A rezoning application has been filed for a 46,563 SF site at 445 Kingsway in the Mount Pleasant area which would allow rezoning from the existing C-2 zoning to allow a 6-storey mixed-use building that includes:

• 109 secured market rental apartment units;
• Commercial use (car dealership) at grade;
• A density of 3.69 FSR;
• A building height of 75.5 ft.; and
• 90 residential parking stalls, 209 dealership parking stalls, 4 loading spaces and 156 bike parking spaces.

The application is being considered under the Secured Market Rental Housing (Rental 100) Program.

The site is currently improved with Desination Hyundai, a single-storey auto dealership. The renderings appear to show that Destination Honda will be the new tenant. The architect for this proposal is FNDA Architecture.

In one of Vancouver’s largest retail deals of the year, Ackroyd Plaza, a 6.8 acre strip retail centre at Ackroyd Road and No. 3 Road in Richmond, has sold to a local investor.

Major tenants include PriceSmart Foods, White Spot, Boston Pizza and a BC Liquor Store.

The 106,000 SF plaza is currently zoned Downtown Commercial District allowing a maximum floor area ratio of 3.0. Richmond’s City Centre Area Plan designates the site as Urban Core (T6) and Village Centre which allows a maximum density of 4.0 FAR. The existing improvements are only built to a 0.36 floor area ratio, thus representing approximately 1,000,000 sq ft of residual density, therefore the purchase price was based more on the land value then the existing income. The cap rate was well below 3%.

8010 Saba Road in Richmond has sold for $24,250,000. The property is improved with a 33,456 SF retail and office building whose main tenants include HSBC and National Bank Financial. The purchase price equates to a 4.4% cap rate, or $722 per SF. The building was sold by bid process in June with no asking price.

Here is a video overview of the property by the listing agent, Cushman Wakefield:

8010 Saba Road, Richmond BC from Cushman & Wakefield | Vancouver on Vimeo.

A development application has been made to the City of Vancouver for permission to redevelop a prime downtown corner. The site is located at the Northwest corner of Granville and Davie, and is most well-known as “Tsui Hang“, a popular late night Chinese restaurant. Tsui Hang is located in what was once a bank, built in the 1940s. The balance of the site contains older run-down one and two-storey commercial buildings. The developer is Deecorp. The architect is MCMP.

Preliminary plans call for a redeveloped site include a 7-storey mixed use building. The proposal includes the following:

• 94 residential units (75 one-bedrooms and 19 2-bedrooms)
• Retail on the ground floor;
• Total density of 3.85 FSR (3.5 max + 10% heritage bonus)
• Building height of 71 ft.
• Total floor area of 69,300 SF
• 47 underground parking spaces accessed from the lane

An existing C-2 zoned strip retail building at the corner of Oak Street and Laurier Avenue (one block North of King Edward) is proposed for redevelopment to allow a 4-storey building with retail uses on the ground floor and 11 residential units above, all over two levels of underground parking. Details for this 12,819 SF site include:

• Total density of 29,100 SF or 2.27 FSR (less than 2.5 max due to site restrictions)
• Top floor has two 2,000 SF units targeting downsizers
• Each unit gets two parking stalls
• Concrete construction with high quality interior and exterior finishes

The site was acquired by Xpec Oak Holdings Ltd. in 2014 for $7,900,000, or $271 per buildable SF based on the proposed density.