Investors clamour for Vancouver industrial space, but rising costs pressure businesses

Joanne Lee-Young
The Vancouver Sun

Vacancy in Vancouver’s tight industrial property market dropped to an all-time low of 0.5 per cent while the average asking rent per square foot hit an all-time high of $15.50, according to Colliers. “What’s new is that (vacancy) is below one per cent,” said Doug Pulver, executive managing director at Colliers Vancouver, which tracked the shift in a recent national survey.

 Brad Miller is the president and owner of Chilliwack-based AdvanTec Global Innovations. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

Brad Miller has been buying and renting industrial space in Metro Vancouver for 30 years. But lately, properties are much harder to find and they are getting more expensive.

His companies manufacture products such as marine closures and support structures for bridges. He also invests in alternative energy companies that work in hydrogen and bio-gas, “a lot of the things that B.C. aspires to be a leader in.”

“If we can’t provide room for these startup companies to remain and thrive, typically, they’ll just leave,” said Miller, who is president and owner of Chilliwack-based AdvanTec Global Innovations.

Industrial space has been tight in Metro Vancouver for years, but one new factor is that real estate investors are seeing a sharp, pandemic-related shift in the way people shop — they are buying more online — and this has them clamouring more than before to put their money into warehouse, logistics and distribution spaces. 

Brad Miller is the president and owner of Chilliwack-based AdvanTec Global Innovations. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

On Monday, Avison Young reported that the level of investment in industrial land in B.C. during the first half of 2021 “blew past all previous industrial investment records and was responsible for an astonishing 40 per cent of total dollar volume in the province” with 73 deals worth $1.1 billion.

The previous record was of 67 sales worth $871 million set in the second half of 2020.

“A bewildering combination of factors — including persistent record-low vacancy, lack of new supply, severe industrial land constraints, rapidly appreciating rents and plentiful low-cost capital — have been further amplified by the shifting nature of consumer consumption patterns and behaviour accelerated by COVID-19 and a corresponding shift of capital allocations into industrial assets and away from retail and office properties,” said Avison Young in its mid-year 2021 review.

“I think some of it may be competition from new users like distribution centres like Amazon and the movie industry taking up space,” said Miller. “Maybe they’re not as cost-sensitive as industrial manufacturing.”

The vacancy rate for industrial space in Metro Vancouver has been fluctuating between one and two per cent for years. But in the last quarter, things slid and spiked with vacancy dropping to an all-time low of 0.5 per cent while the average asking rent per square foot hit an all-time high of $15.50, according to a Colliers’ report about the third quarter of 2021.

“What’s new is that (vacancy) is below one per cent,” said Doug Pulver, executive managing director at Colliers’ Vancouver office. “That’s never happened before even though for the last 19 consecutive quarters, it’s been below two per cent.”

“The pressure is being felt in leasing and in investment,” said Pulver, adding that some industrial rental rates are so high, they are competing with office rates in suburban markets.

He said municipalities need to find ways to repurpose land that is under utilized and developers have to get creative and build multi-level industrial properties.

Some developers in Vancouver and Richmond are starting to build mixed-use office and industrial space together. One example is Wesbild’s Marine Landing in South Vancouver which has industrial space on floors one to four and offices on floors five and six.

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Vancouver new construction completions hold steady

Michelle McNally
Livabl

 Despite all of the curveballs the pandemic has thrown at the real estate industry, new home construction completions in Metro Vancouver have remained stable according to new insights from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

In the board’s recently-published Q3-2021 Housing Overview, economist Keith Stewart stated that new housing supply has “held steady” across Metro Vancouver during the pandemic.

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According to the quarterly report, builders have been completing new construction projects that kicked off during the region’s pre-pandemic building boom. Purpose-built rental apartments have reported higher completion rates with the help of rental incentives from all levels of government. Although these incentives are changing the types of new homes being built, Stewart said that “ownership housing remains the largest proportion of homes being built today.”

