Agent Will

While small projects like the Eden Group of Companies floundered and some projects never even got off the ground, many took comfort in the fact that they had purchased in a project backed by big names and big marketing arms.  Turns out that you may not be so safe in those harbours, either.  The CBC is reporting that the (really, don’t ask me what I think of this project) much needed redevelopment of Woodwards nearly never got off the ground.

From the CBC:

A major redevelopment project envisioned to help revitalize Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside almost fell through before construction even began last year, CBC News has learned.

There was a lot of backroom discussion that kept the Woodward’s project afloat, Bob Rennie, project marketer, said Thursday.

The old Woodward’s building in the 100 block of West Hastings Street is being redeveloped in order to house Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts, social housing and retail space.

But SFU almost pulled out because of financial difficulties, which could have killed the whole project, Rennie said.

Warren Gill, vice-president of SFU, told CBC News the university could not find the money to complete the project.
Bob Rennie, who is marketing the development, says a lot of backroom discussions have kept the project afloat. Bob Rennie, who is marketing the development, says a lot of backroom discussions have kept the project afloat. (CBC)

“Our board of governors looked at what we are working on and said, ‘We don’t know if we can go forward with this kind of arrangement,’” Gill said.

Rennie said he sought help from the B.C. government.

“I said to (Housing Minister) Rich Coleman, ‘If we lose Woodward’s, you can stick a fork in the Downtown Eastside forever, because no developer is going to take a chance of going in there,” Rennie said.

After numerous discussions, Rennie said the province announced a $49.3-million contribution towards SFU’s new art school in November of last year.

The 11,845-square-metre school, scheduled for completion by late 2009, will fill five storeys of the new development and will include public space, performance venues, teaching studios, a 400-seat theatre and a multimedia lounge and lab for new media.
Warren Gill, vice-president of Simon Fraser University, says the university could not find the money to complete the project last year. Warren Gill, vice-president of Simon Fraser University, says the university could not find the money to complete the project last year. (CBC)

Gill said the university still has to raise $12 million before the art school can be moved from its Burnaby Mountain main campus to the Downtown Eastside.

But he said he’s confident that the school will be able to find the money required.

The Woodward’s building was built in 1903 and closed in 1993. For many decades, the department store was one of Vancouver’s primary retail destinations. Woodward’s was designated a heritage building in November 1996.

Several developers explored the opportunity to redevelop the building but were unable to produce a viable option.

The provincial government purchased the building in March 2001 for $22 million with the intent of spearheading a redevelopment project that could help revitalize the Downtown Eastside.

In March 2003, the City of Vancouver bought the Woodward’s building from the province for roughly $5 million. Eighteen months later, city council chose Westbank Projects/Peterson Investment Group as the developer for the Woodward’s project.

A city web site on the project describes it as “both practically and symbolically, key to the revitalization of the Downtown Eastside.”

What else goes on in the back rooms of developers?  I mean, great that it’s going forward because it really is needed to bring renewed vitality to a desperate corner of the city but do we really need the provincial government bailing out a condo project?  OK, a university that is going to anchor a condo project?

I’m surprised they’re so short of funds.  Did you see the prices people paid for their units?  When Rennie worked his magic the whole city of realtors (particularly those selling Yaletown places for just a little more) stood in awe.

Well, good luck to you Woodwards.  We’ll let history be the judge.

I’ve never been one to much care for honorary degrees as they seem more often a showpiece/press event for the university than for the person they are bestowing the degree on. Not the case with Bing Thom, though. Here is a man, a giant of the architectural world, who has had a big hand in shaping some of the most beautiful buildings in Vancouver (an around the world).

From CanadianArchitect.com:

Vancouver architect Bing Thom will receive an honorary degree from the University of British Columbia at a May 27 congregation ceremony for his accomplishments in the international architectural field.

UBC President and Vice-Chancellor, Stephen Toope, will confer the honorary degree on Thom at the architect’s Alma Mater (he received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from UBC) on the stage of the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts – the very building he designed.

Thom is one of Canada’s most accomplished architects. He is the principal of Bing Thom Architects (BTA), a Vancouver-based firm he founded in 1980. He has been designing award-winning buildings around the globe for the past four decades. His most recent project is the Sunset Community Centre, an innovative structure in Vancouver that celebrated its grand opening in April.

“I am deeply honoured to be recognized for doing something I am passionate about,” said Thom. “I feel I have come full circle in receiving this degree from my Alma Mater, on the stage of a building that our firm designed.”

