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Since opening this spring, Meccanica has seen tremendous success in the Southeast False Creek community. The Cressey brand name which has become synonymous with superior design and quality construction of course plays an important role as does this brand new, extraordinary, transportation oriented community but really, the true success of Meccanica has come from the design.

We get people everyday who are extremely excited about the level of design that we offer at Meccanica that they just don’t get elsewhere.” says Hani Lammam, Vice President of Development and Acquisitions at Cressey Development Group.” We spent a great deal of time with our architect and interior design team to go over every detail of every home to ensure maximum utility and storage with clean contemporary lines for a truly unique feel.”

The Cressey Kitchen philosophy embraces thoughtful design where every millimeter counts. “Our walk-through style kitchen allows for a Chef’s wall making the kitchen much larger than in other typical condos and gives your home a high-end and custom built-in look” reports Lammam. “Our appliances are integrated to keep things clean and sleek and of course we have included all of the bells and whistles our buyers have come to expect from us with clever storage details throughout, stone countertops and backsplashes, under cabinet lighting, soft-close details, high-end appliances, gorgeous fixtures – and that’s just in the kitchen.” Meccanica also includes air conditioning, a custom entertainment built-in, extra ceiling height, and a custom large aluminum sliding door. What’s even more unique are some of the customizing features including 6 cabinet colour options to choose from as well as a host of other items to personalize each home.

Meccanica is named after Intermeccanica, a master replica-Porsche builder who has operated on the same site for over 30 years. “As Intermeccanica and the Porsche brands are all about high design, we felt it only right to assume this same philosophy when designing Meccanica. Ultimately, we are very pleased with the outcome and buyers have told us how excited they are to buy into a new community with this level of design, at this affordable a price in this extraordinary Southeast False Creek location.” Lammam explains.

Esther Tien Chan, a Vancouver real estate agent adds that her buyers tend to gravitate to modern, well-serviced developments built around transport links.

“Today’s buyer is looking for high-end, modern projects in close proximity to major transportation routes and amenities – it’s what they’re accustomed to,” says Tien. Meccanica offered the perfect fit for her sophisticated buyers who saw longterm value whether planning to live at Meccanica or renting it out.

The Meccanica Showroom is open everyday from 12-5pm except Fridays at 104 E 1st Avenue, Vancouver at Quebec. Call 604.876.8819 or visit www.meccanicabycressey.com for more information. Homes from $389,900.

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Rennie’s company responsible for selling 414 apartments at Cambie and Marine towers

Mike Howell
Van. Courier

When a new condominium project sells out in one day, as it did with the Marine Gateway building in April, ever wonder who actually buys one of the units?

Real estate marketer Bob Rennie, whose company was responsible for selling the 414 apartments at the Cambie and Marine towers, gave some indication in his annual speech Thursday to the Urban Development Institute

“I think that the marketplace needs us to open the vault a bit here and share the consumer data that we received,” Rennie told a crowd of more than 800 people gathered in a ballroom at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

In a survey sent to 414 buyers, of which 170 responded, Rennie said 66 per cent were from Vancouver, 16 per cent from Richmond and nine per cent from Burnaby. He didn’t say where the remaining eight per cent hailed from.

Of those from Vancouver, 23 per cent came from the immediate and adjacent postal codes and 37 per cent from six neighbouring postal codes.

Rennie’s survey found 48 per cent of buyers spoke Mandarin or Cantonese at home-he noted 28 per cent of Greater Vancouver’s population is Asian-and 46 per cent identified English as their primary language. Of the 414 buyers, 405 had B.C. driver’s licences and dealt with a local bank, he said.

The survey also found that 109 purchasers were first-time buyers and 44 per cent were under 40 years old. Half of the condos for sale were advertised for under $350,000.

More than 70 per cent of respondents said access to transit was very important in choosing a location to live. Rennie noted 105 of the 414 sales were to people who will not get access to a parking spot. That’s a trend that has occurred with other projects he’s marketed, including downtown’s “Electric Avenue,” where 102 buyers didn’t get a parking spot.

Unlike the 70s and 80s when the real estate mantra was “location, location, location,” Rennie said he believes it’s now all about “transit, transit, transit.”

The Marine Gateway project, which features two towers, is on the Canada Line, which provides area residents with easy and quick access to downtown and Richmond.

“If you’re under 25, you don’t own a car because it’s an inconvenience and you care about the environment,” he told the crowd. “And unlike the ’50s, you do not need a car to find out where your friends are. The reality is, youth has replaced dependency on the automobile with the dependency on the iPhone. And unlike their moms and dads, youth does not require a car to get laid.”

