$9-million sales centre is tucked behind Olympic Oval
Province
River Green will be built over 10 to 15 years and eventually include about 2,600 homes. — WARD PERRIN / PNG
George Wong of Magnum Projects says River Green buyers are seeking an ‘exclusive, high-end lifestyle.’ Photograph by: Ward Perrin, PNG, The Province
Photograph by: Ward Perrin, PNG, The Province
Kitchens, living areas, bathrooms and bedrooms in the River Green show suites. Those suites, along with the larger sales centre, opened to the public this weekend. Photograph by: Ward Perrin, PNG, The Province
The River Green story centre, is a $9-million, 19,000-square-foot structure that was designed by architect James Cheng. Photograph by: Ward Perrin, PNG, The Province
Photograph by: Ward Perrin, PNG, The Province
Photograph by: Ward Perrin, PNG, The Province
THE FACTS
PROJECT NAME: River Green
WHAT: Six buildings with 458 units in Phase 1
WHERE: Hollybridge Way and River Road, Richmond
DEVELOPER: ASPAC Developments
SIZE: 1-bed 700 sq. ft.; 1 bed + den 800 sq. ft.; 2-bed + den 1,280 sq. ft.; 3-bed + den 1,950 sq. ft.; town houses 1,470 sq. ft.; 4-bed + den villas 3,640 sq. ft.
OPEN: Sales centre: 5111 Hollybridge Way; hours 10 a.m. -6 p.m., daily
This weekend marks the formal launch of sales for the massive River Green master-planned community in Richmond, but that doesn’t mean prospective buyers have waited until now to signal their interest.
More than 2,700 people registered online to receive advance information about the project, reports marketer George Wong of Magnum Projects, who predicted that purchase contracts worth more than $90 million would be signed by the end of the day Friday.
“The buyers are VIPs from Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, and the North Shore,” says Wong. “They’re looking for an exclusive, high-end lifestyle.”
This is the first push for the 2,600-unit master-planned community on 11.2 acres of waterfront between the No. 2 Road and Dinsmore bridges. Developer ASPAC is expecting completion of the entire project to take between 10 and 15 years.
The River Green sales centre — the $9-million structure, designed by River Green Phase 1 architect James Cheng, has actually been called a “story centre” — is a 19,000-square-foot building tucked away behind the Richmond Olympic Oval.
The story centre contains three show suites, all designed to demonstrate the sumptuous lifestyle into which River Green purchasers are buying.
Wong says the goal of River Green, styled as a waterfront “village”, is to be an enclave of convenience and comfort. Residents will have easy access to extensive health and wellness facilities in the former Olympic speedskating oval, as well as trails and park land throughout the development.
Architect James Cheng says he and ASPAC learned some lessons from their previous experience building up Coal Harbour.
“At the beginning, it was a little isolated (in Coal Harbour),” Cheng admits. “The grocery stores were a few blocks away, there wasn’t much in the immediate area. We know people want to work and play in the same area. They want a complete community.”
Residents will be able to connect with the area by having
access to a community shuttle that can take them to destinations like Vancouver International Airport, or the Canada Line transit station, which is a 20-minute walk away. A pedestrian promenade links the community together, allowing for easy access from across the neighbourhood to the oval.
Both Cheng and Wong believe River Green will fill a void in the market: a demand for high-end multi-family housing in Richmond.
“We have people working at YVR (Vancouver International Airport), the London Drugs warehouse, BCIT professors [who work at the Richmond aerospace campus],” says Wong. “They want to live closer to where they work, but they haven’t had this option up until now.”
Cheng says the goal was to make the community sustainable over the long term, capable of evolving to fit the changing needs of residents. That’s why they incorporated everything from one-bedroom units to villas of more than 3,500 square feet in place of single-family homes.
“This is the point of a complete community,” Cheng says with a smile. “This will be here for 100 years or more, for many, many cycles and generations.”
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