However, new ownership apartment starts and completions have not increased alongside the strong price growth that was recorded during 2016 and 2017.

“In less supply-constrained markets, the price growth like we’ve experienced in Metro Vancouver over the last five years would lead to a matching surge in completions,” said Stewart’s report. “This supply response is sorely lacking in our housing market today.”

In the resale segment, Stewart noted that the market is settling down after setting a series of sales and listings records during the first half of 2021, particularly during March, which set an all-time record of 5,708 home sales and 8,287 new listings. A larger portion of today’s total home sales are also attributed to first-time and move-up buyers.

“The increasing correlation between sales and new listings over the pandemic is consistent with more buyers selling their current homes and purchasing other, typically larger, homes,” explained Stewart.

The MLS HPI benchmark set a new record of $1,176,600 in August for all housing types. Less sales have taken place since March’s market peak, causing price growth to plateau in the region throughout the summer. However, prices could expect to feel pressure come the fall as above-average sales volumes collide with low home inventory levels, Stewart noted.

The Lower Mainland’s job vacancy rate has returned to near pre-pandemic levels. However, Stewart explains that this rate is higher than other major economic areas in Canada, underscoring employment recruitment challenges that could be caused in part by the region’s high cost of housing. 

Coming into the final chapter of 2021, Stewart says that new listings and sales are anticipated to stay closer to long-term averages as active listings slowly build throughout the fall and into the spring.

“Expect these gains to remain on the lower side of typical as Metro Vancouver’s housing market continues to face an under supply of homes and persistent demand pressures,” said Stewart.

© 2020 BuzzBuzzHome Corp.

Report finds Vancouver has highest rental eviction rate in the country

Kevin Griffin
The Vancouver Sun

The first-ever national report on evictions found that Vancouver has the highest eviction rate for tenants at 10.5 per cent

 Alawyer with the housing law clinic at Vancouver’s Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre said one of the reasons why B.C. has a higher eviction rate is that it’s easier under provincial legislation for a landlord to evict a renter here than in Ontario. Photo by Kim Stallknecht /PNG

Metro Vancouver has a “significantly higher” eviction rate for renters compared to Toronto and Montreal, according to a University of B.C. report on national eviction rates.

The report being released Tuesday found that the eviction rate in Vancouver was 10.5 per cent during a five-year period ending in 2018, compared to 5.8 per cent in Toronto and 4.2 per cent in Montreal.

For B.C. as a whole, the eviction rate was slightly higher than Metro Vancouver’s, at 10.6 per cent.

“In relative terms, B.C. is a key centre of evictions in Canada,” a news release about the report says.

A rental housing advocate connected evictions to homelessness by saying that when poor people are evicted, they are more likely to end up on the street because they can’t find anywhere affordable to rent.

Craig Jones, co-supervisor of the report, said one of the issues that kept coming up among housing researchers was how little was known about evictions across the country.

He said for the first time, researchers were able to look into nationally representative data collected from 65,377 Canadians in the 2018 Canadian Housing Survey.

Asked why Vancouver was described as having a “significantly higher” eviction rates than other major urban areas in the country, Jones said he was just presenting the information.

“I’ll let other people comment on their thinking on why this is happening,” he said in an interview. “Unfortunately, the data does not tell us why the rate is higher (in Vancouver) than elsewhere.”

Jones said the study isn’t based on court filings or other administrative data.

“It’s based on a large survey of people reporting on their experiences of evictions,” said Jones who is research coordinator at UBC’s Housing Research Collaborative. “Some of these might not be legally called evictions.”

He mentioned his own experience of being evicted twice in a five-year period. The first time he was served an eviction notice, but in the second, he moved out before receiving an official notice because of incentives that included covering moving expenses.

“I would count that as a forced move — even if in strictly legal terms it was not,” he said.

