Olympic Village & Southeast False Creek Updates Discussion

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Any update on move-in dates the The One?

The One is completing, albeit 7 months after buyers were promised a May 2015 completion. My client, who bought one of the upper floor units, completes on December 3rd, walk-throughs are being done this week and next.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by connect2source

The One is completing, albeit 7 months after buyers were promised a May 2015 completion. My client, who bought one of the upper floor units, completes on December 3rd, walk-throughs are being done this week and next.

Good for the buyers, hopefully everything works out.

7 months isn't completely unheard of, but it seemed like they were sticking to dates that were obviously unreachable far too long. That's the part that —.

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

7 months isn't completely unheard of, but it seemed like they were sticking to dates that were obviously unreachable far too long. That's the part that —.

Very few of my clients who bought pre-sales 2-3 years ago are complaining, most are up about 80K - 100K for suites around 600 sq. feet.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by connect2source

Very few of my clients who bought pre-sales 2-3 years ago are complaining, most are up about 80K - 100K for suites around 600 sq. feet.

Depends who you are talking to. I have a wife that is extremely anxious to move into a new place...

[domusile]

apparently tractor is opening in Opsal in their old sales centre

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=183749&page=61

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by domusile

apparently tractor is opening in Opsal in their old sales centre

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=183749&page=61

They are indeed. The 2nd at Quebec intersection is becoming the hub of the area

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by csbvan

They are indeed. The 2nd at Quebec intersection is becoming the hub of the area

The storage building at the SE corner was recently renovated, so I'm assuming it's there to stay. Otherwise, some interesting places for sure. I wonder if the Shell station's days are numbered.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

The storage building at the SE corner was recently renovated, so I'm assuming it's there to stay. Otherwise, some interesting places for sure. I wonder if the Shell station's days are numbered.

Interesting thing about the Maple Leaf Storage building on the SE corner of 2nd and Quebec, it was designed to be retrofitted to office should the need arise. The floor to floor heights, electrical, roughed-in plumbing, elevator core, etc. are all there for an office conversion at some point. Now, with that said, it doesn't strike me as a prime candidate for "creative office", so their tenant prospects may be a bit thin.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Interesting thing about the Maple Leaf Storage building on the SE corner of 2nd and Quebec, it was designed to be retrofitted to office should the need arise. The floor to floor heights, electrical, roughed-in plumbing, elevator core, etc. are all there for an office conversion at some point. Now, with that said, it doesn't strike me as a prime candidate for "creative office", so their tenant prospects may be a bit thin.

Wow, interesting. Look at the buildings that Hootsuite occupies nearby. They look like Cold War era bunkers. That storage building could be Hootsuite's 3rd building if they go through another big expansion.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Wow, interesting. Look at the buildings that Hootsuite occupies nearby. They look like Cold War era bunkers. That storage building could be Hootsuite's 3rd building if they go through another big expansion.

Actually, Hootsuite and Westbank are teaming up to build the former a new HQ as part of a massive tech & creative office-focused development in the Mount Pleasant area. Still early days, but fascinating:

Vancouver considers beneficial zoning changes to Hootsuite’s land

FRANCES BULA
VANCOUVER — Special to The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Dec. 04, 2015 6:00AM EST
Last updated Thursday, Dec. 03, 2015 9:48PM EST

The owner of Vancouver’s biggest digital-tech company, Hootsuite, and one of the city’s most successful developers have joined forces to buy a block of land in the city’s hottest industrial zone just as zoning changes are being considered that could benefit the new partnership.

Vancouver’s assistant director of planning, Kent Munro, confirmed this week that planners are looking at changes to zoning in the area near the Olympic Village that might allow higher densities in a few restricted spots on the periphery.

The Hootsuite site was purchased for $40.5-million on Sept. 15 by a corporation formed in August. Its directors are Westbank Corp. developer Ian Gillespie and Hootsuite chief executive officer Ryan Holmes. The property, bounded by Main and Quebec streets and Fourth and Fifth avenues, straddles the eastern boundary of the industrial zone.

Mr. Munro didn’t rule out Hootsuite as a candidate for inclusion in that high-density zone. “It hasn’t gone public yet, so I’m not going to disclose the final thinking,” he said. “But there is a little mini-tech hub there and we’re looking at [whether there are] further ways to intensify the employment uses.”

As part of that, planners are also examining new definitions of “industrial” that might include “digital-tech” businesses as a kind of production or manufacturing that would be eligible to be in restricted industrial zones.

If that was approved by the city, it would mean tech businesses operating in the area would no longer be restricted to the few sites permitted as offices or to occupying only two-thirds of any building designated industrial.

But there are concerns that any zoning changes – besides potentially providing a benefit to Hootsuite that not everyone in the zone would receive – would damage the city’s ability to preserve the land for real industrial uses.

“It is certainly not news that someone aspires to flip industrial lands to much more profitable office uses. What would be news is if city council, after over 20 years of protecting their industrial land base, decides to cave to this pressure,” said Christina DeMarco, a former industrial planner for the city and former head of regional planning at Metro Vancouver.

“I understand that this is only an inquiry at this stage, and I am hopeful that the city can work with the proponent to find a way to combine industrial and office uses on this site and play by the existing rules.”

