East Richmond could swell four times.

The east Richmond community of Hamilton could grow by up to four times, depending on what locals want to see happen.

Home to almost 5,000 people, Hamilton has long considered itself to be the forgotten child in terms of the services it receives from the City of Richmond.

Is a slowdown finally on the horizon? A review of sales prices (as indicated by the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board’s Housing Price Index) shows that benchmark pricing for single-family homes have increased steadily over the past two years.

According to the GVREB, May 2012 sales were at a 10-year low, which certainly does not bode well for prices moving forward. Sales volumes were down for all property types as follows:

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