The Vancouver Business Thread

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

More napkin math: I think we're on track for an extra 70+ million boardings up from 2020(218m) & 2021 (223m) numbers. I swear we'll at least hit just under 300m for 2022

2019 was 451m

EDIT: Also note that Metro Core in Vancouver has low transit numbers for commuters but obviously a high concentration and number of residents, and high % walk to work (pre-COVID). So even transit numbers on the rise leave them out

Here's the latest announced data (from the Translink board meeting, reported in BIV). "TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn in September said that his transit service had increased ridership in that month to be about 77 per cent of where it was in September 2019." "TransLink's ridership at the time had increased to an average of about 330,000 daily riders, Quinn said."

That's better than the Canada average 73.5%. There have been no revenue numbers since June, but with pandemic relief funding of $176m TransLink had a surplus of $114m for the first six months of 2022, rather than the forecast deficit.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Here's the latest announced data (from the Translink board meeting, reported in BIV). "TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn in September said that his transit service had increased ridership in that month to be about 77 per cent of where it was in September 2019. TransLink's ridership at the time had increased to an average of about 330,000 daily riders, Quinn said."

That's better than the Canada average 73.5%. There have been no revenue numbers since June, but with pandemic relief funding of $176m TransLink had a surplus of $114m for those six months, rather than the forecast deficit.

Thanks!

I'll stop talking out of my behind. Just kinda perked my interest this monring. Maybe 335m boardings for 2022?!

[whatnext]

Though this article relates to Montreal I wonder if the same has happened here. As discussed, footfall returned but not office workers in pre-Covid numbers.

The lifeblood of Montreal’s downtown core used to be office workers. Now they’re missing
Foot traffic downtown has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels, but the number of professionals returning to the office remains small
NICOLAS VAN PRAET
MONTREAL
PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO

….But the lifeblood of the downtown core has for years been professionals, the people working at the banks, engineering firms and other public- and private-sector employers. The city centre is home to head offices of 24 companies with annual revenue topping $1-billion each, as well as 65 international organizations. And while their employees are dipping their toes back into their office environments, it’s not in great numbers.

The Chamber of Commerce’s most recent surveys show 63 per cent of Montreal’s downtown workers have returned to the office one to three days a week. Fewer than half say they’re satisfied with the employee experience at the office. Traffic congestion because of roadwork is also dampening their enthusiasm…..

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business...town-economic-recovery-covid/?login=true

[Changing City]

I'm assuming that RBC buying HSBC Canada/ will mean some office vacancy Downtown, and maybe a few less branches?

[SpongeG]

How B.C.’s film sector is poised to cash in on virtual production boom
Market for virtual production to grow 20 per cent next year, according to new forecast
By Tyler Orton | December 6, 2022


Virtual production crew members beam in the engine room of the starship Enterprise featured on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. While the TV series is shot in Toronto, the virtual set was delivered to a LED Volume stage in Burnaby with the click of a mouse | Tyler Orton, BIV

Vancouver is used to subbing in for New York City or Seattle when film crews descend upon downtown or the city’s waterfront. If the Empire State Building or the Space Needle needs to be inserted into a shot, a common refrain will ring out: “Fix it in post.”

That’s when post-production professionals like visual effects artists will work their magic after filming is complete, having in the past created the illusion that bucolic Vancouver was the bustling Metropolis of Superman fame, as seen in 2013’s Man of Steel.

...

https://biv.com/article/2022/12/how-bcs-film-sector-poised-cash-virtual-production-boom

[whatnext]

Hopefully this will lead to more hydrogen fuelling stations:

Major clean hydrogen fuel plant to be built on North Vancouver waterfront
Kenneth Chan
Dec 9 2022

The largest clean hydrogen fuel production plant will be built on the industrial waterfront of North Vancouver District, as the result of one of the largest industrial real estate deals this year.

Vancouver-based hydrogen supply firm HTEC has reached an agreement to acquire ERCO Worldwide’s sprawling 19-acre industrial waterfront property at 100 Forester Street — just east of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge.

