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.

Scotiabank has sold their branch location at the Northwest corner of Dunbar and West 41st Avenue for $14,000,000, or $343 per buildable SF based on current redevelopment potential. The 16,320 SF, C-2 zoned property was put up for sale on the market in 2015. The buyer is Luxurious Property Ltd.

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.

Construction for The Exchange is now above ground. The 31-storey, 369,000 SF office tower at the corner of Howe and Pender began construction in late 2014 and has involved the complex retention of the original Vancouver Stock Exchange building (475 Howe). The new building is slated for completion in early 2017. National Bank is signed on as the first major tenant, occupying 45,000 SF.

Photos courtesy mcminsen http://po.st/5Xmz1b via @imageshack

After an initial inquiry earlier this year, a formal rezoning application has now been submitted for the 1.8 acre Super-8 Motel site at the corner of Fraser and SE Marine Drive in East Vancouver (formerly known as the Blue Boy Motor Hotel).

The proposed plan for 725-747 Southeast Marine Drive, owned by Serracan Properties, is to rezone the existing CD-1 zoning to a revised CD-1 to permit a mixed-use development with commercial, residential, and community uses, including public open space. The proposal includes:

• four buildings, including:
  • one 22-storey building;
  • one 12-storey building; and
  • two 5-storey buildings
• approximately 368 residential units;
• 15,500 SF of retail space at grade;
• a 37-space childcare facility (4,760 SF);
• public open space on site;
• a total density of 3.98 FSR;
• maximum building heights from 59 ft. to 207 ft; and
• 377 vehicle parking spaces.

The application is being considered under the Sunset Community Vision. Serracan and the City of Vancouver held numerous open houses and public feedback sessions with the local community as part of an exhaustive preliminary planning and pre-application process.