• wholesale space with ancillary office use on floors 1, 2, 6 & 7
• mini-storage warehouse on levels 3, 4 & 5
• one level of underground parking
• building height of 100 ft
• total floor area of 112,750 SF (3.0 FSR)

The architect notes that while the site is 37,500 SF in area, there are several factors which make it a challenging site to develop, and they are requesting a relaxation of the height limit to deal with these issues.

“The site is approximately 37,500 sq/ft in area; however , two Statutory Right of Ways (SRW) exist on title (one with Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and another with Metro Vancouver,) which preclude any building on approximately 18,600 sq.ft of the lot. The SRW held by CPR is the more restrictive of the two and prevents its paving, its use as surface parking or any form of access. The two SRW’s represent more that 50% of the site that is unbuildable and approximately 25% of the lot that access is completely denied by CPR.”

I am pleased to have acted on behalf of the Vendor and Purchaser of each of the 4 lots of a land assembly at Cambie Street and West 31st Avenue. The property can be rezoned to allow up to 6-storeys residential. The total purchase price of the combined site was $20,432,000.

A 45-unit Richmond apartment complex known as Cook Place Apartments has sold for $11,700,000 to a local investor. The price represents $260,000 per unit and a cap rate of 3.3%. The property is ideally situated near the City Centre area of Richmond, just one and half blocks East of Richmond Centre Mall and a short walk to the Canada Line.

The building itself is a 3-storey woodframe building built in 1979, with underground parking. There are 30 Two-Bedroom units and 15 One-Bedroom units. Rents were approximately 10% under market. The property was listed with an asking price of $11,888,000.

Here’s a building that had sold in 2012 that recently resold for a substantial gain. The 43 unit, 8-storey concrete building located at West 5th Ave and Alma sold for $14,495,000 or $337,093 per unit, representing a 12% price appreciation from 2012 when the building sold for $12,800,000.

Westbank is planning to rezone the Central Steam site at the Southeast corner of West Georgia and Beatty Street that Ian Gillespie acquired in 2013.The site is 73,958 SF in size and zoned DD and BCPED, neither of which allow residential, but the proposed rezoning is seeking residential in exchange for public benefit, at the discretion of the Director of Planning. In this case, the public benefit is proposed to be a reduction in the City’s GHG emissions.

Details of the proposed rezoning include:

• a 300,000-350,000 SF office building on Beatty
• a 300,000-400,000 SF rental apartment building
• 25,000 SF of retail on the lower side plaza next to Expo Blvd.
• Overall non-residential density is proposed to exceed the 7.0 FSR minimum
  commercial requirement.
• The existing Steam Plant (70,000 SF) will either be re-engineered and integrated
  into the development as a back-up function, or relocated off-site.
• In addition, a new low carbon heating plant will be built off-site in the False Creek Flats that will be linked to the distribution network and this will be a public benefit