He added: “This degree belongs to all the staff at Bing Thom Architects for their constant quest for creativity, authenticity and innovation in the projects we design around the world.”

Thom adds the honorary degree to his many other distinctions, including Canada’s highest honour, the Order of Canada, for his contribution to architecture and the Golden Jubilee Medal for outstanding service to his country. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Simon Fraser University in June, 2005.

His firm’s collection of legacy buildings around the world also includes:

• the Canada Pavilion for Expo ‘92 in Seville, Spain
• Central City – the new mixed-use campus for Simon Fraser University in Surrey, BC, and winner of the 2004 MIPIM Special Jury Prize in Cannes, France for the world’s top development
• the Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, BC
• the Pacific Canada Pavilion at the Vancouver Aquarium and Marine Science Centre
• the highly anticipated Arena Stage theatre complex in Washington, DC
• Trinity Uptown – a riverfront master plan for Fort Worth, Texas and winner of the 2005 “Top Honor” Excellence on the Waterfront Award from the Waterfront Center in Washington
• Tarrant County College Downtown Campus, Fort Worth, Texas – Phase One currently under construction

Bing Thom thrives on complex building types such as performing-arts centres and civic buildings. His projects are often mixed-use, integrating a range of commercial, residential and institutional uses to create a vibrant and sustainable whole and to bring communities together.

While international in outlook, his design approach is always closely rooted in a deep understanding of the culture and history of each project’s local community.

UBC awards honorary degrees to distinguished individuals who have demonstrated longstanding achievement in an academic field or unparalleled commitment to community service.

Hats off to you, sir.

I’m one who rather likes my gorgeous skylines broken up with works of art. Forget about the fact that I often have no idea what they’re trying to say. Isn’t that reason enough to keep them? The promotion of thought like a shock to your system as your routine is broken up with something unexpected? Forget about whether you actually like the piece or not. Most do not when they first view something so jarringly unnatural until it becomes familiar. Know that we are truly blessed in this city, one that lacks so much in the way of public art and performance, to have these works on display (and the other, more commercial works such as the Spirit Bears, Orcas, and soon Eagles).

From Canada.com

Sculpture issue to come before park board

Process begins to deal with controversial works left over from Biennale

Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun

Published: Wednesday, May 14, 2008

People who love sculpture in public places, including controversial pieces, are gearing to present their opinions to the park board next week as part of the debate over the upside-down church.

That sculpture — entitled Device to Root Out Evil — now has its steeple digging into the ground of a park at the foot of Bute Street.

“I would like to see sculpture be prevalent in this city, within a policy that recognizes that you can’t like everything,” says Chris Tyrrell, an arts advocate who produces the visual-arts newsletter for Opus Framing.

Sculpture is desperately needed in this city, he believes.

“When you look around this city, everything is super-bland. The sculptures at least represent some kind of diversity.”

Tyrrell was one of many who were distressed last month when it appeared the park board was removing Device because of public opposition.

Some people objected to the sculpture either because they didn’t like its message or because they thought it took up too much room in the pocket park where it sits.

However, the reasons for the removal are much more complicated than that.

As it turned out, the park board’s contract with the Vancouver Biennale Foundation stipulated that all 18 sculptures from their 2005-07 show were supposed to come down after 18 months. Device also blocks a view corridor. It’s owned now by a foundation that has had offers to display it in other cities. While some groups are said to be lobbying to have it moved to other parks, it’s not clear whether the foundation will agree or who will pay for the relocation.

In the meantime, the clash between those who loved the piece and those who hated it was enough to prompt the park board to hold a public consultation about keeping art works on display longer than 18 months.

The foundation has also been able to buy some of the sculptures, so the board needs a process to figure out whether and where to place them permanently.

There’s a public meeting Tuesday to hear from all the camps, and the park board is accepting opinions in writing until May 30.

One piece that will stay is the grouping of three metal chairs at Sunset Beach, by Michel Goulet called Echoes.

Board commissioner Spencer Herbert said the issue of sculpture in parks evokes strong emotions in people, sometimes completely contradictory ones

“The red Jaguar that was at the entrance to Stanley Park, when it first went up, I got e-mails saying ‘I hate it.’ Then, a year later, the same people, who identified themselves as having been opposed and were a little embarrassed about it, wrote to say ‘I love the piece and I want it to stay.’ ”

The issue is one that not every city has to deal with. Vancouver has sculpture in its parks because the Buschlen-Mowatt Galleries worked out an agreement with the board in 1998 to erect outdoor sculpture installations temporarily. After three shows in the next six years, the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale was created to put on events every two years.

