safeway-on-west-4th-avenue-in-kitsilano-acquired-for-redevelopment
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Safeway on West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano acquired for redevelopment

Bymichael

Another major Safeway grocery store location in Metro Vancouver is being eyed for a new mixed-use building development. There was recently a change of ownership for the Safeway at 2315 West 4th Avenue, which is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Vine Street and West 4th Avenue in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood. Since it was built in 1968, the grocery store has served as a major anchor business for the West 4th Avenue retail district. A spokesperson for local developer PCI Developments confirmed to Daily Hive Urbanized that the firm has acquired the property as part of its continuing joint partnership with LowTide Properties in pursuing new development opportunities. As the planning process for the redevelopment is still in the early stages, they have indicated that there are limited details to share at this time. However, they have noted that they will proceed directly to the development permit application step — indicating that the proposed project’s uses and size will align with existing zoning and will not require a rezoning application — and that the new building development will include a replacement Safeway as part of its mix of uses. The grocery store property spans almost the entirety of the city block’s land area — about 2.2 acres, with the vast majority of the property used as surface vehicle parking. The grocery store building itself has a floor area of over 27,000 sq ft. Records show the two properties that form the Safeway property changed hands on June 11, 2024 in a combined deal worth $90 million. Safeway at 2315 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps) Safeway at 2315 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps) As of July 2023, according to BC Assessment, the property’s assessed value was $87.2 million, with $87.13 million coming from the land and $65,300 coming from the structure. This was down substantially from $116.2 million in July 2022, with $116.23 million coming from the land and $60,000 coming from the structure. At its peak, in both assessment years of 2018 and 2019, it was worth $126.9 million, following an upward climb since its 2014 assessment of $50.3 million. This property is not under the City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan, as it falls just west of Vine Street, which is the westernmost boundary line of the area plan. For the area of the West 4th Avenue retail strip that is within the Broadway Plan (east of Safeway), such as the Whole Foods Market building across the street, the area plan limits the potential new developments to low-rise heights to maintain the retail district’s village-like character. “Rezoning applications will generally not be considered in this area under the Broadway Plan. All development should conform with the C-2B zoning district and any associated design guidelines,” reads the Broadway Plan for sub-area KW4A, which is the continuous stretch of West 4th Avenue between Vine Street and Burrard Street. PCI Developments and LowTide Properties are also collaborating on a major mixed-use developments with rental housing next to SkyTrain’s VCC-Clark Station (with a grocery store) and the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station. As well, PCI Developments is also pursuing a number of transit-oriented development projects along Broadway, such as the under-construction 39-storey mixed-use rental housing tower (with Loblaws City Market) fully integrated with SkyTrain’s future South Granville Station at 1477 West Broadway and a proposed 25-storey rental housing tower at 1434-1456 West Broadway next to South Granville Station. Last week, PCI Developments’ rezoning application to build a 30-storey mixed-use rental housing tower at 2096 West Broadway, next to SkyTrain’s future Arbutus Station, was approved by Vancouver City Council. It is a 50/50 partnership with TransLink, with this particular project being the public transit authority’s very first for-profit real estate building development. Other prominent projects by PCI Developments include the low-rise Crossroads building (with Whole Foods Market and London Drugs) next to Broadway-City Hall SkyTrain Station and the Marine Gateway complex (with T&T Supermarket, Cineplex, and Winners) next to Marine Drive SkyTrain Station. In partnership with Westbank, Crombie REIT is proposing to redevelop the Safeway next to Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain Station, with the latest application revision indicating there will be three towers up to 43 storeys with over 1,000 rental homes and a new replacement Safeway. BentallGreenOak is also looking to turn the site of the former Safeway at 4545 West 10th Avenue in West Point Grey into a mixed-use development of up to 19 storeys with 569 rental homes and a new 37,000 sq ft replacement and expanded grocery store. In Summer 2025, Fresh St. Market will open a 20,000 sq ft location within the new Kitsilano Block mixed-use building at the northwest corner of the intersection of West 4th Avenue and Macdonald Street — just four blocks west of PCI Developments and LowTide Properties’ newly acquired Safeway property.

