General Vancouver Updates

[officedweller]

I think the massing concept is to step down from CityGate to the Olympic Village area.

[vanman]

Now it's only a matter of time before that Mcshits kicks the bucket.

[SFUVancouver]

The Burger King site already has a plan in the pipeline. In fact it was one of the first out of the gate when the SEFC plan went forward. It is a two mid-rise tower deal with a low-rise podium connecting the two. Green roofs for good measure.

[squeezied]

the site on 43rd and oak that was previously planned to be developed by the eden group of companies is now being developed as The Grand on Oak by concord pacific containing 31 "boutique townhomes in one of vancouver's most prestigious neighbourhoods."

im quite eagar to see how its gonna turn out, looks promising, but the developer is concord...

[hollywoodnorth]

Business in Vancouver February 19-25, 2008; issue 956

Real estate roundup: $50 million financing breathes new life into East Vancouver film studio complex

GE Real Estate chosen to bankroll Vancouver Film Studios

VFS, take two

Connecticut-based GE Real Estate’s recent refinancing of Vancouver Film Studios signals a new phase in the life of the company’s 15-acre production complex in East Vancouver.

With financing for the fledgling production studio hard to come by in the late 1990s, the McLean Group (which owns the studio complex) sought a variety of loans from credit unions and banks as well as a $20 million loan from the province to support the operation’s development.

The days of scrounging cash are past, however. The McLean Group recently closed a $50 million financing with GE that consolidates the debt incurred in developing the studio, reduces borrowing costs and positions the studios for future growth.

“It’s taken something like eight or nine different pieces of financing from different institutions at different rates and different terms, and it’s cleaned it all up,” said Jason McLean, president and COO of the McLean Group. “This gives us a much stronger platform to grow.”

It’s not just the consolidation of debt that strengthens the studio’s hand. GE is keen on the studio’s future growth plans, especially as the writers’ strike in Hollywood seems set to wrap up. McLean worked with consultants at Ernst & Young in Toronto to secure financing through a competitive process that attracted a number of potential lenders. GE Real Estate was chosen, in part because of its interest in the long-term direction of Vancouver Film Studios.

The refinancing isn’t the only way VFS is cleaning up its act. On January 1, 2008, the complex claimed bragging rights as Canada’s first production facility to achieve carbon neutral status. Demand among the major U.S. producers prompted the McLean Group to consider embracing carbon neutrality. While all of its practices aren’t in themselves carbon neutral, carbon offsets are being bought from the Offsetters Climate Neutral Society of Vancouver while studio practices become more sustainable.

Bay to bay

Oak Bay is about to get a taste of Baja at the hands of sustainable development veterans David Butterfield of Victoria’s Trust for Sustainable Development and Doug Makaroff of Living Forest Communities. The two will serve as development managers for the $40 million-plus redevelopment of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, set to begin this summer.

The venture marks a reunion of sorts for Butterfield and Makaroff, who formerly worked together at the Trust for Sustainable Development. The two partnered on several previous projects, including the Shoal Point condo complex in Victoria and the Villages of Loreto Bay, a 6,000-home development in Baja California for which Makaroff was vice-president, planning and permitting.

Makaroff returned to B.C. in 2006 to establish Living Forest Communities, but an introduction through a mutual friend led to the partnership with hoteliers Kevin and Shawna Walker, who want to ensure the Oak Bay project benefits from experienced management with a green bent. Makaroff believes there’s greater acceptance of green development than there was when Shoal Point was developed earlier this decade.

Approved in 2006, the new hotel will feature 100 vacation units and 20 residential suites when it completes in late 2010. Kevin Walker notes that there were always about five people living full-time at the landmark hotel prior to its demolition last year. The new residential suites will continue the tradition, while helping underwrite the cost of the redevelopment.

Aquilini petitions parlour

Madame Cleo’s, the Richards Street business that bills itself on its website as “Vancouver’s most infamous massage parlour,” faces the wrecker’s ball thanks to development plans by the Aquilini Investment Group.

A petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court by a numbered company owned by the Aquilini Group indicates that Karma Management Systems Ltd. has been a tenant of the Aquilini clan in the premises since the late 1990s. But the petition states that a demolition notice was delivered to Karma in May 2007, followed by a notice terminating its lease effective October 30, 2007.

The petition claims that Madame Cleo’s has refused to quit the premises.

A call to Madame Cleo’s last week suggested it was business as usual at Richards and Helmcken, where manager Paula (she declined to give her last name) was unaware of the demolition notice or the petition. She said Madame Cleo’s has no immediate plans to move.

