over-900-homes-in-towers-up-to-39-storeys-for-downtown-eastside
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Over 900 homes in towers up to 39 storeys for Downtown Eastside

ByKenneth Chan

This three-tower project could fulfill roughly 10% of the Government of British Columbia’s total target of catalyzing affordable homes for middle-income households through the new BC Builds program. In the process, it would also revitalize the easternmost end of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, bringing new life to an area specifically named the East Village. The significant project would be the first of a number of major housing redevelopments envisioned for this segment of East Hastings Street towards Commercial Drive. The three properties for this particular project are located on an approximate one-city block stretch of East Hastings Street between Glen Drive and Vernon Drive. Tower 1 will be a 373-ft-tall, 38-storey building at 1030-1070 East Hastings Street, which is a vacant site immediately adjacent to the CN railway at the southwest corner of the intersection of Glen Drive and East Hastings Street. This site is the westernmost site of the three properties. Tower 1 will contain 382 secured purpose-built market rental homes, with a unit size mix of 135 studio units, 141 one-bedroom units, 93 two-bedroom units, and 13 three-bedroom units. Nearly 5,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant space will activate the building’s East Hastings Street frontage, and three live/work units will front Glen Drive. Three sites for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Three sites for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 2 will be just around the corner from Tower 1. It will be located at 1115-1127 East Hastings Street, which is the northeast corner of the intersection of Glen Drive and East Hastings Street. Old, low-storey commercial buildings currently occupy this site. Tower 2 is envisioned as the tallest and largest of the three towers, at 390 feet and 39 storeys. Tower 2 will contain 383 secured purpose-built market rental homes, with a unit size mix of 165 studio units, 123 one-bedroom units, 77 two-bedroom units, and 20 three-bedroom units. There will also be nearly 8,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant space, primarily at ground level, to activate the building’s frontages with East Hastings Street and Glen Drive. Tower 1; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 2; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 2 (left) and Tower 1 (right); Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) While Tower 1 and Tower 2 are highly similar in uses and size, Tower 3 will be markedly different, with a shorter height of 195 ft and 19 storeys. Tower 3’s site of 1168-1180 East Hastings Street is the easternmost parcel of the three-site project, situated immediately east of Pink Peal Chinese Restaurant. Two low-storey structures currently occupy the site, including the 1905-built, three-storey Vernon Apartments SRO with 36 units. Tower 3 will contain 157 social housing units dedicated to seniors, with a unit size mix of 42 studio units, 79 one-bedroom units, and 36 larger one-for-one replacement SRO studio units. There will be higher levels of affordability with these homes rented at shelter, Housing Income Limits, and Low-and-Moderate Income Limit rates. There will also be a 2,300 sq ft social enterprise space fronting East Hastings Street. Tower 3; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 3; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) All three towers will feature a combined total of 924 homes, including 767 secured purpose-built market rental homes for middle-income households in Tower 1 and Tower 2 and 157 units of social housing for seniors, which is purposefully equivalent to over 20% of the project’s market rental homes as a public benefit. Overall, about 80% of the homes across all three buildings will be considered affordable for households with incomes below $80,000. These three towers in the East Village are a joint partnership between local developer Westbank, local investment firm Promerita, and the provincial government through BC Housing. Westbank and Promerita will own and operate Tower 1 and Tower 2, and they have already transferred ownership of the Tower 3 social housing site to BC Housing for a nominal fee. Westbank will be the lead developer responsible for the rezoning, development, and construction process of all three towers. ZGF Architects is the project’s design firm. Each tower represents a different rezoning application, but they will be considered together. All three applications have been submitted, and the review process is now set to enter formal public consultation. “BC Housing, through BC Builds, is very interested in participating in the proposed creation of new rental housing at the East Village with Promerita, Westbank, and a future non-profit operator, however, BC Housing’s final participation is further contingent on City Council rezoning approval as well as settlement of the final negotiated business terms amongst the parties,” reads a letter of support written to the City by Mike Pistrin, the vice president of development and asset strategies for BC Housing. “One of these milestones have been achieved and BC Housing has certainty regarding the inclusion of affordable rental units being approved, final project approval by our executive committee and associated boards will

host-first-nations,-bc.-govt-to-build-2,600-below-market-homes-in-vancouver
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Host First Nations, B.C. government to build 2,600 below-market homes in Vancouver