Hootsuite, which moved to a former police-operations site in Mount Pleasant two years ago, now occupies three buildings in the area – two of them on the block just purchased – but all of those buildings are designated for office use. The company, which creates virtual computer dashboards to help manage social media, doesn’t currently qualify as industrial.

The news about the land purchase and potential rezoning has created a buzz in the small circle of people who know the area, which is now an attractive, eclectic mix of early 20th-century houses and apartments, breweries, film-servicing operations, clothing manufacturers, commissaries, architect offices, warehouses and more.

Mr. Gillespie said he has wanted to buy in the area for years and the opportunity came up as he got to know Mr. Holmes, who had a long-standing option to buy the block.

He thought it was a good asset for his company, given the impending changes.

“If you believe the Broadway line is going to happen and if you believe the city is going to update its zoning, it’s a natural,” he said.

Although Mr. Holmes has talked for a long time about wanting to create a single campus for his company, Mr. Gillespie said it’s not yet clear whether that’s what the property will be used for or whether he will develop on the vacant parts of the block for a cluster of smaller tech companies.

[...]
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/brit...nges-to-hootsuites-land/article27594862/

[WarrenC12]

Interesting news. Makes sense to consolidate rather than have a 3rd building of course.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Wow, interesting. Look at the buildings that Hootsuite occupies nearby. They look like Cold War era bunkers. That storage building could be Hootsuite's 3rd building if they go through another big expansion.

I think that used to be the Royal Bank VISA credit card processing centre - so high security, highly confidential information running through there.

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Interesting thing about the Maple Leaf Storage building on the SE corner of 2nd and Quebec, it was designed to be retrofitted to office should the need arise. The floor to floor heights, electrical, roughed-in plumbing, elevator core, etc. are all there for an office conversion at some point. Now, with that said, it doesn't strike me as a prime candidate for "creative office", so their tenant prospects may be a bit thin.

Interesting. I have always thought that the building looked to be very well maintained for a storage facility (even the landscaping is quite nice). If they do end up converting it into office space, then that would be create a decent little cluster of office space for that corner: the upper floors of the new MEC, the old brick building that Earnest is in, as well as the buildings next to it, and a converted Maple Leaf Storage.

[beartiger508]

This area is definitely turning into quite the hub.

Tractor is coming in and word is that Railtown Cafe will be in one of the retail spaces at Block 100.

Anyone have an update on Block 100 progress? Projected finish?

[Alpine1984]

Originally Posted by beartiger508

This area is definitely turning into quite the hub.

Tractor is coming in and word is that Railtown Cafe will be in one of the retail spaces at Block 100.

Anyone have an update on Block 100 progress? Projected finish?

My neighbour purchased a unit at Block 100, says he's looking at an April completion date. + the usual delays and June is much more likely.

Still blown away by TheOne though ... and in a bad way. They outfitted the units with regular blinds. At that price point i would've assumed something like roller shades... not the blinds that my Dad bought at Zellers to outfit his basement 20 years ago. I hope that's not an indication of the quality of construction and finishings.

[beartiger508]

Originally Posted by Alpine1984

My neighbour purchased a unit at Block 100, says he's looking at an April completion date. + the usual delays and June is much more likely.

Still blown away by TheOne though ... and in a bad way. They outfitted the units with regular blinds. At that price point i would've assumed something like roller shades... not the blinds that my Dad bought at Zellers to outfit his basement 20 years ago. I hope that's not an indication of the quality of construction and finishings.

I have friends waiting to get into The One and seems like it's been delay after delay. Why did it take so long? I hope that there weren't a bunch of shortcuts taken...

----

The latest copy of the disclosure statement stated a range of March to June for Block 100. They were saying May 2016 when I visited the show room so it is looking like their projections are on time.

[connect2source]

The One completed first week of December, my client moved in Dec 8th. For Pinnacle it came out quite good, most of the deficiencies, in a number of suites I viewed, were scratches on the kitchen cabinets. I think they did a good job with the common area finishes, quite modern and progressive for Pinnacle. They also upgraded the washer/dryers to full size from compact.

The last tower, Tower A, will complete in February. Tower A was not part of The One originally, it was held back while the developer decided whether to make it market rentals or condos I believe, that's why it won't have direct access to the infinity pool in the main complex.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Alpine1984

My neighbour purchased a unit at Block 100, says he's looking at an April completion date. + the usual delays and June is much more likely.

Still blown away by TheOne though ... and in a bad way. They outfitted the units with regular blinds. At that price point i would've assumed something like roller shades... not the blinds that my Dad bought at Zellers to outfit his basement 20 years ago. I hope that's not an indication of the quality of construction and finishings.

Are those really cheaper than roller shades though?

Trends seem to change over time. I like the idea of roller shades, but I wonder how they will function and look in 5-10 years. Are they easy to clean, etc.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by beartiger508

The latest copy of the disclosure statement stated a range of March to June for Block 100. They were saying May 2016 when I visited the show room so it is looking like their projections are on time.

I'm waiting on a unit in Block 100 as well. I think the statement was Mar 15-Jun 15. I expect they projected May 15 and gave themselves a 30 day cushion. If they are on track I expect the cranes do come down in the next month or so. I saw they were loading some appliances into the suites this week.

[connect2source]

Oddly enough, many developers seemed to have reverted back to mini-blinds. Although dated they do function better allowing more options for light and privacy. Concert put mini-blinds in Salt, Onni put them in Modern as well so it's not just Pinnacle.