Metro Vancouver had 348,700 renter households, or 58.2 per cent of the 599,360 in B.C., according to the 2016 census.

Jones said in all likelihood the national survey data undercounts the number of people who are evicted because it excludes anyone who is homeless as the result of an eviction.

The report’s other co-supervisor is Andrea Craig, an assistant professor of economics at UBC. Silas Xuereb is the researcher.

Zuzana Modrovic, a lawyer with the housing law clinic at Vancouver’s Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre, said she wasn’t surprised by the “bleak numbers” showing a much higher eviction rate for Metro Vancouver.

Modrovic said one of the reasons why B.C. has a higher eviction rate is that it’s easier under provincial legislation for a landlord to evict a renter here than in Ontario.

She said the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre has called on the provincial government to change legislation so the onus is shifted in all cases from tenants who currently have to file for dispute resolution onto landlords to make applications for evictions.

Eviction, Modrovic said, can lead to homelessness for people living at the lower end of the income scale.

“The simple answer is when poor people are evicted, they often end up homeless,” she said. “Sometimes temporarily, sometimes for a longer period, because there just isn’t anywhere where they can rent that they can afford.”

Understanding Evictions in Canada through the Canadian Housing Survey also found that while Indigenous people are at a higher risk of eviction, the data didn’t point to the same kind of discrimination happening to Black Canadians.

“Men, and especially single fathers, are especially at risk of eviction in Canada,” the report says. “Evictions are also more common among households with children and renters aged 45 to 54 than among younger adults and seniors.”

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© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Checking In: Parq and Play

Andrew McCredie
The Vancouver Sun

With two hotels, a casino and access to BC Place, this downtown Vancouver property is ideal for a sporting staycation

Game On! That was the predominant vibe in and around the JW Marriott hotel a couple of hours before the Vancouver Whitecaps kicked off against Los Angeles FC right next door at BC Place.

The match would be the first to be played with fans in attendance in 539 days, and the lobby was buzzing with blue and white-attired supporters as we checked in for a staycation night at Parq, which opened in 2017 and bills itself as ‘Vancouver’s premier entertainment destination.’

The property includes two hotels, a two-level casino, a large outdoor park, a full-service spa and a number of restaurants and bars. That in itself makes it a bit of a one-stop staycation location, but its proximity to both BC Place and Rogers Arena also make Parq an ideal base of operations for taking in one of the city’s three professional teams. That was our plan, and clearly we weren’t the only ones who were keen to catch a Whitecaps game and spend overnight downtown.
As mentioned, we stayed at the JW Marriott, which is located at the south end of the Parq complex, and  as such many of its guest rooms offer great water views overlooking False Creek and Olympic Village. At the other end is The Douglas, with equally impressive city and mountain views. However, it is closed until early 2022. The scenery out the floor-to-ceiling guest rooms isn’t the only thing that differentiates the two hotels: the JW Marriott features a cool, luxurious and contemporary colour palette, while The Douglas is all rich earth tones and back-to-nature aesthetics. Even if you don’t stay at The Douglas you have to check out its lobby and the giant, horizontal Douglas Fir that serves as the check-in counter.

In the saddle between the two hotels is the casino, along with the ideal place to grab dinner before the game: The BC Kitchen sports bar. Sure enough it was full of Whitecaps fans priming for the game, but also others who were settling in for the Manny Pacquiao fight. With the sounds of casino action in the background, you’d be forgiven if you thought you were in Vegas for just a moment or two. After some yummy pub grub comfort food, it was less than five minutes later we were walking into BC Place for the Whitecaps game.

And while Southsiders might argue that the best part of the night was the 2-1 home win — thanks to thrilling last-minute heroics by newly acquired Ryan Gauld — capping the night next door with a single malt in the Lotus bar after some casino action with the knowledge that our ride home was simply an elevator ride away was the high point for us.

