From the LA Times:

Vancouver developer building $100-million apartments downtown

A Canadian developer has started work on a $100-million luxury apartment building in downtown Los Angeles, the first of three high-rise residential complexes it plans to build in the booming neighborhood.

Vancouver-based Onni Group is erecting a 32-story tower on a former parking lot at the northeast corner of Olive and Ninth streets. The site is next door to a well-known 12-story office building that opened in 1926 as the headquarters of Pacific National Bank.

Onni’s building, to be known as 888 Olive, will have 283 units – each with a private balcony — over street-level shops and restaurants. It will have a swimming pool and fitness center, Onni said. Completion is set for early 2015.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-apartments-downtown-20130201,0,2345668.story

Colliers has acted on behalf of the Vendor in the sale of 5895 Barker Avenue, a 48-unit apartment building in Metrotown, that represents a 31,520 SF development site. The purchase price was $12,500,000, representing about $117 per buildable SF based upon anticipated rezoning to allow a high-density residential project. The RM-3 zoned site is located about l 100 metres from Patterson Skytrain Station.

UPDATE: District tries, again, to sell Steveston site.

The Richmond school district is hoping a poor economy and a desperate need for a city centre school will entice the Ministry of Education to finally approve the sale of the former Steveston secondary land to a non-government or profit entity.

The Richmond Board of Education has okayed district staff’s bid to once again approach the ministry about selling the site in order to use that money to build a new school in the fast-growing city centre.

12.58 acre Steveston Secondary Site

The property was put up for sale in 2007 with the caveat the buyer had to be a government or nonprofit organizations. However, after a deal with the city (the only entity to make an offer) fell through, the district opened the sale to the highest bidder later that year.

Richmond Review – Sportstown redevelopment proposal gets sent back to the drawing board.

A bid by the owner of Sportstown to flatten the longtime East Richmond recreation hub in favour of townhouses has hit a roadblock at city hall.

A city council committee has ordered planners to dig up more information and consider other development options for the long-and-narrow site, located parallel to Highway 91 at 4991 No. 5 Rd.

Coun. Bill McNulty said council’s planning committee, which he chairs, wants to maximize the potential of the land and wants commercial and retail uses explored, along with the possibility of a mixed-use development.

Read more: http://www.richmondreview.com/news/188934651.html

Cressey Development has applied to the City of Richmond to rezone 5640 Hollybridge Way in the Oval Village area of Richmond to build 244 residential units. The development includes:

• Two market residential buildings of 14/15 stories facing Lansdowne Road with a total of 218 units, located above commercial space on the ground and second floors.
• A 5-storey block facing Elmbridge Way with a 5,000 SF childcare facility and 15 affordable housing units located above street-oriented commercial space.
• Street-oriented commercial space with two levels of parkade located above.
• A block of 13 townhouses and street-oriented commercial space facing Hollybridge Way.

The site’s designation within the City Centre Area Plan allows for 2.0 FAR residential, with a requirement for 5% affordable housing and 1.0 FAR commercial. The total density proposed is 2.67 FAR (0.67 FAR commercial).

Source: City of Richmond