“It’s really made us an international home for sculptural arts,” said Herbert. “It’s been interesting to hear how it’s affected parks. I’ve heard it has brought people into the parks who wouldn’t be there otherwise. Many other cities wish they had a partnership like this.”

Count me in as one of those who initially did not like the red Jaguar (I thought it looked like left over girders from a crane used to build one of numerous condos) but came to really appreciate its form and placement with such wondrous natural beauty behind it.  Let me cast my vote, right here and now, to save the sculptures and push for more works of art to be displayed in the city.

For those of you out there wondering how the presale market is doing I bring you this:

This is the scene outside 1212 Howe at 8:30am on Thursday, May 8th.  People started arriving on Wednesday around 5pm and camped out over night for a shot at some of the most attractively priced, best located units in the city.  Talking to some folk here reveals realtors holding spots for up to 10 clients, first time home buyers, and those looking to move into what they perceive a better location.  The lineup0 is about 24 deep right now and expected grow up to start of sales at 5pm.

Yes, I am in line.  Have been since 8:00am when I took over for my client.  That’s just how we roll.  When you want something you do not let anything stop you.  Weather is supposed to be sunnyish with a high of 15C today and I got wifi net connection so it’s all good.

Besides, there’s a camaraderie amongst those in line sharing stories, meeting new neighbours, sharing bathroom/coffee/boredom breaks.  And a good portion of us have our computers out and are actually getting work done while we listen to the banging of construction across the street at Alto and the work being done on 1212.

If you’re in the neighbourhood stop by and say hi!

Sometimes you need to step away to appreciate the beauty that surrounds you. That’s what this image does. Flickr (a local Vancouver start-up made good and now owned by Yahoo) user Ectaticist took this fantastic shot, title Pacific Jewel, and it was chosen as one of the most interesting shots by all Flickr members over the last 7 days in their “Explore” feature.

Hat tip to Metroblogging Vancouver for bringing this to my attention.

Well the numbers are out and they continue the trend we’ve been seeing. Listings up and sales down. Prices have continued to slow their growth but have not gone negative. This can only be expected as the number of listings increase.

There is definitely a turn in market sentiment but it is not to the bearish side. It has been, for the past few months, a turn to the demand for quality. Buyers are out there in plenty of numbers are not going to pick up just anything in some sort of frenzied need to buy as they did 30% ago.

No. They will instead be patient and look and then bid in droves for the few really outstanding properties out there.

I have been telling my sellers that now, more than at any time, is not the time to be greedy/patient for the market to catch up to your price. Price it well and it will sell (likely sell very well) Price it wrong and it sits long… ok, enough rhyming. Of course, it is more than pricing that moves a home and gets the best price, but price is a major factor.

One note to the overpriced listers out there: Thank you. Thank you for helping my clients sell there homes for more money than they otherwise might have. Your overpriced listings just make ours more attractive.

Enough about that, let’s get to the stats:

Scribd

It can be pretty hard as a realtor to balance work, family, and personal pursuits. Think about it. As a client you likely work Monday to Friday, 9-5 (plus all those undocumented overtime hours). When you need your realtor to be active is likely after 5pm weekdays and on the weekends. In other words, my busiest on time is likely your off time.

So when do we get breaks? Well, we do not have to be in the office by 9am. Just ask the last realtor who told my clients realtors do not work in the morning (Thank you for telling them that, I found four including myself who do). All the same, it is rare for us to be in the thick of things at 9am. That’s one perk to being a realtor. We get to work our own hours.

And that’s the one real downside to being a realtor. We get to work our own hours… not days. It can be pretty hard to take a day off. Unless you schedule it. Which is what I do. I do not work Wednesdays. But this post is on a Wednesday? Ha! It was written yesterday and delayed on the publishing.

No. No Wednesdays, unless it’s an emergency. You’d do the same for your clients/company if they really needed you on a Saturday on Sunday, right? I also try to take off, though have only been marginally successful, Tuesdays. That’s my “weekend”. Tuesday/Wednesday.

Oh, yeah, I answer calls and respond to emails but I try to limit the amount of interference my career has on when it is family time. Oh, and that picture above? That isn’t me. I don’t even own a hammock. My father did and he would rest in one every weekend when he wasn’t too busy with sports or work. Maybe that memory served as the inspiration for down time as a sole proprietor.

