The City of Vancouver has unveiled its proposed new concept for the land under the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts based on input from stakeholders and an open ideas competition. The public is invited to view this new concept for the viaducts and provide their feedback at upcoming open houses. Staff is expected to report to council in July 2012.

The viaduct issue has been contentious as it weighs some urban benefits against the idea of using valuable public resources to tear down infrastructure that has not reached the end of its useful life.

Key Points of the Concept:

• Removal of Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts
• Georgia Street connection to Pacific (combined with Expo Blvd.)
• New bike lane connections, including option for bike lane on W. Georgia Street
• Approx. 850,000 sq ft of development potential (likely residential) between Quebec and Gore St.
• 10% increase in park area

Have your say at Public Open Houses:

Tuesday, June 5
4:00 – 7:00pm
Woodward’s Atrium
111 West Hastings

Thursday, June 7
3:30 – 6:30 pm
Creekside Community Centre
1 Athletes’ Way

Saturday, June 9
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Central Library Promenade
350 West Georgia

Source: City of Vancouver

TransLink considers selling property to raise funds.

TransLink is revisiting a plan to sell assets, like the Oakridge transit station, to fund its operations, warning that while such a move is not sustainable long-term, it beats cutting much-needed transit services.

The move has surprised regional mayors — who warn it’s a “slippery slope” to take — but CEO Ian Jarvis said selling the centre and moving it to a new location could bring in $220 million. Without the sale, he said, the beleaguered transportation authority would have to rely on its surplus reserves, which would likely be depleted by 2014.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/TransLink+considers+selling+property+raise+funds/6668897/story.html#ixzz1vnTAliB6

Home listings double in Dunbar since last year.

With more than double the number of listings from last year, homebuyers on the West Side can apparently afford to take their time.

The number of homes on the market in the Dunbar area is up almost double from this time last year, according the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. Board president elect Sandra Wyant said the increased supply means buyers have more time to shop around.

A look at assessed values for single family homes across Metro Vancouver shows that approximately 70% of Metro Vancouver’s “luxury homes” are located in the City of Vancouver. Luxury homes are defined here as single family dwellings with a 2012 assessment of over $2,000,000. West Vancouver, which has long been a luxury home market, represents a further 20%, with the balance spread out across the lower mainland.

A telling statistic is that over 26% of single family dwellings in the City of Vancouver are now assessed at over $2,000,000. Over 55% of homes in the City of Vancouver (including East Vancouver) are now valued at over $1,000,000. It will be interesting to see how future economic and interest rate movements affect these numbers.

Source: BC Assessment Data

The East Burnaby area is generally the area bordering New Westminster, and includes the areas of Edmonds Town Centre, moving East towards the Burnaby crest area and Cariboo Road.

This area is typified by existing single family housing stock, some newer townhome developments, and higher density forms of development, particularly in the Edmonds Town Centre area. Major high density projects in this area include Ledingham McAllister developing the 40+ acre Safeway site, and Amacon developing the site currently occupied by Mott Electric.

Pricing in the area for resales reflects the current mix of units. The below table illustrates all resales over the last 12 months for specific unit types (max. 30 years of age).

Source: MLS Data