Vancouver House (1400 Howe St) | 151.5m | 52Fl | Completed

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

i am actually not a huge fan of the island design to be honest. it doesn't look bad but i don't find it all that great either.

In 10 years it will look dated.

[Bcasey25raptor]

does anyone know if or when this will be approved and construction will start?

[Locked In]

^ See Delirium's post from yesterday...

Originally Posted by Delirium

interesting to hear the developers take on 'foreign ownership'. the Globe did an interview with ian gillespie:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home...ver-house-this-ones-big/article20076386/

a couple points from the article;
- construction will start in 4-months
- the building is already half-sold
- Bjarke Ingels and Westbank have 'other projects' in the works

...

[officedweller]

The "other projects" likely includes one mentioned in the Toronto forums for Toronto.

[LeftCoaster]

As far as I know, they have another large project in the works for Vancouver. Should be hearing about it sooner than later.

From what I heard, their Toronto project hit the rails as well.

[officedweller]

The island looks great, but I can't see much storage in there.

[Vanelevatorman]

I like the island, I think its different enough to be noticeable which is a change for most kitchens these days.

[rofina]

So…Is this getting built?

[vanman]

If you looked a few posts above mine you'd have your answer.

I belive it is now over 75% sold and will start construction in roughly 3 months.

[Jimbo604]

Charlie's Garage on site has moved, site fenced off.


Unity Auto on site has moved, site fenced off.


Unity Auto on site has moved, site fenced off.


Storage building to south looks like this..

Photo credit: me

[Delirium]

Thanks for the update. that must be the same bronze they're going to use on the building. looks good.

i got a brochure in the mail from them and they're advertising an 'on-site management company to rent out your unit'. clearly they're expecting a lot of investors to have such a service (or at least adverstise it). unit prices are expensive. lower floor, small units (450sq/fr) are well over 500K. love to see what the maintenance fees are going to be.

'iconic' architecture definitely costs a lot.

[Denscity]

Sure is going to be a sad day when they tear down that horrible garage.

[Henbo]

Last week I was biking through Taipei, on one of it's main streets, when I came across a familiar sight


Photo by me

[officedweller]

Wow, nice catch!

[Locked In]

Originally Posted by Henbo

Last week I was biking through Taipei, on one of it's main streets, when I came across a familiar sight

Thanks for posting. Is it common to see ads for overseas luxury real estate projects in Taipei?

[Henbo]

Originally Posted by Locked In

Thanks for posting. Is it common to see ads for overseas luxury real estate projects in Taipei?

I only spent a few days there so I am by no means an expert, but this was the only foreign condo ad i noticed

[Hot Rod]

and who said Vancouver isn't world class.

[spm2013]

I smell a Vancouver Province cover story.

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by vanman

Anything to fan the flames of xenophobia in Vancouver. Why am I not surprised. I hope Westbank sues the Province for libel.

Why throw out the race card and xenophobia card to shut down a discussion? It does a tremendous disservice to our entire society. It is a fair topic to discuss and on top of it gives no reason for anyone to be the least bit offended.

first sales events to be transacted in China on July 26.

Certainly this clever choice of words, if they are in fact the words of the developer, more than anything cast more suspicion on their honesty. They never said when units were marketed or offered for sale, they only said when the first sales were completed. Sales could have been agreed to long before July 24th but were not officially completed until July 24th. This is common practice in the industry. I don't think the Province should have apologized and instead should have dug for more information or asked for the developer to be clear instead of vague and deceiving with their choice of words.

Great looking project, I don't want to take away from more relevant discussions...I just could not let this pass without comment, people are thinking the developer proved that Canadians were offered these units first, when they clearly tiptoed around that subject and did not say anything like that, and usually there are good reasons to tiptoe (to hide/muddy/avoid the truth).

original:

Correction: July 28 article about Vancouver House development

A headline to a Province article dated July 28 incorrectly reported that the development project "Vancouver House" had been offered to buyers in Asia before being made available to local or Canadian buyers.

The story incorrectly supported this claim by quoting a Province reader who wrongly stated the building was being sold in Asia two months in advance of being sold in Canada.