ByCharlie Carey

Posted September 19, 2024 9:39 am. Last Updated September 19, 2024 10:24 am. A new housing project on the lands of the  xʷməθkʷəy̓əm  (Musqueam),  Sḵwx̱wú7mesh  (Squamish), and  səlilwətaɬ  (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations will create 2,600 new affordable homes. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE! The homes will be at Heather Lands, an 8.5-hectare (21-acre) lot between West 33rd and West 37th avenues on Heather Street, just east of Queen Elizabeth Park. The province says buyers will be able to purchase the homes at 60 per cent of market value — with 40 per cent of the cost covered by provincial financing. In an announcement Thursday, Premier David Eby explained the financing agreement isn’t a grant or a subsidy, it’s a loan from the province. “The 40 per cent is repaid at the end of 25 years, or when the owner sells. … What we have created here, together, is a financing tool that protects taxpayers, that minimizes impact on public budgets, and yet, at the same time, delivers affordable housing now,” Eby explained. “And when the loan is paid back by the homeowner, [it] protects affordability in the future,” he added. Eby shared that the homes will be sold as 99-year strata-leaseholds with Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. “The unit prices will be determined at the time they actually go up for sale, but if they were for sale today, under current market conditions, a studio apartment on the site would sell for $620,000. Under this program we’re announcing today, that same studio apartment will sell for $370,000,” he said. “On this site today, the market price for a two-bedroom condo is $1.3 million. Under this program that we’re announcing today, that will be $780,000.” Eby added priority will be given to first homebuyers, and there will be “strict” criteria around income and asset ceilings for would-be purchasers. “I want to assure you that we will have strict rules and screening measures in place, and anyone who thinks that they can game the system when we detect that, there will be serious consequences.” The province says that to cover the 40 per cent of purchase prices, it will need to finance an estimated $670 million. If purchasers would like to buy out the remaining 40 per cent of the value of the home, Eby shared owners are able to do just that, “but if they exit in advance of 25 years, then they need to pay the appreciation in the value of the property as well.” “Say property values go up, they would have to pay that share of the government’s appreciation of the property as well. And say, property values go down, they would still have to pay the full amount back to the government that was loaned at the first instance,” he added. More to come.

median-luxury-home-price-in-vancouver-down-1.8-per-cent-from-2023:-report
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Median luxury home price in Vancouver down 1.8 per cent from 2023: report

ByCharles Brockman

Posted September 19, 2024 10:46 am. Vancouver’s luxury home market is still soft, according to the latest report from Royal LePage, but that doesn’t mean prices are dropping. The real estate group says sales in the segment are down almost 40 per cent through the first eight months of the year, compared to the same time last year. But prices barely fell — by less than two per cent — to a little under $7 million. The report considers $ 5.5 million to be the entry-level price for Vancouver’s luxury market. It says from January to the end of August, the median luxury home price in Vancouver was $6,975,000 — the highest in the country. For comparison, the median in Toronto over the same period was $5,820,000. “In Vancouver’s luxury segment, it seems everyone is trying to time the bottom of the market. As such, we’ve seen a slowdown in activity of late. After all, buyers love to buy when others are buying,” said a sales representative for the company. He says a “pullback” in Vancouver’s luxury market began about eight years ago, and activity has never fully rebounded. “The implementation of the 2023 foreign buyer ban, which has limited residential real estate purchases by non-Canadians, has reduced demand, although it has not had a material impact on prices,” he added. Royal Lepage expects moderate activity levels through the fall, despite the likelihood of additional interest rate cuts.

national-housing-market-in-holding-pattern-as-buyers-patient-for-lower-rates:-crea
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National housing market in holding pattern as buyers patient for lower rates: CREA

ByNews Staff

Posted September 16, 2024 6:54 am. The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down. The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year. On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July. CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.” The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier. The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.

Understanding new constructions pre-sale purchases

Understanding new constructions pre-sale purchases

Bymichael

Sellers Knowing what your home is worth at the present market. Sign up for a Market Snapshot to see similar homes listed, recently sold, and expired in your neighborhood www.activeandsold.com  Buyers Create your own Personal MLS Listings Search, the same system that is available to Realtors. Visit www.yourownmls.ca MANY BRITISH COLUMBIANS are making the decision to purchase…