Construction firm Nexii taps former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson as VP

[Chirpythecougar]

He was mayor before I started following local politics
What's wrong with Robertson being the housing minister? Quick google search indicates he was pro-development and not a NIMBY

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by Chirpythecougar

He was mayor before I started following local politics
What's wrong with Robertson being the housing minister? Quick google search indicates he was pro-development and not a NIMBY

Long story short, what we needed at the time was to convert large parts of Vancouver's low-density zoning to multi-family and increase the amount of affordable or below-market units, especially with the Canada Line coming in.

What Vision did was try and Grand Bargain it: appeasing the suburbanite homeowners with "minimal change" measures like laneway and basement units while simultaneously attracting developers and absentee investors (and their fees) with spot rezoning of greyfield into high-end condo towers out of sight of the 'burbs.

Between him and Corrigan, it doesn't seem like he had affordability or supply in mind at all - just "big, shiny towers" to raise the city's image (and revenue). What we ended up with was halfway measures that both raised costs and lowered quality of life for most Vancouverites and created an entire decade's worth of NIMBY ammo. TBF most of the housing crisis is the fault of the province, but City Hall sure didn't help; most real steps to increase supply and affordability came after he left. So it's kind of like making one of the convoy truckers Minister of Health.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[svlt]

Liking how this bankrupt company is following Robertson's name and career around (at least, on this forum...) as much as his rocky mayoral stint in Vancouver or his much publicized relationship with a pop singer who's as famous for her work as her mother's lifetime prison sentence (and near cross with the death penalty)

Well, maybe his time as an MP and minister will be a little more under the radar, but for a portfolio as hot of a potato as housing...doubt it

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Chirpythecougar

He was mayor before I started following local politics
What's wrong with Robertson being the housing minister? Quick google search indicates he was pro-development and not a NIMBY

Like most politicians, he had his haters, (and apparently still does here). It seemed like his main focus was on Green initiatives, but there were a number of planning and housing initiatives during his period as mayor from 2008 to 2018. He had an annoying habit of suggesting he was going to achieve what was clearly not achievable - he wasn't going to 'solve homelessness' (without a lot of provincial or federal financial support), or make Vancouver the 'Greenest City' - although he left it with many changes that moved it in the right direction, from enhanced energy requirements in the building code to the bike infrastructure that's now almost taken for granted.

Laneway homes weren't legal and basement suites weren't legal in half the city before the Vision years. During his period as mayor the City created the Vancouver Affordable Housing Agency, and used City owned land to partner with the Province to build 600 units of temporary modular housing in Vancouver within 18 months of the deal being approved in 2017. They also initiated development on a number of social housing projects, and that continues today.

His Council also inherited the development mess that became the Olympic Village, and eventually managed to get the project completed and then converted to normal residential use, without the City ending up taking a loss.

Council adopted the Cambie Corridor Plan in 2011. It's easy to suggest that it wasn't ambitious enough, but fourteen years ago there was still huge opposition to development outside Downtown. Even modest buildings that today seem almost insignificant saw dozens of speakers opposing their development at public hearings, even after the plan was approved. The Oakridge rezoning was a huge change in what could be built outside Downtown, and that was in 2014.

Also in 2014 the adoption of the West End Plan opened up development opportunities that haven’t existed for years, since earlier Council’s down-zoned the entire area. So far around 3,300 additional apartments have been developed under the plan, and around 4,600 more approved, with further projects in the pipeline.

In 2017 Council adopted a Housing Vancouver Strategy, with 10-year housing approval targets (2017-2026) and a 3-year action plan (2018-2020).

His period as mayor wasn't as pro-development as more recent Councils have been, but it also wasn't as anti-development as others had been in the past, and in other parts of Metro Vancouver.

[WarrenC12]

Robertson had a lot of haters but kept winning elections. I think he was disproportionately unliked by the suburban crowd who don't vote in Vancouver of course.

He rode a bike and promoted bike lanes which obviously generated it's own special breed of hate.

Looking back he certainly has a better legacy than Stewart or Sim so far.

[s211]

Robertson: the mayor who clearly said he would end homelessness, and only after he didn't meet his self-imposed deadline he then claimed that the deadline had been "aspirational".

[RedArbutus]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Robertson had a lot of haters but kept winning elections. I think he was disproportionately unliked by the suburban crowd who don't vote in Vancouver of course.

He rode a bike and promoted bike lanes which obviously generated it's own special breed of hate.

Looking back he certainly has a better legacy than Stewart or Sim so far.

Incidentally, my very suburban, non-Vancouver residing parents loved Gregor because they were impressed by his mobility advocacy and they liked that he didn't listen to the haters and just went for it in terms of bike lanes.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Bit late to the party - now he's Minister of Housing.