Terry Beech, manager, special projects and marketing for the Aquilini companies, expects the courts to consider the petition within a few weeks. Aquilini plans to develop a highrise residential tower and low-rise complex on the site as well as relocate two heritage houses from an adjacent property.

[hollywoodnorth]

Business in Vancouver February 19-25, 2008; issue 956

Industry input sought for free Vancouver WiFi zone

City’s initiative draws interest from wide range of wireless and telecom players

Curt Cherewayko

Legitimizing the argument that Internet access is a public right, the City of Vancouver has invited the wireless industry to provide suggestions on how it can make the heart of downtown a wireless hotspot.

If presented with viable ideas in response to a request for expressions of interest it released in January, the city will create a short list of applicants to participate in a tender process to create a 2.3-square-kilometre wireless broadband network that would blanket Gastown and Granville Island and the Granville Street corridor, which connects the two areas.

The city’s community broadband initiative, which is aimed at bridging a digital divide that leaves some Vancouverites without free or affordable Internet access, is largely dependent on ideas presented by industry to develop a wireless network that doesn’t pass costs on to city taxpayers.

If the city receives a viable proposal, the network could be operating by October 2009.

Representatives from Telus, Bell Canada, Nortel, IBM, Shaw and a number of smaller local technology companies were among the 45 people attending a February 6 information meeting held by the city.

Also in attendance were five members of FreeTheNet, an informal group of technology professionals that have already created an open source, albeit limited ranged, wireless network in Vancouver.

Companies that support the group include Bryght, Nitobi, the Network Hub, Raincity Studios and Social Signal who, with others, voluntarily transmit the network over a cluster of 45 routers located throughout Vancouver.

Since launching last October, FreeTheNet has had more than 4,500 Internet users log on to its WiFi network.

The group’s mesh routers, which are made by California-based Meraki and sell for between $70 and $160, are used to repeat a single network signal throughout Vancouver.

The network’s signal is strongest in Gastown, which is home to most of the router owners.

Because of a lack of resources that will be needed to develop the community broadband wireless initiative, FreeTheNet.ca is not interested in responding to the city’s request for expressions of interest by itself.

It is interested, however, in working with other companies in a consortium, which the city has suggested might be one approach to implementing a free wireless network.

“The fact that we already have something in place has to be appealing, and the fact that we’re already using technology which is working under real-world circumstances has to be appealing,” said Scott Nelson, an independent technology consultant and FreeTheNet member.

Nelson, who ran for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation in the 2002 municipal election on a platform that included using parks’ facilities to transmit a free wireless network, said interference from other signals transmitted throughout Vancouver may be a hurdle to developing a good quality free WiFi network.

“If I can pick up 30 signals, then chances are all of those will be interfering with at least one other signal,” said Nelson.

He noted that although most of the signals are encrypted, they can still interfere with the quality of other network signals.

“The proliferation of the use of this technology out there and [the proliferation of] all of these little separate islands is a bit of a barrier to how well the system will work.”

Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said the city’s request has caught the attention of Telus, but he declined to comment on whether the telecom would submit an expression of interest to the city.

Telus already offers its Vancouver customers a next-generation wireless network through its EVDO network, which operates over the company’s cellular network.

[hollywoodnorth]

Business in Vancouver February 19-25, 2008; issue 956

At Large: Peter Ladner

Metro Vancouver trash talk getting louder

Brace yourself for a decade of trash talk. Metro Vancouver has now officially given up trying to navigate the provincial political shoals of First Nations land claims in the Interior. Our garbage is coming home.

The one-third of our garbage that’s currently being loaded onto 40 tractor trailer trucks a day rumbling up the Fraser canyon to Cache Creek will be getting turnaround orders right around the opening day of the 2010 Games. That’s when the Cache Creek Landfill will be full, and Metro Vancouver will end the era of dumping our garbage in the Interior.

The region’s lost decade of attempting to meet provincial requirements for a replacement now shifts into a new decade of zero waste, incineration and desperate interim measures. We’ve closed one door and jammed ourselves into a room that is small, smelly and filling up fast. The way out is simple, but costly and politically treacherous: drastically reduce our waste and squeeze the cleanest possible energy out of what’s left.

Buying time while we get there is already proving to be a struggle. The only two options are to temporarily overload the Vancouver-owned landfill in Burns Bog in Delta or ship by train to the giant Rebanco landfill in eastern Washington where local officials assure us it will always be welcomed across the border.

