The Vancouver Business Thread

[jollyburger]

Grouse Mountain to invest millions in new gondola, base upgrades
$35-million plan includes new base facilities and more parking

North Vancouver’s Grouse Mountain is planning to make some major upgrades, including $35 million for a new gondola, 10,000 square feet of commercial space and more parking at the base.

The resort is now in public consultations with the District of North Vancouver

“This is something that we're really excited about. Grouse Mountain is an integral pillar of the North Vancouver community. We have been since 1926,” said Melissa Taylor, Grouse spokeswoman. “This project and upgrading our facilities, leading up to our 100th anniversary, is exciting and ultimately this will improve the overall guest experience.”

The 1966 blue tram is at the end of its useful life. In recent years, Grouse has only been using it for employees and freight, effectively reducing lift capacity by half. Between now and December 2023, it will be decommissioned and replaced with a gondola, which runs on a continuous loop, carrying 27 eight-person cabins.

The red Skyride, which can carry 900 guests per hour, will still be in use for the foreseeable future. The new gondola will have a capacity of 1,000 guests per hour, making the trip in 5.5 minutes.

“As our guests and pass holders know, there can often be a wait associated with boarding, and we want to make sure that we're able to return to those original levels,” Taylor said. “A gondola seems to be more efficient for getting people up and down than a tram.”

The plan also includes redoing the aging base facilities, including offices (which are currently in portables) along with new retail space. The plan calls for 193 new parking spaces for a total of 1047.

The gondola, which will run to the east of the existing tram line and chalet, will require development permits for environmental protection from the District of North Vancouver, which are granted by staff after plans have been reviewed. A consultant’s report states it will have minimal impact on the environment, as the 13 new towers will be built in areas that have already been disturbed.

The commercial building at the base, however, will require a vote by council before it can be built.

Public feedback comments submitted to the district so far have been supportive of the gondola concept, but several residents have flagged concerns about traffic problems on Nancy Greene Way.

Since 2020, Grouse Mountain Resort, which has a long-term lease on the 485-hectares of Metro Vancouver land it occupies, has been owned by Northland Properties.

https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/grouse...ons-in-new-gondola-base-upgrades-4345138

https://www.grousemountain.com/gondola

[Klazu]

Great news. I wish winter time parking would be back to free, but I doubt. Pay parking and then the cumbersome air tram are main reasons I stopped going to Grouse to ski.

[rofina]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Great news. I wish winter time parking would be back to free, but I doubt. Pay parking and then the cumbersome air tram are main reasons I stopped going to Grouse to ski.

The tram is a fun novelty as a tourist, but its the main reason to not go up Grouse as a local.

Cypress is superior.

[jollyburger]

I guess the other tram will get replaced as well since it was built 10 years after the Blue Tram.

[SpongeG]

Vancouver NFT giant Dapper Labs worth US$7.6b following latest raise: report
Company specializing in digital collectibles lands another US$250m from investors
By Tyler Orton | September 22, 2021

One of B.C.’s most highly vaunted unicorns has just gotten much more valuable.

Vancouver-based Dapper Labs Inc. revealed Wednesday it’s landed another US$250 million from investors just six months after a record raise that attracted dollars from the likes of NBA legend Michael Jordan, rapper 2 Chainz and actor Ashton Kutcher.

...

https://biv.com/article/2021/09/vancouve...rxAA9k_7fUo-EtHqV4qzvVE-fUns_PoccV5vMnoU

[supercanuck]

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/lululemon-official-canadian-outfitter-for-next-four-olympics

Lululemon official outfitter of the Canadian Olympics team for the next 4 Olympics. Feels like a big loss for the Bay. It was one of their most prominent collections (at least to me).

Did the Bay ever charge prices this high? (i.e. $74 for a t-shirt) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/mens-ss-tops/TC-The-Fundamental-T-Shirt/_/prod10643012?color=52051

[jollyburger]

Saw a CIBC branch changing their signage. I guess their logo was finally changed.

EDIT: Story on the logo change



https://globalnews.ca/news/8212259/cibc-new-corporate-logo/

[svlt]

Originally Posted by supercanuck

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/lululemon-official-canadian-outfitter-for-next-four-olympics

Lululemon official outfitter of the Canadian Olympics team for the next 4 Olympics. Feels like a big loss for the Bay. It was one of their most prominent collections (at least to me).

