Steveston secondary sold to residential developer.

The Steveston secondary site has finally been sold to a residential developer.

Richmond School Board decided earlier this week to accept a conditional offer from Vancouver-based Polygon to develop the 13-acre site on No. 2 Road, just north of Steveston Highway.

The price has yet to be disclosed, but the school district was hoping for up to $50 million previously for the prime site, which has been up for sale since 2007.

Polygon, one of three preferred bidders, is expected to close the deal by Sept. 30, when all the information surrounding the transaction will be made public.

“Like most real estate deals, our purchase agreement with the school district is subject to a due diligence period where we hope to be able to assess and identify any specific issues related to the property,” said Neil Chrystal, speaking on behalf of Polygon.

In Metrotown, demand for new condo product appears to have quieted down somewhat over the past several months. But that’s not stopping developers and investors, who are betting on the success of this town centre area over the long-term.

The latest example came in December with sale of 5895 Barker Avenue, a potential tower redevelopment site.

There are now six 35+ storey tower projects under construction in the area, primarily in the RM-5 zone which allows a higher density. These include:

• Metroplace, 343 units by Intracorp.
• The Met, 295 units by Concord Pacific.
• Station Square (Phase 1), 269 units by Anthem/Beedie.
• Silver, 284 units by Intracorp.
• Moda, 249 units by Polygon.
• Sovereign, 202 units, by Bosa.

There are also an additional 2,000+ units in various stages of planning, including an additional 930 units at Station Square (phase 2, consisting of 35 and 57 storey towers) is planned to be released in the near future), as well as other projects planned by Polygon, BlueSky Properties, Boffo, Concord and Intracorp.

A number of apartment buildings that are currently zoned RM-3 have been selling to investors that see upside and future redevelopment potential. See below a list of recent sales. Apartments without immediate redevelopment potential generally trade at $170,000 to $180,000 per unit in this area. RM-5 zoned apartment properties that can be redeveloped as towers often trade for higher values (based on land value).

In addition, Ivanhoe Cambridge is nearing halfway completion of its Metrotower 3, the first new office project built in the area in several years, which speaks to the ongoing potential of the area not solely as a bedroom community.

Metrotown has long been viewed as Burnaby’s true town centre, and despite activity in the other designated ‘town centres’ such as Brentwood and Edmonds. Metrotown is continuing to show strong valuations for both development sites and existing income producing properties.

Polygon Homes has purchased Twin Lakes Estates, a 57-unit townhome development located in the Lynn Valley are of North Vancouver. The 9.43 acre property represents excellent redevelopment potential and was acquired for $17,100,000, equating to approximately $300,000 per unit.

Polygon Homes has applied to the City of Richmond to rezone an 8.5 acre site at 8311-8371 Cambie Road and 3651 Sexsmith Road from Single Family and Auto-Oriented Commercial (CA) to High Rise Apartment based on the Capstan Village City Centre Plan.

Polygon is planning a 478,019 SF residential project, with three towers containing 528 dwellings, new streets, pedestrian linkages, and public art. The proposal also includes $4.2M in funding towards the future construction of the Capstan Canada Line station (total cost $25M), $5.7M in funding towards the to the City’s Affordable Housing Reserve in lieu of building affordable housing units on site, construction of affordable housing units elsewhere within Richmond; and the replacement of an existing City-owned playing field at 3651 Sexsmith Road (Cambie Field) with a larger park. The total density will be 2.375 FAR.

Source: City of Richmond

Polygon Homes is proposing to rezone a site at Mountain Highway and 27th in the Lynn Valley Town Centre area for a 108-unit residential complex consisting of two apartment buildings, one of 4 storeys in height and the second, 5 storeys in height. The overall density is 1.96 FAR (before road dedication) which is in keeping with the Official Community Plan.

The site includes 7 lots currently zoned RM2 and RM3. Polygon is proposing a residential complex that will consist of two buildings connected with a central lobby area. The total number of residential units will be 108 units and will include: 9 one bedroom units, 83 two bedroom units in a mix of styles and sizes, and 16 three bedroom units.