CHECKING IN 

Ideal staycation for: With its next-door-neighbour status to Vancouver’s two pro sport venues, Parq’s two hotels and entertainment amenities make for a great pairing with a couple of Canucks, Whitecaps or Lions tickets. It’s also very close to the False Creek walking and cycling trail system, and Yaletown, Gastown and Chinatown are close by and connected with good walking routes. And with a casino and spa part of the property, if it’s raining out there are still good in-house options to keep you entertained.

Rooms and amenities: With 329 guest rooms and suites, the JW Marriott is the bigger of the two hotels, and features 24-hour room service, high-speed wi-fi, satellite TV, Illy Coffee and Molton Brown products. Luxury suites offer upscale amenities, including soaker tubs. The Douglas, which reopens in the new year, has 188 guest rooms, including three luxury suites: Apt 108 is billed as ‘eclectic bohemian’ and features a billiard table; The Den is multi-leveled and has a big circular couch as its centrepiece; and The Loft has a baby grand piano and Bauhaus-inspired chairs. All rooms offer 24-hour room service, are pet friendly, have internet-connected TVs, original artwork, Illy Coffee and Aesop Bath amenities. Both hotels have mobility accessible rooms.  

Dining: . You’d figure a place with two hotels and a casino would have many and varied dining options, and Parq certainly doesn’t disappoint. For the finest dining experience, there is The Victor, featuring Pacific Northwest seafood and sushi and a tiered selection of specialty steaks. MRKT East is inspired by Singapore night markets and offers Asian street food with a decidedly upmarket take. More casual dining from morning to night can be found in Honey Salt, featuring farm to table cuisine. And for the sports-minded, BC Kitchen has all the classic menu items and plenty of big screen TVs. For the cocktail-minded, D/6 Bar and Lounge just off The Douglas lobby has indoor and outdoor seating (along with a hidden room), the casino’s Centre Bar is a great place to chill and watch the action, and for a night cap the Lotus Whiskey/Tea Lounge is the place for the scotch and bourbon connoisseurs.

Current Deals: The Park & Dine Local Getaway includes complimentary daily parking, a $50 resort credit for dining on property, late check-out and room upgrade, based on availability. Available now through to Dec. 30. And in keeping with the sporting theme, when guests present their B.C. Lions or Vancouver Whitecaps game day ticket for the same-day-at-home game, they will receive 15 per cent off the bill. And also on game days, guests can enjoy an $11.95 Burger & Beer at Centre Bar up to two hours prior to the start of a home game.

© 2021 Vancouver Sun

How to generate more real estate leads

REM Staff
REM

One thing seasoned pros and newbies in our industry have in common is that they are always on the lookout for fresh prospects. Having a lead generation plan is crucial to thrive in real estate.

A portion of your leads will likely come from your sphere of influence. By staying in touch with past clients and keeping the rapport going, they will hopefully refer you to others who are looking for a real estate agent. When done right, continually working your sphere of influence will lead to a steady string of leads in the years to come.

Patricia Clarke 

Patricia Clarke, a real estate broker at Right at Home Realty in Ottawa, finds leads by focusing on a niche. “I don’t like to use lead generation systems as most of them are not qualified buyers or sellers. I also believe that the traditional cold calling and email marketing are not efficient or effective nowadays as people often perceive them as intrusive and ‘spammy’. What has worked for me is the use of ‘organic’ social media (not paid) and I focus my efforts on a niche. There are thousands of real estate agents in my market and that’s why it’s so important to have your own niche.”

Clarke explains her process: “Something that has worked for me incredibly well and with very little expense is informative (not sales) videos that I record and post periodically in Facebook groups that I am a member of and include my niche. In my videos I talk as authentically as I can. My videos are not rehearsed. I don’t use a script. People in my niche often tell me that they follow all my videos and are always looking forward to the next one. When I attend social events, people tend to recognize me and often introduce themselves or even just say hi as if they know me very well – so I believe my strategy works.”