As many of you faithful readers know I try to spread the news about cool new innovations in the greening up of our homes and lives. And many of you know that I am really excited by the Millennium Water project (Olympic Athletes Village) going in to the South Est False Creek area. Well, today I get to share some exciting details that concerns both. That feature is the use of the Energy Aware system.

This brilliant little device, which looks like an iPod, was developed by a couple of local UBC Sauder School of Business grads as a project in the New Venture Program and took top national honours in the Canada National Energy Efficiency Awards, and monitors, in real time, the amount of energy your home uses. It is designed to measure and report how much energy you are using in a cost per hour. the goal being that people will almost make it a game to gt that number down to as little as possible. Brilliant!

Every suite within Millennium Water will have this system and how cool is that. Really. This is the biggest project to date for the young company which has been named one of 2008’s Emerging Rockets by technology management consulting firm Rocket Brothers, and previously were finalists or winners of E.F.Schumacher Awards, BC Hydro Sustainability Prize, and the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan.

Congratulations go out to co-founders Janice Cheam and Lauren Kulokas, as well as their whole team for bringing such an innovative and very accessible piece of green tech to the world.

Oh those wonderful fees all you strata owners have to pay.  Every month there goes the strata council digging into your pocket to extract several hundred dollars to pay for… what is necessary and needed.

People who dislike strata fees often don’t understand where the money is going or disagree strongly with how the money is being managed.

What do the fees cover?

• Maintenance of all the common areas, including hallways, elevators, boilers (if not in suite), exterior features such as windows, roof, ducts, and lobbies.
• Groundskeeping such as lawn care, planting, and pruning.
• Garbage and snow removal.
• Insurance (hey, you only need content insurance and that is cheap!)
• Management fees (someone needs to organize all this)
• and the Contingency Fund for all those emergencies that may happen and general replacement schedules that need to be met without a big bill coming your way.

Some people have this idea in their heads that they would rather own a home without strata payments as if that is going to be somehow cheaper to live in on a month to month basis.  What they do not realize is that in owning your own home you still need to pay for insurance and should be saving a contingency fund on your own.  Imagine not saving for that rainy day.  Is your roof in good shape?  It better be.  If not, I hope you have the funds to pay for a new roof.  And what other wearable items within home ownership do you need a contingency fund for?  How about a new boiler, new furnace, landscaping due to an infestation or dry summer, exterior paint, updated windows, or a new garage door motor?  There are a lot of things that can go wrong that an insurance policy does not cover.

Roofs need to be replaced every 25 years on average, though if you bought a home with a cheap one even sooner (don’t get a cheap roof and get a highly referred, highly qualified roofing company to do it for you).  Furnaces and Boilers, depending on use, last on average about 15 years.  Be prepared for these costs by saving now and saving every month in your own “contingency fund”.

You can definitely save on your own personal strata fees by doing a lot of work yourself, especially gardening.  Most do.  But if you want a gardening crew to come to your home every week then there is another cost.  I know some folk who absolutely hate the time their home demands from them.  They hire it out.

Oh, and don’t forget that many strata condos have a gym/pool facility (your opinion of the quality and use/value of may vary).  So throw in a gym membership every month, as well.

Taking all those costs into account strata fees start to look like a non issue, don’t they?

That is unless you really feel that your council is mucking around and not delivering value for your dollar.  In which case it is time for you to run for council and get your voice heard.  Yes, it is a democracy and you do have a say.  Get involved and get things done.  Look at your minutes and budgets.  They get delivered when available.  If you have a question, comment, or concern then get the answers you need.  Remember that it is your home and it is your building and just because these services are provided does not mean that you do not need to be concerned with them.  Silence is acquiescence.

If you have never been to Bard on the Breach then you are missing out on one of the Summer’s best attractions in the city.  Imagine kicking back on a mild summer evening catching a bit of Shakespeare under a big top like tent.  When you walk out you aren’t stepping into the gritty city but are in fact in one of the best parks with one of the best views, Vanier Park (two posts on Vanier in one day?  What is this?)

This year’s shows are Twelfth Night, King Lear, The Tempest, and the too rarely performed Titus Andronicus.

Tickets range from $18 (1pm shows) to $33 (Regular Evenings)with a four pack for $120.  That’s the best show value in the city, bar none.