Park Hyatt (1128 W Georgia) | 197m | 62 fl | Completed

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by Klazu

We have been to many buildings in Downtown, but we have never visited Shangri-La until now. Today we had a chance to see an unit on the 37th floor which claimed to be 1300 sqft in size with a nice open view towards east.

Interestingly this building has two separate lobbies with residential floors up to 43th floor using the Alberni Street entrance and floor above it one on West Georgia Street. Interesting that in even a building like this people have to be separated from wealthy and "wealthy".

We have seen all kind of things with these prime units, but even then we were caught off-guard by the information that this unit had never been lived in - in a building completed in 2008. And they were not kidding, the unit has indeed been sitting empty for 10 years and due to that a lot of dust had accumulated everywhere. We were told that the owner had no intention of selling the unit, but after 10 years wanted to now suddenly wanted to rent it out. One has to wonder if any recent tax had anything to do with that decision...



Unfortunately the unit turned out to be much smaller than advertized in size (~1,000 sqft instead of 1,300) - a typical "mistake" in Vancouver market - so the layout didn't work for us. I didn't take a photo, but there even was a huge pillar in almost middle of the bedroom, making the space VERY awkward to furnish.

View towards east was nice from this high up and I can only assume it gets even nicer the higher you go.

So the unit didn't work out for us, but that's okay as we will be signing a lease for a new home tomorrow evening somewhere else.

Nice! The quality of the materials and finishes looks like they were much better 10 years ago compared to now. That bathroom vanity has decent storage for starters and the stone floor is very nice too. I wonder what they paid for the suite almost 15 years ago presale... 600-700k?


Also congratulations on the new place! where is it?

[Klazu]

Yeah, I told the agent that one can definitely see the higher building quality everywhere in the unit and the building. Definitely better quality than most brand-new places these days, with only few exceptions, like our current temporary apartment nearby.

I still don't understand why sit on an unit for 10 years, paying property tax for it with no income from the unit. Especially when they still haven't decided to sell it even though the unit must be now worth 3-4 times what they must have paid for it. I suppose this kind of pennies just don't matter to people, but happy to see empty homes tax encouraging people to start renting their investments. That has been the whole point!

One thing I thought was interesting was to notice how things go out of style after some time. While most details in the unit still felt fresh, the A/C controlling unit looked cheap and old in today's standards. At some point the same will apply to the unit as well, should one sit on it for 20 years.

[osirisboy]

I thought you just moved to coal harbour a few months ago?!

Does the empty homes tax apply to stratas? Because what happens when there are rental restrictions and they aren't allowed to rent it out?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

I thought you just moved to coal harbour a few months ago?!

Does the empty homes tax apply to stratas? Because what happens when there are rental restrictions and they aren't allowed to rent it out?

The tax does apply to strata units, but you can get an exemption (so you don't have to pay it) if you can prove that your strata doesn't allow rentals.

[Klazu]

There are plenty of rentals in Shangri-La. Most of them just outrageously expensive.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Yeah, I told the agent that one can definitely see the higher building quality everywhere in the unit and the building. Definitely better quality than most brand-new places these days, with only few exceptions, like our current temporary apartment nearby.

I still don't understand why sit on an unit for 10 years, paying property tax for it with no income from the unit. Especially when they still haven't decided to sell it even though the unit must be now worth 3-4 times what they must have paid for it. I suppose this kind of pennies just don't matter to people, but happy to see empty homes tax encouraging people to start renting their investments. That has been the whole point!

One thing I thought was interesting was to notice how things go out of style after some time. While most details in the unit still felt fresh, the A/C controlling unit looked cheap and old in today's standards. At some point the same will apply to the unit as well, should one sit on it for 20 years.

Yeah one thing that stood out right away was the kitchen countertop/backsplash. That stone looks like it's from the 90's, same with the wood floor.

It's not just a waste of an apartment but there will no doubt be issues with things like seals drying up in the toilets, faucets and dishwasher from not staying moist and plumbing can start leaking if it hasn't had any pressure stresses put on it for a decade if there's any weak joins. Also all warranties would be expired.