Clarke continues, “Another thing that I do constantly is be very active in social media groups; answering questions regarding real estate, (making) recommendations. I do this from my Facebook professional page so my professional name shows. In this case, my goal is not only to help my community but position my name and constantly reinforce my brand. In this business, as we all know, having a full pipeline of leads and a ringing phone is often the most difficult goal to achieve.”

COVID-19 has shown us how essential it is to focus on technology to get more leads. Using social media to connect with people is often more effective than mail-outs or emails. Embracing the use of videos for your social media will kick things up a notch. If your phone’s camera isn’t adequate, you can get a quality webcam for under $100 that will do the trick. (Speaking of technology, you do have your own website to connect with clients, right? Not just a page on your brokerage’s website.)

Wins Lai 

Wins Lai, a real estate broker with Living Realty in Toronto shares how she gets more leads, “I think when it comes to being a successful Realtor, a lot of people don’t understand that you need to spend money on making more money. Allocate part of your commissions for marketing (for example, 20 per cent of the commissions should be reinvested in your business), spending it on Facebook, Instagram marketing or flyering.”

One agent who asked to remain anonymous does one thing that she claims is responsible for more than half of the leads she receives – she picks up the phone. She calls one person a day from her contact list to keep her name uppermost in people’s minds. As she points out, not only is it effective because few people do it,  but it’s also free. She is especially vigilant to call people on their birthdays and other milestones. Another agent takes it a step further by making sure he sees each of his top 50 contacts in person at least once or twice a year.

Les Twarog

A Vancouver real estate agent with more than 33 years experience, Les Twarog with Re/Max Crest Realty, may have nailed the way to get more quality leads. Twarog is aiming to create the next Zillow of Canada.

“Zillow is the number one company in the U.S. for lead generation with over $2.7 billion in sales to Realtors per year. They are now in Canada. Zillow’s market cap is $24 billion. With Realty Mega Data, we have the top local lead generation platform that provides real estate leads to Realtors in the Lower Mainland, with plans to expand to the rest of B.C. and then later to the rest of Canada. We get 4,000-7,000 unique visitors per day and 200-300 internet sign-ups per day with verified names, addresses and phone numbers. The conversion rate averages around two to three per cent, which is double to triple compared to other platforms.”

Twarog says “33 per cent of Realtors leave the industry in less than a year and 80 per cent of Realtors quit the business within five years. The biggest problem is getting leads. We have solved that problem with our platform.” Realty Mega Data is currently focused on expanding to cover all B.C. properties.

Amy Youngren

Amy Youngren, a founder and sales representative with Keller Williams Real Estate Associates North Group in Toronto, aims to never put herself in a position where she panics about generating more leads.

“The way I run my business, it’s all about consistency,” she says, “connecting with five to 10 people consistently – every single day – about their real estate plans and offering them value through that call, text or DM. Consistency is hard, so I put measures in place to keep me accountable: calendar reminders, a great CRM, accountability partners and a business coach. In fact, my business coach once said, ‘Big results are built on the back of daily micro-commitments.’ ”

Whatever you choose to do to generate more leads, it is vital that it fits your personality. Just because an expert or a fellow agent has success with something doesn’t mean that is the route you should go. For example, making videos to post on social media may not be the best lead generation option for an introvert. Cold calling isn’t ideal for people who don’t deal well with rejection. Staying true to yourself and doing what you are most comfortable with will get you the best results.

Nailing the ability to generate leads ensures your business will continue to grow. Having a lead generation plan in place is an investment in your future business.

© 1989 – 2021 REM Real Estate Magazine

Dan Fumano: Broadway’s tallest tower pitched through ‘exceptional’ process

Dan Fumano
The Vancouver Sun

Opinion: Proposed 39-storey rental tower above South Granville subway station would be among Vancouver’s tallest buildings. It will likely be both applauded and derided.

