Richmond Review – Strip mall could give way to city’s tallest towers.

A No. 3 Road strip mall known as Time Square could become the site of Richmond’s tallest buildings.

Towers in City Centre can be built to a maximum of 47 metres (150 feet), but Townline Homes is mulling a project whose buildings would exceed that limit.

City staff are now urging council to approve a study of higher buildings—something envisioned in the new Official Community Plan. Any increase, however, requires the backing of the Vancouver Airport Authority and Transport Canada, which also must study the idea.

6560-6700 No. 3 Road

“The federal study would determine if and where an increase may occur, and the safety implications for the airport and city. If Transport Canada allows an increase, it is the city who would determine how high the increase would be,” noted Terry Crowe, the city’s manager of policy planning.

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Fairborne Homes has applied to the City of North Vancouver to rezone 117-129 West 1st Street in the Lower Lonsdale area for the construction of a 6 storey building on this site, inclusive of retail with 5 storeys of residential development above. The residential component would contain approximately 45 units, with the commercial area measuring as 6,058 SF.

The proposal includes the retention, restoration, and designation of the existing heritage BC Telephone building, which would maintain its existing commercial retail use, and be integrated into the development while still respecting the structure as its own entity.

The overall density is proposed at 2.6 FSR (as per the Lower Lonsdale OCP), with 70 underground parking stalls.

Darwin Construction has applied to the District of North Vancouver to rezone 4 single family lots at 1561-1583 Oxford Street. The proposal is for 107 rental apartment units and 2,168 sq ft of commercial floorspace in a 6 storey building over 96 parking stalls. The proposed density is 3.35 FSR, which exceeds the 2.5 FSR medium density floor space envisioned in the District’s Official Community Plan.

The site located at the south end of the Lower Lynn Town Centre adjacent to Phibbs Exchange. The Lower Lynn Area Plan is expected to be adopted later in 2013.

On the heels of major acquisitions around the globe by Canadian pension funds, the National Post sits down with Michael Sabia, chief executive at The Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec to discuss a philosophical shift away from equities towards infrastructure, real estate (via their subsidiary Ivanhoe Cambridge) and other non-fixed income assets as the struggle to meet pension obligations mounts.

To view the article click HERE.

KEYreit Board Recommends Unitholders REJECT the Unsolicited Huntingdon Partial Offer and Announces Special Meeting of Unitholders.

“TORONTO, Feb. 15, 2013 /CNW/ – KEYreit (TSX: KRE.UN) announced today its board of trustees, on the recommendation of its special committee, unanimously recommends that unitholders REJECT the unsolicited partial offer by Huntingdon Capital Corp. If successful, the unsolicited partial offer would give Huntingdon effective control of KEYreit.

“The board strongly believes the unsolicited partial offer is wholly inadequate, coercive, highly opportunistic and does not represent fair value for your units,” said Donald Biback, Chairman of the board of trustees. “The partial offer fails to provide unitholders with an appropriate control premium for the units purchased, and provides no premium for units not purchased. It significantly undervalues KEYreit’s assets and businesses, which have a proven track record of creating value for unitholders. We urge unitholders to reject Huntingdon’s wholly inadequate partial offer.”

The board of trustees and management, representing 17% of KEYreit’s issued and outstanding units, have stated that they will not tender to Huntingdon’s coercive unsolicited partial offer.”

Courtesy Canada Newswire