The City of Vancouver, blind-sided by the suddenness of the Metro Vancouver decision to pile on the garbage beyond approved levels in Burns Bog, is feeling like a homeowner suddenly besieged by relatives moving in for an indefinite time and helping themselves to the food in the freezer. The projected 40-year lifespan of that landfill could shrink quickly.

While we figure that out, the Zero Waste Challenge has set its sights on increasing diversion from the waste stream to 70% from the current 52%. That means focusing on commercial and construction waste, since it makes up almost twice the combined volume of single and multi-family residential garbage.

The region has mapped out a five-pronged approach. It starts with composting the food, paper and garden greens that make up a quarter of current volumes. A test project in Delta is working well, without any of the odour problems that have shut down many municipal composting projects (Squamish, for example).

The next step will be to revamp demolition and building permits, requiring a deposit-guaranteed waste management plan before a permit is issued.

Then our transfer stations will have to be expanded to take wood waste, which makes up almost a quarter of the volumes going to the landfills.

All plastics will have to be recycled, and the province will have to step up to require makers of small appliances to take them back and deal with them.

That’s building on our existing “extended producer responsibility” programs which, as of January 1, are being much more rigorously enforced.

We also get to talk about more incineration, perhaps in scattered sites around the Lower Mainland where the heat can be sent directly to nearby homes or industrial sites. We already burn about a third of our waste in one of North America’s most efficient “waste to energy facilities” on the shores of the Fraser River in Burnaby, generating electricity and heating a neighbouring paper plant.

These are commonplace across Europe and in Asia, often right beside residences, but there’s an instinctive aversion to them in some quarters.

Few know that they produce fewer noxious gases than a landfill or that burning garbage to generate energy can be more environmentally friendly than the fossil fuel-powered alternatives.

That’s just one of many noisy discussions about to erupt as we work through this new era of waste. •

Peter Ladner (www.peterladner.ca) is a Vancouver city councillor and vice-president, Business in Vancouver Media Group ([email protected]). His column appears every two weeks.

[SpongeG]

my friend was telling me that they want to put up a china town type gate for little india on main street

anybody heard anything?

[officedweller]

Delays plague construction of Mount Pleasant centre
No end in sight for multi-million dollar complex

Sandra Thomas, Vancouver Courier
Published: Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Driving by the shell of a building languishing mostly in silence at the corner of East 7th Avenue and Main Street, it's hard to imagine the promise it once held.

In 2003 the then $26.5-million design for the new Mount Pleasant Civic Centre, also known as 1 Kingsway, included an environmentally friendly green building and one-stop services for the neighbourhood. Those proposed amenities include a 31,000 square-foot community centre, including a gym and running track, a 12,000 square-foot library and 6,800 square-foot, 49-space day care with market housing and rental units above.

In July 2005 city council approved $50 million funding for the joint city/parks board project. At the time an extra $10 million was needed to cover escalating construction costs and another $14 million for what was described at the time as "soft costs" like surveying, demolition and design fees. Vanbots Construction was awarded the contract and at the time the city estimated the project would take between 18 and 20 months to complete. Thirty months later the building appears to sit in limbo.


Construction of the new Mount Pleasant Civic Centre at East Seventh Avenue and Main Street is behind schedule.
Photograph by : Photo-Jason Lang

Nancy Chiavario, president of the Mount Pleasant Community Centre, which will relocate to the new facility once it's completed, said she's heard a lot of rumours regarding the delay.

Chiavario, a former parks board commissioner, said word on the street is the contractor is having difficulties completing the job within budget because of cost escalations. No one from Vanbots returned calls before the Courier's press deadline. "There's a lot of rumours out there, but whether they're based in fact is to be seen," said Chiavario. "From what I understand the estimate for the job was wrong. But from my history at the park board they always underestimate the cost of jobs."

The Mount Pleasant Community Centre was scheduled to relocate to 1 Kingsway last summer, but that move is on hold. On a positive note for the neighbourhood, the daycare and outdoor pool at Mount Pleasant are still standing. The Mount Pleasant board is anxiously trying to find a replacement building for the daycare when it closes. As well the outdoor pool is scheduled for demolition, but the parks board has kept it open in conjunction with the old community centre. "The park board says as soon as we move the building will be demolished," said Chiavario. "And we will not have a place to operate our childcare program."

The Courier contacted the parks board regarding 1 Kingsway, but was referred to the city's project manager Melanie Marchand.