 Architectural renderings showing PCI Developments’ proposal for a 39-storey mixed use tower at the intersection of West Broadway and Granville in Vancouver. Photo by PCI Developments / Musson Cattel /PNG

A local developer wants to transform a landmark Vancouver intersection with the Broadway corridor’s tallest tower.

At a recent Vancouver council meeting, several councillors asked city staff how big of a tower PCI Developments could be considering to rise above the subway station being built at the northeast corner of Broadway and Granville?

The reports before council at that July meeting contained no mention of the potential project’s size — Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung called that question “the elephant in the room.”

At that meeting, staff repeatedly declined to give any indication about what kind of size PCI might be eyeing. Staff said they were merely asking council for permission to consider an application — specifics about the project would be come later, if and when an application could be submitted.

Kirby-Yung pressed staff, citing “speculation and discussion” in the community, and asking: “Is it conceivable it could be 40 storeys?”

Staff did not answer. But it turns out the 40-storey speculation wasn’t far off.

Neighbourhood groups have recently started receiving notifications, and in a recent interview, PCI president Tim Grant answered questions about the project.

It’s a big one: a 39-storey mixed-use tower over the South Granville subway station, including a grocery store, offices, retail space, and 223 rental homes, 45 of them below-market units for moderate-income households (defined as household incomes between $30,000 and $80,000). That would make it among Vancouver’s tallest buildings. For comparison, the tallest Bentall office tower downtown has 34 storeys.

Subway station construction site at the northeast corner of Granville and W. Broadway Avenue. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

PCI has owned the property at 1477 West Broadway since 2007. It had long housed an RBC branch below three floors of offices. It obtained a permit in 2019 under existing zoning. Construction is now underway there, incorporating the underground subway station, below five storeys of commercial space.

But there have long been indications the developer hoped to build something higher.

In 2019, Fairview resident and writer Stanley Q. Woodvine discovered discarded blueprints while dumpster-diving in the neighbourhood, and wrote in The Georgia Straight that details in the documents — including the six levels of underground parking — suggested PCI was envisioning a far taller building than five storeys. He speculated it could be as high as 40 floors.

Grant said Woodvine’s 2019 report “was bang on in some respects.”

PCI’s new proposal envisions 285 car parking spaces, a little less than typical in a development of this size, Grant said, recognizing the site’s direct access to rapid transit. But, he said, the project would also include a “massive” bicycle storage area, with 507 bike spaces.

The July city staff report said PCI has “expressed interest as early as 2011 and over the past 10 years with various proposals to rezone the site for additional office, rental residential and retail floor area.”

But since 2019, the city has been working on a new Broadway Plan and in the meantime has been refusing to consider most rezonings along the corridor, except for social housing.

However, the Broadway Plan has been repeatedly delayed.

In 2017, a city report anticipated it would be complete in 2019, before construction started on the Broadway Subway. But major construction on the subway began in this year, and the Broadway plan is still in progress.

Staff told council in July they expect to have a draft in front of council early next year. 

Renderings showing PCI Developments’ proposal for a 39-storey mixed use tower at the intersection of West Broadway and Granville in Vancouver. Photo by PCI Developments / Musson Cattel /PNG

That’s why city staff recommended the city consider a PCI rezoning application now, citing exceptional circumstances. Staff said expediting construction would minimize later impacts on access for the South Granville station, which would happen if construction was delayed until after the Broadway Subway begins service.

Council voted last week to allow PCI to submit an application, with three opposed — councillors Kirby-Yung, Rebecca Bligh and Colleen Hardwick — and the other eight in favour.

Just as any proposal for a building that’s taller than neighbouring buildings, PCI’s proposal will face opposition, some of it from familiar voices.

Sean Nardi spoke to council in July, urging them to not consider an application before the Broadway Plan was finished. Nardi, a longtime homeowner in the neighbourhood, helped spearhead a fierce, organized opposition last year to a 28-storey rental building proposed for Broadway and Birch, two blocks east of Granville.