The developer, Westbank Project Corporation, informed The Province that it has only been able to transact sales of units for any purchasers, including those from South Asia, since July 24. According to an internal Westbank schedule and media plan, Vancouver House units were available for sale locally on July 24, with the first sales events to be transacted in China on July 26.

It must also be noted Vancouver House has been actively marketed through advertising in Vancouver since the start of 2014. The media and advertising campaigns for Asia and other global markets did not begin until later this year.

[spm2013]

Sorry, but I disagree with your analysis of the correction.

They talk about when the sales were completed because they disputed the "anonymous" reader that said sales were completed two months in advance. And they never disputed that they were marketing the building prior to the "legal" date they could sell the property (which again they were also doing in Vancouver). Obviously their "anonymous" Deep Throat was more fluff than substance which is why they corrected the article.

http://www.timescolonist.com/

With its twisted sculptural design, the “iconic” $500-million Vancouver House is being marketed across Asia as a symbol of Vancouver’s future.

The 52-storey Westbank project alongside the north end of Granville Bridge is slated to open in 2018 and is being aggressively marketed in Asia, with up to half of the owners expected to buy from outside Canada. According to the South China Morning Post, two sales offices were opened in Hong Kong in June. Sales agents then visited China’s largest cities in search of buyers.

And in July, Vancouver House units were marketed in Singapore. According to Singapore publications, Vancouver House condos were reserved for overseas buyers. This week, Singapore-based website Property Guru reported there was an “overwhelming response” to the launch of Vancouver House, one of “Canada’s iconic buildings.” “Vancouver House ... saw more than 30 units transacted — far more than expected,” according to Property Guru. “The response surprised us and surprised the developer,” an “excited” Singapore agent was quoted telling Property Guru, which reported a second “showcase” event was planned this week in Singapore.

In mid-July The Business Times reported that of “388 units in the 52-storey tower, 30 units are reserved for the Singapore market, said Westbank’s marketing director Michael Braun.”

Westbank spokeswoman Jill Killeen said an initial September date to start selling to locals had been brought forward after Westbank received its disclosure statement last Thursday, ”making it legal to sell.” “Our tracking indicates that more than 50 per cent of buyers will come from the Vancouver marketplace,” Killeen said in a prepared statement. Sales for local buyers will begin this week.

Killeen said Westbank had been marketing to locals through print and television and had hosted an arts event under the bridge to generate interest. In a story featuring an interview with Vancouver House developer Ian Gillespie, the South China Morning Post noted the building will have an “asset management” program for absentee owners, with staff periodically turning on taps and appliances in unoccupied units.

Gillespie said Vancouver House will be the most expensive building ever in Vancouver and units will be for art-collector-like buyers looking for “live-in sculpture.” Vancouver House’s star architect, Bjarke Ingels, suggests the building — which will include revitalizing the space under the Granville Bridge at the 1400-block of Howe Street — is symbolic of “a giant curtain, at the moment of being pulled back to reveal the world to Vancouver and Vancouver to the world.”

Before the project was approved by Vancouver council, some residents complained that Ingels’ tower design, rising from a thin triangular wedge and torquing into a top-heavy structure with zigzagged Lego-like units stacked high over the bridge, will be “unsettling,” “overzealous” and “an architectural eyesore.”

If the rumbling debate over foreign ownership in Vancouver and complaints such as one submitted by a Province reader are an indication, then density and design won’t be the only concerns raised in council for future developments.

Locals may question where buyers are expected to come from, and whether they will live here. “It’s shocking that this building, which has been marketed to us as the iconic Vancouver House, gets sold two months in advance to Asia,” a reader told The Province, in reaction to reports from Singapore. “I wouldn’t call that iconic, I’d call it insulting.”

UBC real estate expert Tsur Somerville said he is not sure if Vancouver’s current housing market demands that projects like Vancouver House be marketed mostly to overseas buyers. Somerville said in his view, the important question for Vancouver’s future is not where buyers are from, but how they use their new homes.

“I’m not ready to say we are becoming like some ghost city in Outer Mongolia,” he said. “The question is, do you become like the Aspens or Whistlers of the world, where the people that work there don’t live there?”