rent-increase-of-23.5%-approved-for-landlord:-rtb
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Rent increase of 23.5% approved for landlord: RTB

Bymichael

Posted August 13, 2024 11:24 am. Last Updated August 13, 2024 11:42 am. Are the high interest rates of the last few years a reason enough to allow landlords to increase rents above the allowable limit? The Residential Tenancy Branch said that was the case in at least one ruling, where one landlord was approved to hike rents by 23.5 per cent over two years. In a decision posted earlier this year , the RTB said the landlords’ application for an additional increase of that amount over two years was approved, adding they “must impose this increase in accordance with the Act and the Regulation.” “I find the Landlords have been successful. They have proven, on a balance of probabilities, all the elements required to be able to impose an additional rent increase for a financial loss for financing costs of purchasing the residential property under section 23 of the Regulation,” the ruling reads. “The Landlords seek an additional rent increase of 23.5%. Section 23(4) of the Regulation states when considering an additional rent increase application for a financial loss for financing costs of purchasing the residential property, the director may order that the increase granted under subsection (1) be phased in over a period of time. I find this rent increase significant in one installment, and I order it may be applied over two years.” The RTB ruled that in the first year, the landlords were allowed to raise rents for each of the four units by 3.5 per cent — the annual allowable — plus an additional 12 per cent. The second year could rise by whatever the provincial maximum is set at, plus 11.5 per cent. The board explains that a landlord can apply for additional rent increases “if they, acting reasonably, have incurred a financial loss for the financing costs of purchasing the residential property, if the financing costs could not have been foreseen under reasonable circumstances.” The RTB says the landlords in this situation purchased the fourplex rental property — their first such building — in October 2021. Initially, their borrowing rate was 1.9 per cent “The landlords testified that they have always used a variable rate mortgage and at the time of setting up the mortgage, the rates had been stable. At the time, there was no definitive indication that the interest rate would increase as much as it did,” the board wrote. By July 2023, the RTB says the landlords’ mortgage rate jumped to 6.65 per cent. As of May 2024, the RTB said the landlords’ rate remained 6.65 per cent. Fixing their mortgage in 2023 was reportedly not an option, with the RTB saying the landlords’ noted they were “too early in their mortgage term” and that doing so would incur a penalty that was “very large.” However, tenants cited in the RTB’s decision argued that it was “reasonably foreseeable that the rate will change,” as the landlords had a variable rate mortgage. “The Landlords should enter these kinds of financing circumstances with a cushion to absorb the rate variability,” they said. “The Landlords reached out to the Tenants in April 2023 and asked if they would be agreeable to an additional rent increase over the annual allowable limit. Tenant M.S. said the Landlords asked the Tenants for a $500.00 per month increase. The Tenants were not agreeable. Some Tenants argued that this is the Landlords’ investment, so how can this be classified as a loss when the Landlords are ‘going to come away with a million dollar house,’” the ruling reads. As a standard, landlords in B.C. may only increase rents annually to a certain cap set by the provincial government. For 2024, the maximum was set at 3.5 per cent. “Tenants must pay the increased rent, unless the increase is unlawful,” the province states on its website. “Landlords can only increase rent if they provide tenants with at least 3 full months notice. Rent can only be increased once every 12 months and must be within the yearly rent increase limit, as set by the Residential Tenancy Branch.” LandlordBC CEO David Hutniak was not available for an interview. While he was unable to review this decision specifically, he tells 1130 NewsRadio via email that “our sector is experiencing huge fiscal challenges due to the escalating operational costs especially those out of our control like taxes, insurance, utilities, and fees.” “High interest rates have exacerbated an already bad situation. Furthermore, a steady stream of regulation, layered upon layer, with rent control being the most notable, are pushing more and more rental housing providers to abandon the sector” Hutniak wrote. “So although I’ve not reviewed this specific decision, the challenges this rental housing provider has experienced I know are not unique and the approved increase is likely deficient. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see an Arbitrator at the RTB recognize the need to make the ruling that they did.” 1130 NewsRadio has reached out to the Ministry of Housing and the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre for comment.

is-singapores-housing-model-a-realistic-solution-for-bc.s-affordability-woes?
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Is Singapores housing model a realistic solution for B.C.s affordability woes?