As part of the deal, ERCO will lease back a portion of the land from HTEC over the long term to continue its sodium chlorate production, which is a process that creates hydrogen....

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/htec-hydrogen-production-plant-100-forester-street-north-vancouver

[jollyburger]

Update on some CIBT projects

Construction of GEC® King Edward is in its completion phase, and the occupancy permit is expected before March 2023. This property will add approximately 190 beds to the Company’s portfolio.
GEC Education Mega Center® is awaiting final reading with the City of Surrey while the review of its development and building permits are at the final stage.
GEC® CyberCity remains in the rezoning phase pending city approvals.
Material events occurring after August 31, 2022 include:

GEC® Oakridge received its rezoning approval in 2021 and final reading (Enactment of the Bylaw) on November 15, 2022, and the Company expects the development and building permits will be issued within 90 days. The project is a planned 18-storey concrete residential rental tower accommodating approximately 475 occupants.
In November 2022, the Company formed a new limited partnership associated with a new project called GEC® Langara, with plans to purchase a property near the Cambie Street Canada Line station.
The plan is to construct both GEC® Oakridge and GEC® Langara concurrently to achieve economies of scale related to construction costs.

https://cibt.net/blog/2022/11/29/cibt-re...ts-for-fiscal-year-ended-august-31-2022/

[jollyburger]

5% layoff at Microsoft

https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/17/23559412/microsoft-layoffs-job-cuts-2023

[officedweller]

The Death of Downtown?
Pandemic Recovery Trajectories across 62 North American Cities
https://downtownrecovery.com/death_of_downtown_policy_brief.pdf

[GenWhy?]

I wonder why they don't measure downtown vitality by also using the number of residents. That's one of the key factors why Edmonton's downtown suffers over Calgary, for instance.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

I wonder why they don't measure downtown vitality by also using the number of residents. That's one of the key factors why Edmonton's downtown suffers over Calgary, for instance.

It's not clear to me if someone living downtown is considered in the study. If my phone is downtown 24/7 does it ping for the POI visits?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

It's not clear to me if someone living downtown is considered in the study. If my phone is downtown 24/7 does it ping for the POI visits?

It doesn't look like it would count your visit to a POI as activity. That criticism was noted in the first release of this data. While very few people live Downtown in Winnipeg, for example, that's not at all true in Vancouver. And their version of Downtown includes the West End. [p61 here].

It would explain why retail Downtown seems to be recovering far better than the data in the report would suggest, with fewer vacancies and new businesses taking spots that were vacated early in the pandemic. Obviously there are still plenty of workers only visiting an office for some days of the week, and tourism is still down, but it doesn't feel that activity is down as much as this report would suggest.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by Changing City

but it doesn't feel that activity is down as much as this report would suggest.

Yeah, I spent time in each of Vancouver, LA, and Sacramento this summer and either the baseline activity of those other two cities must be super, super low or the measuring tool is flawed.

Downtown Los Angeles on a weekday afternoon had no pedestrian traffic around the law courts and City Hall.

[officedweller]

Apparently Coromandel has filed for creditor protection under CCAA.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Apparently Coromandel has filed for creditor protection under CCAA.

That must be who was being referred to in the Twitterverse today as land bankers with bets gone wrong.

Just when something at 10th and Alma was getting going

[svlt]

Originally Posted by whatnext

That must be who was being referred to in the Twitterverse today as land bankers with bets gone wrong.

Just when something at 10th and Alma was getting going

Isn't that one by Landa Global or is there another Coromandel dev. there?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by svlt

Isn't that one by Landa Global or is there another Coromandel dev. there?

I think you’re right. Was it Coromandel originally? There’s a couple sites they seem to have sold-Oak and 67th comes to mind.

[Doodler]

Originally Posted by whatnext

I think you’re right. Was it Coromandel originally? There’s a couple sites they seem to have sold-Oak and 67th comes to mind.