Talos save us all.

Let's remember this was the clown who accused Andy Yan of racism () because he dared release a study showing how much property was being snapped up by money from Mainland China. Between this and the Rennie comments it is looking more and more like Carney will try to goose construction yet again by selling Canadian homes out to foreign money.

...Three years ago, Yan was anxious to get a handle on the role foreign capital was playing in Vancouver’s weirdly convulsing real estate market. At the time, Yan’s main gig was his work as an urban planner with Bing Thom Architects, on contract as an urban planner. When Yan published the results of his research in November, 2015, it came as a shock, for two main reasons. It seemed to conclusively prove what everybody knew but nobody was supposed to say out loud. And it broke a taboo that was enforced so absurdly that Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson resorted to dismissing Yan’s research as racist...
https://macleans.ca/economy/realestateec...exposed-vancouvers-real-estate-disaster/

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by RedArbutus

Incidentally, my very suburban, non-Vancouver residing parents loved Gregor because they were impressed by his mobility advocacy and they liked that he didn't listen to the haters and just went for it in terms of bike lanes.

Sure he had his fans. I'll give him credit for not hiding his intentions.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Coincidentally, the first bike lane was right in front of his house and earned him millions in property value.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Bit late to the party - now he's Minister of Housing.

Talos save us all.

I am puking bile.....

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Coincidentally, the first bike lane was right in front of his house and earned him millions in property value.

Too bad other property owners haven't caught on

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Coincidentally, the first bike lane was right in front of his house and earned him millions in property value.

It wasn't the first, but yes, lots of wealthy got more wealthy with that lane.

[ssiguy]

Putting Robertson in charge of housing is like putting the mouse in charge of the cheese. He couldn't have done worse in the housing profile if he tried.

That's said, I don't think Carney is going to be diplomatic on the housing file and will put Robertson's feet to the fire and make him get those modular houses built and make the cities change their zoning to accommodate them. Increasing the housing supply and doing it by modular production is a key element of Carney's platform and he won't accept any excuses as to why it can't be done. When giving Robertson the post, I'm sure Carney made it VERY clear, and I'm sure Robertson himself knows VERY well, that if he doesn't take the task to a wartime footing, his head will be on the chopping. Due to this, despite his deplorable record, I'm willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

[NewfBC]

Hedy Fry was campaigning saying Carney was promising to build 500k houses/year (1370/day)... Gregor better get started soon!

Ron.

[MIPS]

East Coast:
"Sort out your housing you are terrible lol.

West Coast:
"K sure, he's now everyone's problem lmao."

My expectation is that they will get mass housing construction underway however I can almost assure you it's going to be a scandal of substandard building practices, mold incursion and chemical problems in 30 years. Points double if prefab means thousands of homes built with improperly mixed 2-part insulation foam because it's cheap and easy to install.

[ssiguy]

Originally Posted by MIPS

East Coast:
"Sort out your housing you are terrible lol.

West Coast:
"K sure, he's now everyone's problem lmao."

My expectation is that they will get mass housing construction underway however I can almost assure you it's going to be a scandal of substandard building practices, mold incursion and chemical problems in 30 years. Points double if prefab means thousands of homes built with improperly mixed 2-part insulation foam because it's cheap and easy to install.

These are modular homes, NOT mobile homes. They have to be certified to the highest standard and the same one as the house you are sitting in right now. This is why modulars can be several stories and have basements.

Also modular homes are uniformly of high quality than on-site built homes. During the construction process they are not left out in the rain & snow. The factory is also consistently monitored for construction quality which is something on-site aren't. This is why 50% of all new home construction in Scandinavia is modular.

[Tysonbrown]

This crap if from back in 2020. MAGA is alive in Canada. So sad. This shouldn't even be a thread.

[djmk]

If they want to start building quickly, my suggestion would be to start building student dorms asap. The space is available, the land is already paid for, easily prefab'd and future school revenue streams

[GMD]

Originally Posted by djmk

If they want to start building quickly, my suggestion would be to start building student dorms asap. The space is available, the land is already paid for, easily prefab'd and future school revenue streams

Education and Housing are both Provincial responsibilities under the constitution, but people tend not to worry about that too much.

But yes, BC has a plan to build 12,000 student beds, and I'm sure if the Feds wanted to kick in some cash, they wouldn't say no.

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024PSFS...0track,are%20now%20home%20to%20students.

"This [300mn BC contribution to a $560mn/1,508 bed buildout at UBC)] puts B.C. on track to meet or exceed the provincial target of building 12,000 beds by 2028. To date, 5,260 of these are complete and are now home to students"