Nardi said at that meeting that his group had warned last year that if council approved the 28-storey project — which it did, narrowly — it would “set a precedent for height and density in the Broadway Plan area.”

“Unfortunately,” Nardi said of the prospect of development at Broadway and Granville, “the chickens are already coming home to roost.”

Others will likely view the project differently, especially those who want more transit-oriented development, including rental and non-market housing.

Coun. Christine Boyle commented on frustrations she’d heard in the community that the Broadway subway stations on publicly owned sites — such as the Main Street and VGH stations — have no plans for development above the stations, a seeming missed opportunity. Coun. Pete Fry commented on frustrations about delays in the Broadway Plan. Both voted to allow PCI to submit an application.

The developer would have certainly preferred to have city hall adopt the Broadway Plan before work started on the Broadway Subway. That way, there would have been no need for an exception to the rezoning moratorium.

PCI also owns the property around the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr station, where Grant says it envisions a similar mixed-use development there.

Grant said PCI has been working closely with the city and B.C. Ministry of Transportation’s Broadway Subway project team to get the station built on time, “but there’s no question that this has been a really complicated process, and the drawn-out Broadway Plan has made it that much more challenging.”

“This is definitely suboptimal,” Grant said.

Time is a factor, Grant said. “Right now, we’re permitted to build a five-storey building, and we’ll get to level five in the spring of 2022. So we need the city to issue some updated permits to be able to keep us going on site.”

Grant said he hopes his South Granville project could get to a public hearing by this fall. That kind of timeline — from rezoning application to public hearing within a couple of months — would generally be unthinkable in Vancouver, in normal circumstances. PCI obviously hopes city hall will see this circumstance as exceptional.

© 2021 Vancouver Sun

Contemporary design, classic features give Lilibet a high-end esthetic

Kathleen Freimond
The Vancouver Sun

The lowrise development at 520 West 28th Avenue offers one-, two- and three-bedroom garden and townhomes in eight buildings on the site

 Artist rendering of the Lilibet project by Intergulf Development Group. PNG

Inspiration for the names developers assign to their residential buildings comes from myriad places. For Intergulf Development Group’s recently launched project in Vancouver’s West Side, it was just across the street, the famous Queen Elizabeth Park. In a nod to the importance of the park to the neighbourhood, the Queen’s nickname, Lilibet, was chosen for the 59-home development.

Although “Lilibet” recently garnered a lot of attention when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose the name for their daughter, Shaadi Faris, chief operating officer for Intergulf, says the project was named last year, well before the birth of the Sussex’s second child.

“We did the name and branding before the baby was born – we were inspired by Queen Elizabeth Park, an anchor [amenity] in the neighbourhood, and wanted to emphasize the location. When the baby was called Lilibet it was a happy coincidence, it attracted some attention and a few laughs,” he says.

The lowrise development at 520 West 28th Avenue includes one-, two- and three-bedroom garden and townhomes in eight buildings on the site that occupies almost an entire block in the area that falls within phase three of the Cambie Corridor Plan (CCP). 

Homes at Lilibet will have easy-to-live-with colour schemes. PNG

Vancouver City Council developed the 30-year CCP to manage change and growth along the Canada Line, part of Translink’s SkyTrain system. Phase three addresses land use off the arterial roads and allows for townhomes in some existing single-family neighbourhoods.

Following Intergulf’s earlier phase one Cambie Corridor project, Empire at Queen Elizabeth Park, Faris says the company was familiar with the area and was on the lookout for a development opportunity in phase three of the plan.

He says while there is a shortage of townhouses in Metro Vancouver, Intergulf decided to include single-level garden units in Lilibet in addition to traditional multi-level townhouses.