That's interesting about Coromandel. They have been connected with Petersen on many new projects such as the property that Wall once owned at Cambie and 43rd and another at Manson and 37th. I assume Petersen is helping with financing. Maybe the creditor protection is for a specific project?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Doodler

That's interesting about Coromandel. They have been connected with Petersen on many new projects such as the property that Wall once owned at Cambie and 43rd and another at Manson and 37th. I assume Petersen is helping with financing. Maybe the creditor protection is for a specific project?

I thought it was odd, as they also have partnered with Nicola Wealth on the rental towers near Oakridge. You might be correct that it's not the entire company that's got a problem.

[chowhou]

It's official:

Major Vancouver developer seeks creditor protection over $700-million debt

Coromandel Properties Ltd., which has a former longtime Vancouver city councillor among its principals, filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court this week

A Vancouver development company with a massive portfolio of unfinished real estate projects is seeking creditor protection, citing more than $700 million in outstanding debt.
Article content

Coromandel Properties Ltd., which has a former longtime Vancouver city councillor among its principals, filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court this week asking for time to sort through a maze of financial problems due to sluggish progress on 16 development projects — most of which are unfinished — and difficulty servicing its debts due to rising interest rates.

Coromandel has been acquiring land and developing multi-family residential towers and townhomes around Vancouver since 2013, but is struggling to make payments on its 16 properties — all but a few of which remain in the acquisition, planning or construction phases.

https://vancouversun.com/business/real-e...del-creditor-protection-700-million-debt

Looks like a bad case of over promise, over leverage, and under deliver.

Affected developments:

Alberta 40: Six parcels to be developed into 18-storey, high-density multi-family residential towers with 349 rental units in the Cambie corridor.

Ash & Manson: Eight parcels in rezoning application process with the City of Vancouver for development into two 18-storey towers and one six-storey building for social housing, also in the Cambie corridor.

Cambie 43: Three parcels with rezoning approved to develop a 29-storey market residential tower and a 15-storey hotel tower; presales are set to launch this fall.

Cambie 45: Five parcels to be developed into a 21-storey market residential tower and an 11-storey hotel tower with office space.
Article content

Cambie 59: One parcel approved by the city to develop two six-storey condos; a revised plan could be submitted for higher density.

Coromandel Ash: Two parcels to be developed into four storeys of condos, another project that’s part of the Cambie corridor plan.

Georgia Court: An existing 25-strata unit complex in Chinatown. Coromandel started buying individual units in 2017 and to date has purchased 24 of 25 units for a total of about $25 million, the petition says. The developer had an agreement to purchase the 25th unit with a closing date in January 2023, the petition says, but has “not been able to complete the sale as they lack the financial resources to do so.” Coromandel had planned to redevelop the property into a larger strata building in the future.
Article content

Kingsway Frame: One parcel with a redevelopment application approved for a 10-storey project with 219 market strata units. Some units have been pre-sold but construction financing has been halted because of inadequate presales.

Laurel 57: Five parcels to be developed into a high-density, multi-family complex as part of the Cambie corridor plan.

Oak West 52: Construction is 60 per cent complete on 23 townhouses, 22 of which have been sold.

Pacific Burrard: Existing seven-storey commercial building historically known as the Kilborn Building. It’s currently being rented out but there are discussions about a high-density tower on the site.

Southview Gardens: A 2.7-hectare property with 140 existing townhouses and apartments that are rented out. Discussions are underway with the city to redevelop it into a residential complex of four six-storey buildings with 1,150 units.
Article content

Transit Projects: Three separate projects near rapid transit that are expected to get increased density under a revised official community plan. AC Nanaimo is nine parcels; Nanaimo 22 is 11 parcels; and Slocan 29 is six parcels. All are currently being rented.

Wilmar: A south Vancouver development where construction has stopped on a heritage-designated home that is 65 per cent rehabilitated. Five new in-fill homes on the property are 95 per cent complete.

Are there any other developers juggling this many developments at once? I don't think Onni, Westbank, both Bosas combined, or any other of the major players have more projects underway in Vancouver. Concord Pacific is the only one I found with more projects, but that's including projects in Toronto, Calgary, and London, England.