a gym. It’s arts and sports for all ages of any ability or interest.
“It really works well,” says Kidd. “The driving belief has been the strong passion that we have.”
Originally part of a cluster of structures that housed steam locomotives, the Roundhouse was built in 1988. When steam locomotives were shunted aside for diesel-powered engines, the Roundhouse sat unused for years. It was only through loud public protest that the building wasn’t demolished. The building was restored for Expo 86, but then sat empty again until 1990 when the plan was hatched to revitalize the building as a public amenity. Construction started in 1995, the building was turned over to the Park Board in 1997 and opened to the public on May 3, 1997. Check roundhouse.ca for events.
© The Vancouver Province 2007
Hotel Georgia re-development – Vancouverites don’t realize foreign money owns some of the best real estate
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007Vancouverites don’t realize foreign money owns some of the best real estate
Damian Inwood
Province
Sotheby’s Ross McCredie brings celebrities’ representatives to preview Private Residences being built at the Hotel Georgia. – SAM LEUNG – THE PROVINCE
U.S. mega-stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Shaquille O’Neal and Barbra Streisand will have their property scouts in town next month checking out a new luxury condo tower planned in downtown Vancouver.
The 155 suites will range in price from about $700,000 for a studio to $6 million for the 6,000-square-foot penthouse at The Private Residences at Hotel Georgia.
“Carlos Justo, who’s one of the top Sotheby’s portfolio managers in Miami — he handles J.Lo, he handles Shaquille O’Neal — he’s coming in,” said Vancouver-based Ross McCredie, CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.
McCredie said that between 20 and 25 of Sotheby’s top property scouts will fly into Vancouver for a preview of the $400-million Howe Street tower.
Scouts will come from Dubai, Seoul, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, the United Kingdom and Germany.
At 150 metres tall, the 48-storey tower will become the third-tallest building in Vancouver when it is finished in the summer of 2010.
The new tower will be next door to the Hotel Georgia, refurbished for more than $200 million, which aims to reopen as the city’s No. 1 luxury, boutique hotel, in time for the 2010 Olympics.
McCredie said that Vancouver real estate, seen by locals as pricey, is seen as a bargain by the international jet-set, who are keen to make Vancouver their second or third home.
“The local response is ‘My God, that’s expensive,’ but people from elsewhere say, ‘That’s really cheap,'” added McCredie.
The Howe Street tower will also feature a 20,000-square-foot spa and 10 floors of office space.
“A lot of our clients are businessmen and women who are in California, Asia or the U.K. and who are trading in Vancouver now,” he added. “We have a number of clients in Asia who use Vancouver as their centre between New York and Hong Kong.”
The drive-in entrance will be on Howe Street where the parking garage currently stands, with a see-through spa pool above.
“I don’t know if local people realize how much foreign money owns some of the best real estate in town,” added McCredie.
“I was just at a listing presentation for a $25-million home and they had $70-million worth of art.”
Last night, McCredie was making a presentation to the high-level movers and shakers in West Vancouver.
“I think 30 per cent to 40 per cent of buyers will be Lower Mainland people who are going to sell their home in Shaughnessy or West Van and be able to have a large enough home where they can live downtown,” he added.
“Over 50 per cent are going to be international and that would be a combination of the U.K., California, New York, London and Hong Kong.”
On Tuesday, McCredie launched the Four Seasons Private Residences in Toronto.
“I just got off the phone with a guy from Ireland who is looking at the $15-million penthouse at the Four Seasons in Toronto,” he said.
“The bulk of buyers are not celebrities but are fairly wealthy, high-net-worth people who see Canada as a great place to have a second home.” There’s no doubt that Vancouver’s high-end real estate is now drawing serious international attention, says Bruce Langereis, president and CEO of Delta Group, developers of the project.
“The interest, through Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, from an international elite looking for second, even third, homes has been very gratifying,” he said.
Suites will go on sale in September.
© The Vancouver Province 2007
Bank on movies to bring back fun
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007Renamed cinemas introduce points program aimed at 18-to-30-year-olds
Frank Luba
Province
The new look of bank-branded moviegoing in Vancouver is captured in an artist’s photo illustration.
The words “bank” and “fun” normally aren’t found in the same sentence, but Scotiabank is hoping to change that.
Starting today, major Cineplex theatres in Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver are being rebranded as Scotiacard Theatres to draw attention to the fact that the bank is introducing a free SCENE card.
The new card will grant moviegoers a 10-per-cent discount on concessions and earn points for free movies and snacks every time they catch a flick.
More points can be earned by paying with a SCENE VISA card or a SCENE Scotiacard debit card.
A Cineplex theatre in Toronto, was used to test the new program.
Rick White, Scotiabank vice-president of brands and marketing, said discussions about the new program began in March 2006.
“We want to be more relevant with younger people in Canada,” said White. “Movies are such a big, big part of our culture,” with 63 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 12 and 49 going to the movies once a month or more.
Scotiabank wants to reach those Canadians and struck the partnership with Cineplex. “Gold” card programs appeal to people who are 35 years of age or older. SCENE is aimed at 18- to 30-year-olds.
“There’s a lot of apathy toward the long-term points program for travel,” said White. “This is immediate, experiential.”
Discussions are also under way to link the SCENE to entertainment options such as telephone services, music venues and some major retailers. “It will put fun into banking,” said White.
The launch of the service in B.C. will be tonight at the Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver, formerly Paramount Vancouver, at the corner of Burrard and Nelson.
All the details are available on the website at www.scene.ca.
© The Vancouver Province 2007
