Richmond office market shows ‘slow but steady’ rebound – Richmond Review.

Richmond’s sky-high office vacancy rate has fallen to a five-year low but remains the highest in the region, according to a new report from Avison Young.

The firm’s Mid-Year 2013 Metro Vancouver Office Market Report pegs the vacancy rate at 17.3 per cent—4.5 per cent less than one year ago—demonstrating the local market’s continued slow recovery.

“Continued tightening of the Richmond vacancy rate remains a good news story for the market, which has seen a slow but steady rebound since 2010,” said Darrell Hurst, Avison Young principal, in a news release.

Surrey’s vacancy rate is close behind, at 16.7 per cent. The lowest rate belongs to downtown Vancouver, at 4.6 per cent, while Metro Vancouver’s average stood at 7.5 per cent after the first six months of 2013.

In its semi-annual survey, Avison Young noted vacancy in the Richmond market is at its lowest point since 2008 after peaking at 24.6 per cent.

Here is a look at the 31 rezoning applications in the City of Vancouver that have not yet been approved. The various applications have been ranked based upon the % increase in density.

[table id=17 /]

Some interesting observations:

• The average proposed % increase in density is 157%. (Average existing density is 2.00 FSR compared to the average proposed density of 4.42 FSR)
• The top 7 proposed increases in density are single family assemblies along the Cambie Corridor.
• Outside the Cambie Corridor, the average % increase is relatively modest, only 98%.
• Of the 31 rezoning apps:
  • 21 are on the Westside of Vancouver, 10 in East Vancouver
  • 14 contain some form of rental housing.
  • 19 will likely require some form of Community Amenity Contribution*
  • 13 propose mid-rise or highrise forms (only 6 outside Downtown)

Regent International has applied to the City of Vancouver to rezone 563-571 West King Edward Avenue from RS-5 to CD-1. Regent had acquired the assembly of single family lots earlier in 2013. The property falls within the Cambie Corridor Plan.

The proposal is for a six-storey building and four townhouses, with:

• a total of 70 condo units;
• a floor area of 52,142 SF
• a density of 2.43 FSR
• a building height 70 ft
• 44 underground parking spaces, including two car share spaces.

More information here.

The owners of the Stongs property at 4508-4560 Dunbar Street have applied to the City of Vancouver to rezone the property, and an adjacent single family lot from C-2 and RS-5 and to CD.

The proposed project includes:

• on the Dunbar Street site, a 6-storey mixed use building with new Stongs (20,124 SF) and two smaller commercial units on the first level and 72 condo units (74,935 SF) above the store.
• on the West 30th Avenue property, 11 3-storey townhouses (12,579 SF)
• a public plaza at the northeast corner of Dunbar Street and West 30th Avenue;
• a combined density of 2.51FSR
• 234 vehicle parking spaces, three loading spaces and 111 class A bicycle spaces (each site includes two levels of underground parking).

More information here.

Guildford Town Centre’s $280-million renovation driven by bid for young shoppers.

METRO VANCOUVER — The kids have wallets, and they don’t want to wait. As Surrey’s Guildford Town Centre unveils a $280-million expansion this week — with 70 new stores and a 1,034-seat food court — general manager Peggy White says that online shopping does not pose a real threat to modern shopping centres like hers.

When fashion-conscious 15- to 25-year olds go shopping, “they want to take (their purchase) home and wear it that night. Sometimes they wear it right out of the store,” White said.

Guildford owner/developer Ivanhoe Cambridge has assembled a sparkling new mix of stores — including Forever 21 (at 23,000 square feet), H&M (25,000 square feet), Victoria’s Secret, Sephora, Aritzia, The Lego Store and Disney Store — to woo young shoppers back from the glitter of downtown Vancouver’s Robson Street and Burnaby’s Metrotown.

The expansion increases retail space to 1.2 million square feet from 980,000, and includes a facelift for the existing mall, with waterfalls, soft seating, a much larger food court, and a giant 10,000-plant living wall that covers a connector straddling 104th Ave.