[bb1510]

Originally Posted by Klazu

We have been to many buildings in Downtown, but we have never visited Shangri-La until now. Today we had a chance to see an unit on the 37th floor which claimed to be 1300 sqft in size with a nice open view towards east.

Interestingly this building has two separate lobbies with residential floors up to 43th floor using the Alberni Street entrance and floor above it one on West Georgia Street. Interesting that in even a building like this people have to be separated from wealthy and "wealthy".

We have seen all kind of things with these prime units, but even then we were caught off-guard by the information that this unit had never been lived in - in a building completed in 2008. And they were not kidding, the unit has indeed been sitting empty for 10 years and due to that a lot of dust had accumulated everywhere. We were told that the owner had no intention of selling the unit, but after 10 years wanted to now suddenly wanted to rent it out. One has to wonder if any recent tax had anything to do with that decision...

Unfortunately the unit turned out to be much smaller than advertized in size (~1,000 sqft instead of 1,300) - a typical "mistake" in Vancouver market - so the layout didn't work for us. I didn't take a photo, but there even was a huge pillar in almost middle of the bedroom, making the space VERY awkward to furnish.

View towards east was nice from this high up and I can only assume it gets even nicer the higher you go.

So the unit didn't work out for us, but that's okay as we will be signing a lease for a new home tomorrow evening somewhere else.

Also interesting is that for that unit, the original marketing material didn't show the pillar in the middle of the wall of the master bedroom; imagine being hit with a disclosure amendment showing that when you you were one who bought those 05 units during the presale.

Another point for the 1111 alberni side of shangri la is that it's zoned for live work; I know many accounting firms, real estate, lawyers, etc who use their suites as solely office space there.

Parkade for the 'cheaper' side enters through the back of the public parkade while the more expensive side enters through the nicer side of the driveway. It's also interesting how the storage lockers for the expensive side are the ones you see in the mezzanine above the public parkade while the cheaper units have actual individual rooms behind each stall.

[bb1510]

Originally Posted by retro_orange

Yeah one thing that stood out right away was the kitchen countertop/backsplash. That stone looks like it's from the 90's, same with the wood floor.

It's not just a waste of an apartment but there will no doubt be issues with things like seals drying up in the toilets, faucets and dishwasher from not staying moist and plumbing can start leaking if it hasn't had any pressure stresses put on it for a decade if there's any weak joins. Also all warranties would be expired.

The building has also settled so much that the hardwood has started to buckle in many of the units

[bb1510]

Originally Posted by Changing City

The tax does apply to strata units, but you can get an exemption (so you don't have to pay it) if you can prove that your strata doesn't allow rentals.

What about for co-ops; are those exempt from the tax?

[bb1510]

Originally Posted by retro_orange

Nice! The quality of the materials and finishes looks like they were much better 10 years ago compared to now. That bathroom vanity has decent storage for starters and the stone floor is very nice too. I wonder what they paid for the suite almost 15 years ago presale... 600-700k?


Also congratulations on the new place! where is it?

They bought the unit for 514,745; current assessed is 1,559,000

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Interestingly this building has two separate lobbies with residential floors up to 43th floor using the Alberni Street entrance and floor above it one on West Georgia Street. Interesting that in even a building like this people have to be separated from wealthy and "wealthy".

If I recall correctly, that's because the middle of the tower is zoned "Live-Work" whereas the top of the tower is zoned "Residential"
- so different elevator banks.

EDIT - just say bb1510 posted that too.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by bb1510

They bought the unit for 514,745; current assessed is 1,559,000

Haha I was thinking possibly 500k for a new 3 bed almost 15 years ago but seemed a bit cheap, I guess my silly mind has been distorted as to what a new luxury 3 bed condo should sell for downtown...


I think these started selling in 2006?


Inflation calculator says:
$514,745 in 2006 is only $630,232 today... wheres all this extra added value...

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

I thought you just moved to coal harbour a few months ago?!