“What we wanted to do was [build homes] where everyone had their own front door – something that is really appealing in beautiful mature neighbourhoods like this – and also provide a mix of home types to appeal to a wider variety of buyers. While townhouses are very desirable, we also considered there are people who don’t want to have to deal with stairs, so we offered this product mix instead of townhouse-only product,” says Faris.

 The roof decks range from 300 to 500 square feet. PNG

He points out a diversity of housing forms provides different price points and choices of the type of home people want to live in, noting many potential buyers are residents of the area who want to downsize but stay in the community; or young families and first-time buyers who grew up in the West Side and would like to stay in the neighbourhood but for whom a single-family home is not achievable. Lilibet gives them the option to stay in their community and step into homeownership.

Faris says the building design, by Gateway Architecture, reflects a modern, West-Coast esthetic with a focus on outdoor space and maximizing the views. The buildings, each with five to 12 homes, were planned to retain a beautiful, mature 22-metre-high Deodar Cedar on the site.

One-bedroom homes have patios in the front and back, while the two-bedroom units have a staircase leading to large rooftop decks. The three-bedroom homes have decks off the top-floor master bedrooms. The roof decks range from 300 to 500 square feet. 

Kitchens will have Miele appliances, including a refrigerator with bottom mounted freezer and a five-burner gas cooktop. Photo by Supplied /PNG

“The slope of the land toward the downtown core will give residents sweeping views from Vancouver East towards Burnaby to the west and all the way to the North Shore mountains and beyond – those views are incredible,” says Faris.

The landscaped central courtyard with plantings including rhododendrons and hydrangea, incorporates a children’s play area, garden plots for green-thumbed residents, and a fire pit and seating. The surrounding area also has many amenities.

“Queen Elizabeth Park is the star of the neighbourhood, and within a two-to-five-minute walk there is also the Hillcrest Community Centre and the King Edward SkyTrain station. A little farther south is Main Street, where there’s lots of shopping and dining. Another big attraction is the Oakridge Shopping Centre, currently being redeveloped.

“What’s so appealing is that you’re close to these shopping areas – people can go to Oakridge or Main Street where there’s lots of activity, but when they return to this area, it’s much quieter,” says Faris.

Terrazzo floor and wall tiles and double vessel  sinks in the ensuite bathrooms. Photo by Supplied /PNG

The interiors at Lilibet combine the clean look of contemporary design with classic features to create a high-end esthetic and easy-to-live-with colour schemes, says Ian Wong, director of interior design at BAM Interior.

The European-inspired cabinetry choices in the kitchen and bathrooms (white or a warm grey) differentiate the two colour palettes, Contemporary and Westcoast.

In the kitchen, the soft-close cabinetry has no visible hardware, with Wong opting instead for J-pulls, shaped grooves for opening drawers and doors. Subtle tone-on-tone variations in the white countertops complement the Miele kitchen appliances, including a refrigerator with bottom mounted freezer and a five-burner gas cooktop. A black matte faucet and shelf mounted on the backsplash add contrast to the palettes.

In the ensuite bathrooms, terrazzo floor and wall tiles, double vessel sinks with wall-mounted faucets and an illuminated open shelf beneath the vanity reflect the hotel and spa-like features the designers included to create a sophisticated ambience.

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Lilibet’s underground parkade includes electric vehicle outlets in every parking stall plus bicycle storage rooms and E-bike charging stations. Some homes have direct access to the parkade. Completion is scheduled for 2023.

Project: Lilibet – Homes at Queen Elizabeth Park

Project address: 528 – 592 West 28th Avenue

Developer: Intergulf Development Group

Architect: Gateway Architecture

Interior designer: BAM Interior

Project size: 59 townhomes and garden homes

Number of bedrooms: One-, two- and three-bedrooms

Price: From $699,000

Sales centre: 3317 Cambie Street, Vancouver

Sales centre hours: 12 noon to 5 p.m. daily, except Fridays. By appointment only.

Phone: 604-879-0030

Website:intergulf.com/lilibet

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