Bymichael

When Eby unveiled B.C. Builds in February, Khoo said many Singaporean philosophies were instantly recognizable in the provincial program, right down to the exact percentage points in one instance. Author of the article: The Canadian Press Chuck Chiang Published Aug 06, 2024  •  Last updated 3 days ago  •  7 minute read A Harbour Air seaplane takes off past office and condo towers as a boat refuels at a floating Chevron station on the water, in Vancouver, on July 25 . Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS Urban planner Louisa-May Khoo says she got a sense of history repeating when Premier David Eby announced the B.C. Builds housing program earlier this year. Khoo, a University of British Columbia public scholar, was a veteran of Singapore’s planning and development sector starting in 1996 before arriving in Vancouver in 2018. When Eby unveiled B.C. Builds in February, Khoo said many Singaporean philosophies were instantly recognizable in the provincial program, right down to the exact percentage points in one instance. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. Sign In or Create an Account or Article content “B.C. Builds has pegged their rental rates at 30 per cent of the household income, for instance, and that’s something the (Singapore Housing and Development Board) has always stuck by,” Khoo said. It “is also pushing for things like a lot more upstream planning, which Singapore has always done for a long time,” she said. “Some of the regulations and proposals that I’ve seen in terms of the housing plan is very much inspired (by Singapore).” Singapore’s housing model, where the government plays a dominating role in land ownership, property development, financing and other related aspects of society, has been held up numerous times as a path to affordability here in Canada. But the idea isn’t without its critics, especially when much of the policy may not be applicable in the Canadian social environment. The B.C. Builds program aims to use “government, community and non-profit owned” land and $2 billion in low-cost financing to deliver middle-income homes. Eby has said that more Singapore inspirations are coming for B.C.’s program. “We’re starting with rental housing,” Eby said in a February. “We’re going to move into housing for purchases as well. This is a model that has been used in Singapore, in Vienna. … We know that it works, and we are taking that model and we’re expanding it dramatically. Article content “This is how we change the direction of housing.” To make the change by adopting the full Singaporean model, however, will be difficult, said Sock Yong Phang, a Singapore Management University economics professor. The Singapore-based researcher, who co-wrote a 2016 Asian Development Bank Institute report on the country’s housing policies, said much of his country’s unique take on housing came out of necessity. Full adaptation in a different environment, therefore, will prove challenging, she said. Singapore faces an acute problem of land scarcity, Phang said. “(So) it is a holistic framework of land-use planning and allocation, housing supply delivery, housing finance and regulation of housing demand to ensure affordable home ownership. “The framework in its entirety will be difficult to replicate in another setting.” Singapore, often described as a city-state, houses most of its 5.9 million residents on one main island totalling 730 square kilometres. That area is smaller than every top-15 most-populated census metropolitan areas in Canada, with the closest being Oshawa, Ont., at 903 square kilometres. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Article content Article content The lack of land was compounded by a lack in adequate housing when Singapore gained self-governance from Britain in 1959. Phang wrote in the report that less than nine per cent of the population was living in public housing at the time “with the majority living in overcrowded prewar, rent-controlled apartments, lacking access to water and modern sanitation,” while “others faced housing conditions comparable to today’s slums.” It led to the creation of the Housing and Development Board to build and sell public housing, as well as laws that gave government broad powers to acquire land for redistribution for “any public purpose.” As a result, Phang said about 90 per