Marchand said the building can't go over budget because it's being constructed for a fixed price. The $50 million price tag includes the cost of the land, construction and miscellaneous costs.

She adds, to the casual observer driving by the building it might appear to be stalled. "But it is under construction," said Marchand. "If you go by slowly you'll see that the infrastructure for the civic side is all installed, things like the pipes and the ducts. The contractor is just very late on installing the exterior cladding on the higher part."

Marchand said Vanbots recently promised to begin installing glass on the upper portion within days. As for when the building will be completed, Marchand is reluctant to guess. "In this phase we're going through things very carefully with the contractor so that when we do give a time it will be credible," she said.

© Vancouver Courier 2008

[Fairbanks]

Hello all:

Here is the link to the anti poverty committee's website...SOME DISTURBING EVENTS AND INTENTIONS. Notice the "cheap beer" at some events. Glad these 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 have their priorities lined up. Hope they have a permit for the alcohol.

I wish someone would throw paint on these pricks and their offices. If they have an office is it publicly funded in any way? If public funds are being used for their space it should be pulled NOW.

Fairbanks

http://apc.resist.ca/

[vanman]

Why do you always have to spam every thread with this 🞵🞵🞵🞵! There is already an anti APC thread.

[towerguy3]

doesn't Aquilini also own the Canucks? or is that a separate company?

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by towerguy3

doesn't Aquilini also own the Canucks? or is that a separate company?

🞵🞵🞵 are you even refering to?

You've really gotta stop spamming these threads man

[towerguy3]

this one from BIV from above:

Aquilini petitions parlour

Madame Cleo’s, the Richards Street business that bills itself on its website as “Vancouver’s most infamous massage parlour,” faces the wrecker’s ball thanks to development plans by the Aquilini Investment Group.

A petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court by a numbered company owned by the Aquilini Group indicates that Karma Management Systems Ltd. has been a tenant of the Aquilini clan in the premises since the late 1990s. But the petition states that a demolition notice was delivered to Karma in May 2007, followed by a notice terminating its lease effective October 30, 2007.

The petition claims that Madame Cleo’s has refused to quit the premises.

A call to Madame Cleo’s last week suggested it was business as usual at Richards and Helmcken, where manager Paula (she declined to give her last name) was unaware of the demolition notice or the petition. She said Madame Cleo’s has no immediate plans to move.

Terry Beech, manager, special projects and marketing for the Aquilini companies, expects the courts to consider the petition within a few weeks. Aquilini plans to develop a highrise residential tower and low-rise complex on the site as well as relocate two heritage houses from an adjacent property.

He owns that land that building is on? I'm shocked

[LeftCoaster]

I know, shocking a land developer would own land...

[towerguy3]

even more shocking the type of businesses he apparently has operating on his land "since the late 1990s"

[eigobugman]

Originally Posted by towerguy3

this one from BIV from above:

Aquilini petitions parlour

Madame Cleo’s, the Richards Street business that bills itself on its website as “Vancouver’s most infamous massage parlour,” faces the wrecker’s ball thanks to development plans by the Aquilini Investment Group.

A petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court by a numbered company owned by the Aquilini Group indicates that Karma Management Systems Ltd. has been a tenant of the Aquilini clan in the premises since the late 1990s. But the petition states that a demolition notice was delivered to Karma in May 2007, followed by a notice terminating its lease effective October 30, 2007.

The petition claims that Madame Cleo’s has refused to quit the premises.

A call to Madame Cleo’s last week suggested it was business as usual at Richards and Helmcken, where manager Paula (she declined to give her last name) was unaware of the demolition notice or the petition. She said Madame Cleo’s has no immediate plans to move.

Terry Beech, manager, special projects and marketing for the Aquilini companies, expects the courts to consider the petition within a few weeks. Aquilini plans to develop a highrise residential tower and low-rise complex on the site as well as relocate two heritage houses from an adjacent property.

He owns that land that building is on? I'm shocked

Yes! Isn't that the Canucks practice facility???

[SFUVancouver]

One Kingsway | Community centre, library, market rental apartments, retail

Glazing is finally going up.


(My photo, taken February 23rd, 2008)


(My photo, taken February 23rd, 2008)


The ministorage at Quebec and 2nd. It is actually looking pretty nice and it is a complete departure from the pre-fab dreck Public Storage builds.


(My photo, taken February 23rd, 2008)

[vanman]

I like this building alot. It's small and simple and exactly the type of infill Kingsway needs more of.

[giallo]

Agreed. The glass looks great.