Westbank, in conjunction with Crombie REIT and Canada Safeway, have applied to redevelop one of the largest land parcels on Davie Street in the West End of Downtown Vancouver. The 47,464 SF site is currently home to a single-storey grocery store. The application proposes a redevelopment of the site with a mixed-use building consisting of:

• a 3 storey podium with three retail units on the lower & upper ground level;
• a retail grocery store on the upper ground & mezzanine level;
• two residential towers (21 & 22 storeys)
• a total of 319 market rental units;
• 3 levels common underground parking, accessed off Davie St and the rear lane;
• a total density of 6.43 FSR

Under the site’s existing C5-A zoning, the application is “conditional” so it may be permitted; however, it requires the decision of the Development Permit Board. The architect for the project is Henriquez Partners.

Construction is now well underway on Aquilini Group‘s second rental tower at Rogers Arena. The south tower will be 31-storeys with 5-levels of underground parking. It will include “over 250 residential rental units in addition to fitness and multipurpose facilities.

A rendering of the tower can be seen at Francl Architecture’s site.

Courtesy mcminsen http://po.st/myTf07 via @imageshack

Courtesy mcminsen http://po.st/TVX5V6 via @imageshack

2280 West 6th Avenue, a 43-unit walkup apartment building in Kitsilano has sold to a local investor for $13,800,000, equating to a 2.7% cap rate and $321,000 per unit. The RM-4 zoned property sits on a 21,000 SF lot with 175 feet of frontage on West 6th. The asking price was $15,300,000.

The Red Door Housing Society has applied to the City of Vancouver to rezone a 16,884 SF site at 870 East 8th Avenue from RM-4 to CD-1 to allow the replacement of an existing affordable rental housing project with a larger affordable rental building. The proposal includes:

• a 7-storey apartment building;
• 51 rental units
• underground parking accessed off the lane;
• a building height of 65.2 ft; and
• a density of 2.86 FSR

Current Improvements

Proposal

The application is being considered under the Mount Pleasant Community Plan.

The architect for the project is DYS Architecture.

After media reports this week about large assessment increases for residential properties in Vancouver, a quick look at commercial property assessments reveals a similar trend, with rapidly rising values, particularly in certain “hot” areas.

Below is a summary of a random sample of 20 properties within the City of Vancouver with a commercial or multifamily zoning, and the % increase in their respective assessment values this year over last.

(click the chart to view more clearly)

Data source: BC Assessment

While this analysis is not intended to be exhaustive by any means, it does show some pretty substantial increases in various areas, particularly on or near the Broadway Corridor. Elsewhere, in zones that allow residential development, assessment are rising quickly to reflect sales comparables that are reaching new records on an almost monthly basis. In most cases, it is the land component of the assessments which has risen dramatically in recent years as a result of heightened demand for condo development.

There are likely to be implications for existing commercial tenants in many of these properties as property tax increases flow through to tenants dependent upon their lease structure.