Did the Bay ever charge prices this high? (i.e. $74 for a t-shirt) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/mens-ss-tops/TC-The-Fundamental-T-Shirt/_/prod10643012?color=52051

Big loss for the Bay for sure but I do think Lululemon is the better Canadian clothing brand to promote now. The Olympics is a glorified international marketing exercise and Lululemon is much bigger now, while not promoted enough as a Canadian brand internationally.

[SpongeG]

‘Capital follows talent’: Why Amazon is banking on Vancouver labour force
Newly launched Invest Vancouver partnering on skills development program with Amazon Web Services
By Tyler Orton | September 30, 2021


Amazon will maintain a workforce in the the old Canada Post building redevelopment in downtown Vancouver, expected to be complete in 2023 | submitted

Had the pandemic not upended the global economy, Shopify Inc. (TSX:SHOP) workers at a 70,000-square-foot downtown Vancouver office tower might have been prepping for a one-year anniversary party this fall.

Instead, the rapid shift to remote work saw the Canadian e-commerce company quickly walk back plans last year for a 1,000-person tech hub at Four Bentall Centre on Dunsmuir Street, with Shopify explaining it would instead become a “digital by default” company.

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud-computing subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN), has taken a different approach towards Vancouver — one that a new regional economic development organization is seizing on.

...

https://biv.com/article/2021/09/capital-...vMbHTpACPwylS90JCldNMJpPOK9xz8g2gRvVioYg

[svlt]

Now that the dust is settling on the pandemic a bit, I do think there will be more companies electing to return their employees to the office on a part time basis, and eventually more employees will be open to partially working in an office. Definitely not all of the work force wants to be home all of the time.

[zahav]

StatsCan released the July 1st population numbers, and showed BC is booming. A few highlights:

BC had by far the highest net interprovincial migration of any province. In fact, it was the largest Q2 net inflow in history, and the largest single net inflow since Q3 of 1992. Combining both international and interprovincial migration, BC gained more people than any other province (+28,344), even higher than Ontario in raw numbers (24,429). Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta actually lost population due to migration (immigration has traditionally been able to offset the interprovincial losses, but now both numbers are bad so they all slipped into negative growth). The only thing keeping their population up is natural increase. Year-over-year, BC was the 2nd fastest growing province overall in Canada (PEI was 1st).

Numbers like this are very important for economics, this type of high growth is driving the economy. Not only does a strong economy draw people in, but it also creates a strong economy in itself, with lots of spin offs. When BC's economy is good, it is a magnet for people. The lifestyle and desirability are always there, so combining that with a strong economy results in this.

I was too young to really remember the super boom years of the early 90s, and what the City was like during it. But I can only imagine, since it really drives a dynamic cityscape. All of the suburban development really shows this, even moreso than Vancouver. StatsCan doesn't publish breakdown of the components of growth by region, but BC Stats does, it will be release early next year I believe. I'd wager most regions of BC had interprovincial gains, but especially Okanagan and Island ones.

[rofina]

Originally Posted by zahav

StatsCan released the July 1st population numbers, and showed BC is booming. A few highlights:

BC had by far the highest net interprovincial migration of any province. In fact, it was the largest Q2 net inflow in history, and the largest single net inflow since Q3 of 1992. Combining both international and interprovincial migration, BC gained more people than any other province (+28,344), even higher than Ontario in raw numbers (24,429). Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta actually lost population due to migration (immigration has traditionally been able to offset the interprovincial losses, but now both numbers are bad so they all slipped into negative growth). The only thing keeping their population up is natural increase. Year-over-year, BC was the 2nd fastest growing province overall in Canada (PEI was 1st).

Numbers like this are very important for economics, this type of high growth is driving the economy. Not only does a strong economy draw people in, but it also creates a strong economy in itself, with lots of spin offs. When BC's economy is good, it is a magnet for people. The lifestyle and desirability are always there, so combining that with a strong economy results in this.