Rennie’s company, Rennie Marketing Systems, is also responsible for selling the former Olympic Village condominiums. He said 516 of the 737 condominiums have been sold.

“My company’s job was to protect the asset,” he said. “All of us at [my company] considered our newly named Village on False Creek quite possibly to be the most watched and quite possibly career making or career breaking assignment of our company’s history.”

The city took over the financially troubled project and, as of Dec. 31, 2011, its investment was $462 million. Recovery of that investment is primarily based on proceeds from sales of the remaining condominiums.

© Copyright (c) Vancouver Courier

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“We have been working in partnership with local, provincial and federal governments on this initiative because we believe it will enable our lands to compete on a level playing field in the marketplace.” Squamish Nation Chief Ian Campbell

“The District of West Vancouver looks forward to working with the Squamish Nation as they enter a new phase of economic development and prosperity. We will work together to develop a servicing agreement which is fair and equitable to both parties.” District of West of Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith

Investors and developers planning to do business on reserve land will find it easier thanks to new provincial legislation. Bill 43, the First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act (FNCIDA) Implementation Act, introduced in the BC Legislature on May 3, 2012, will create certainty for business by enabling provincial laws and regulations to apply to major commercial, industrial and residential projects on First Nations lands.

Currently, provincial laws and regulations don’t apply to reserve lands. First Nations lands are under the jurisdiction of the federal government and only the federal government has the authority to make laws for “Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians,” as set out in the Constitution Act,1867, s 91(24) and under the Indian Act.

One notable exception is the Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN). Its landmark 2008 Tsawwassen treaty with the federal and provincial governments gave the TFN self-governing powers similar to those of a municipality and land in fee simple, which it can lease.

Of the province’s 198 First Nations, 116 have expressly stated they want the same rights as the TFN by participating in the BC Treaty Commission’s treaty negotiation process. However, progress has been slow, often taking years. During this time, business opportunities are being lost – and their accompanying economic and social benefits including jobs and tax revenue.

Bill 43 holds the potential to speed and simplify business activity by creating a level regulatory playing field so that developments on reserve lands are subject to the same provincial regulations that apply to off-reserve developments. This will lead to certainty for business, residents and neighbouring local governments.

The impetus for the new legislation came from requests from two First Nations involved in two projects:

·         The Haisla Nation which has a proposed liquefied natural gas facility for its lands near Kitimat; and

·         The Squamish Nation which has a proposed commercial and 600 unit, four-tower residential development for its lands in West Vancouver.

Bill 43 will operate at the request of a First Nation and will also be project-specific. For example, a First Nation planning a mixed-use development alongside a stream can ask the federal and the provincial governments to produce project-specific regulations, which the province will have the authority to monitor and enforce.

Regulations could span everything from the building code to environmental issues to a land title system and a title assurance fund compatible with the BC land title system.

Bill 43 will work with two pieces of federal legislation:

·         the First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act (FNCIDA) (2006), which facilitates commercial and industrial development on First Nations lands by allowing provincial regulations to be replicated and to apply on reserves; and

·         the First Nations Certainty of Land Title Act (2010), which gives the federal government the authority to make regulations respecting commercial land title at the request of a First Nation where the First Nation has the support of a private sector partner and the provincial government.

Currently, First Nations land interests are registered under the federal Indian Lands Registry System, which contains three separate deeds-based systems:

·         the Indian Land Registry System (ILRS), which includes documents related to and interests in reserve (and any surrendered) lands administered under the Indian Act;

·         the First Nations Land Registry System (FNLRS), which includes land records of First Nations operating under their own Land Code as set out in the First Nations Land Management Act (FNLMA); and

·         the Self-Governing First Nations Land Register (SGFNLR), which includes First Nations self-government agreements and documents which grant an interest in self-governed First Nation lands.

None of these systems is as secure as the Torrens-based land registration system used in BC.

Bill 43 will work with the First Nations Certainty of Land Title Act (2010), to enable the provincial government to create, at the request of a First Nation, a land title system administered by the provincial Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) on behalf of the federal government.

The Squamish First Nation has made this request. A new land title system will be created for residents of the proposed Squamish project, who will be able to register leases with the provincial LTSA on behalf of the federal government.

The Squamish First Nation will also negotiate a range of service agreements, for example, transportation, schools, water and sewer.

© Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.