That is correct. We moved to a temporary furnished place in Coal Harbour back in July and will now be moving back to Metrotown in couple of weeks. Today we signed a lease for an amazing place after having seen few dozen interesting place and been reading hundreds of ads. We have a 2-year fixed term lease which will carry on as month-by-month, allowing us to settle down for the next little while.

Plenty of cool photos to come once all the moving will be done.

[bb1510]

Originally Posted by officedweller

If I recall correctly, that's because the middle of the tower is zoned "Live-Work" whereas the top of the tower is zoned "Residential"
- so different elevator banks.

EDIT - just say bb1510 posted that too.

lol when they were replacing the ropes in the elevators in the live work section where two out of three elevators were out of service at a time, the wait times were horrendous from the 40s. Calling the freight elevator is just as slow (even when all the elevators are back up in service); the freight elevator is actually in the bank of elevators where the "estates" and are shared by the hotel, live work, and estates. The estate elevators are really, really fast; you can get to the top even quicker than going to the top floors of the live work section

[bb1510]

Originally Posted by retro_orange

Haha I was thinking possibly 500k for a new 3 bed almost 15 years ago but seemed a bit cheap, I guess my silly mind has been distorted as to what a new luxury 3 bed condo should sell for downtown...


I think these started selling in 2006?


Inflation calculator says:
$514,745 in 2006 is only $630,232 today... wheres all this extra added value...

I believe it was in 04 as I was in second grade then cause. Remember receiving the brochure in the mail and asked my parents to bring me to the showroom twice and even asked my mom to drive by it every few months if we were in downtown just to see the progress of it lol

I recall the model in the lobby of the sales gallery was probably 10-15 feet tall

...and I study architecture now

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by Klazu

That is correct. We moved to a temporary furnished place in Coal Harbour back in July and will now be moving back to Metrotown in couple of weeks. Today we signed a lease for an amazing place after having seen few dozen interesting place and been reading hundreds of ads. We have a 2-year fixed term lease which will carry on as month-by-month, allowing us to settle down for the next little while.

Plenty of cool photos to come once all the moving will be done.

Oh wow. That'll be nice to move in and settle down!! Searching and moving takes a lot of energy!

[bb1510]

Originally Posted by officedweller

If I recall correctly, that's because the middle of the tower is zoned "Live-Work" whereas the top of the tower is zoned "Residential"
- so different elevator banks.

EDIT - just say bb1510 posted that too.

oh yeah for the live work section, minimum tenancy length is a month; every once in a while, you'll see these grossly overpriced fully furnished rentals pop up and they break down the price on a nightly basis and how it's a 'good value' compared to the hotel suites below for the size.

The prices end up being 13.5k+ a month for a 1000 sq ft unit...and people in the film industry snap them up.....

[officedweller]

Cool info re: elevators. The Estates elevators would be express to the first of their floors.
Wonder why they had to replace cables for the Live Work elevators?

[Klazu]

They also replaced cables for Metroplace's elevators after only three years of operation. Wear and tear was causing the elevators having problems on stopping at exactly the right floor level, leading to downtime.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Yeah, I told the agent that one can definitely see the higher building quality everywhere in the unit and the building. Definitely better quality than most brand-new places these days, with only few exceptions, like our current temporary apartment nearby.

I still don't understand why sit on an unit for 10 years, paying property tax for it with no income from the unit. Especially when they still haven't decided to sell it even though the unit must be now worth 3-4 times what they must have paid for it. I suppose this kind of pennies just don't matter to people, but happy to see empty homes tax encouraging people to start renting their investments. That has been the whole point!

One thing I thought was interesting was to notice how things go out of style after some time. While most details in the unit still felt fresh, the A/C controlling unit looked cheap and old in today's standards. At some point the same will apply to the unit as well, should one sit on it for 20 years.

Thanks for the pics. It does seem odd someone could afford to just sit on the unit for 10 years and then all of a sudden freak-out that they'll have to pay the empty homes tax, so they rent it.

So many Vancouver issues encapsulated in this one unit: empty homes, poor layouts geared to investors, the ephemeral nature of being this year's "it" building and poor construction quality during the boom.

The owner really should have unloaded it in 2017 and put the money into weed stocks.