I was too young to really remember the super boom years of the early 90s, and what the City was like during it. But I can only imagine, since it really drives a dynamic cityscape. All of the suburban development really shows this, even moreso than Vancouver. StatsCan doesn't publish breakdown of the components of growth by region, but BC Stats does, it will be release early next year I believe. I'd wager most regions of BC had interprovincial gains, but especially Okanagan and Island ones.

Couple points; I think its time to redeem the NDP from its abysmal economic record of the 90's.

They have been a crisis time government (COVID), and we are performing, arguably, best in Canada.

Second, I would love to see a zoom in on these numbers to see how they are distributed in BC.

I know a lot of people that have moved out to Victoria/Kamloops/Kelowna in the last year or so. We obviously all know them or have similar stories - but the last year has been truly epic in the amount of folks that I can count that have left the GVRD.

[svlt]

Originally Posted by rofina

Couple points; I think its time to redeem the NDP from its abysmal economic record of the 90's.

They have been a crisis time government (COVID), and we are performing, arguably, best in Canada.

Second, I would love to see a zoom in on these numbers to see how they are distributed in BC.

I know a lot of people that have moved out to Victoria/Kamloops/Kelowna in the last year or so. We obviously all know them or have similar stories - but the last year has been truly epic in the amount of folks that I can count that have left the GVRD.

Most likely the immigration will be centered in the GVRD and maybe CRD given it’s the center of public and private employment here. A more interesting statistic would be intraprovincial movement if it could be tracked since the pandemic.

[jollyburger]

I believe those are population estimates..

The estimates released today are based on 2016 Census counts adjusted for census net undercoverage and incompletely enumerated Indian reserves, to which are added the population growth estimates for the period from May 10, 2016, to the date of the estimate. These estimates are not to be confused with the 2021 Census population counts, which will be released on February 9, 2022.

Revision of Population Figures
Population estimates are periodically revised for a number of reasons, including revisions to the underlying indicator data, methodological improvements and to reflect updated base year data from a new census. Projections are updated annually to reflect the latest estimates based on actual indicator data, as well as any new information on likely future demographic and economic changes. Census data are never revised except in the event that an error is discovered.

Census Population and Estimates in Census Years
The Census provides detailed information on the demographic, social and economic conditions of the population at a single point in time. Inevitably, however, some people are not counted (if they did not receive a census questionnaire) and a small number may be counted twice (for example, a student living away from home).

To determine how many individuals were missed, or counted more than once, Statistics Canada conducts post-censal coverage studies of a representative sample of individuals. The results of these studies provide information that is used to adjust the Census counts for the purpose of producing current (quarterly and annual) population estimates, which consider net under-enumeration in the Census.

For example, in 2016, after adjustment for net under-enumeration, the population estimate for Canada was 2.4 percent higher than the population enumerated in the Census and the population estimate for British Columbia was 4.1 percent higher than the Census count.

[rofina]

Originally Posted by svlt

Most likely the immigration will be centered in the GVRD and maybe CRD given it’s the center of public and private employment here. A more interesting statistic would be intraprovincial movement if it could be tracked since the pandemic.

Its logical that GVRD would receive the most, being the population center.

But what I'm interested in, is as a result of that influx, how many folks pulled the trigger and took action to get out of the City? I think its a surprisingly large number.

I believe RE performance in the last 12 months in the Victoria, Fraser Valley, and Okanagan region is proof of that.

[vanman]

Nexii becomes the 10th unicorn company BC has produced in less than a year.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/biv.com/art...bcs-latest-unicorn-after-45m-raise%3famp

[LeftCoaster]

10 in a year. I remember when we had 3 in total and led Canada with that number.

Wow have valuations changed!

[svlt]

Originally Posted by vanman

Nexii becomes the 10th unicorn company BC has produced in less than a year.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/biv.com/art...bcs-latest-unicorn-after-45m-raise%3famp

Backed by Gregor Robertson no less

[rofina]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

10 in a year. I remember when we had 3 in total and led Canada with that number.

Wow have valuations changed!

Money ain't worth what it used to be!

With companies like Rivian getting 130billion valuations, I hope we get a few more unicorns around here!

[LeftCoaster]

Well Rivian has a growing Vancouver office so that's a nice touch too!

Thinking of trading in the Tesla for something a bit more local