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Condo craters

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MacLeans has an Interesting article about the effect of failed real estate projects on cities:

It’s worth noting the location of the Ritz project is a particularly sensitive one for Vancouver’s bruised real estate ego. When the last bubble burst in the 1990s, a half-built concrete tower was abandoned there. For years it was an ugly reminder of the excesses the city’s real estate developers, investors and buyers are prone to. Now a six storey-deep hole in the exact same spot could prove to be an eyesore for months, even years, to come.

The full article is at the MacLeans website and is worth a read.

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reform bagman

Boombust: Why was Pennyfarthing a fiasco. First of all the land was popped out by transfering title from Small Craft Harbours to DFO to NHB to B.C. Central Credit Union. Then they brought in Kirkoff in to build the B.C. Central building. They killed and crippled a few guys on that one, but the real meat for the sandwich was about to start. That was going to be the 3oo unit Pennyfarthing bldgs. The deal was the land & a MURB designation for breaking the construction unions. Kirkoff brought in their religious scab unions from the valley and with up to three dozen police on the scene for months got their end of the bargain done. The B.C.Fed knew that this was the deal breaker put tons of guys on the line, but they got busted. This was the spot… Read more »

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reform bagman

Boombust: Why was Pennyfarthing a fiasco. First of all they got land from the feds via transfering title from Small Craft Harbours to DFO to NHB to B.C. Central Credit Union. Then they brought in Kirkoff in to build the B.C. Central building. They killed and crippled a few guys on that one but the real meat for the sandwich was about to start. That was going to be the 3oo unit Pennyfarthing bldgs. The deal was the land & a MURB designation for breaking the construction unions. They used their religious scab unions from the valley and lots of police and got their end of the bargain done. The Fed knew that this was the deal breaker put tons of guys on the line, but they got busted. This was the spot and the time 1980 that broke the… Read more »

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no-lympics

realpaul: Re False Creek and Expo lands I recall some development on the south side…between the Cambie Street bridge and the Granville Street Bridge. The North side had the Sweeney cooperage, a lumber mill etc. After Expo, I recall Bennett resigned as Premier and VanderZalm took over . For whatever reason, VanderZalm wanted the Expo lands sold ASAP, and Toigo was interested. Li Kai Shing ended up acquiring it for a price I recall around $50 million. My suspicion is Li Kai Shing knew a wave of HK expatriates would be immigrating to BC…the timing was perfect, and he had the all crucial potential Hi -Rise land to sell them the product. Obviously he wasn't interested in SFH etc. Hi Rise is really mass produced RE product…but the whole HK market was built on flipping . The pre-sale concept should… Read more »

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Boombust

Li Ka Shing who offered a smart structured deal of 150 million over 20 years.

Are you kidding? He got the entire property for a measly 60 million bucks.

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Boombust

53 realpaul Says:

March 5th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

Boombust:

On the south end. Around the Granville Bridge. The north end was still a mess of warehouses, railway tracks and old mills…until it was cleaned up for Expo.

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realpaul

Boombust: #50 Boombust. I don't think there was anything at all under construction in the False Creek or Yaletown area in 1982 was there? The first major urban project down there was the Expo 86 project, quite limited in overall area, and nothing commercial or residential in nature. There was a bunch of wild assed bandits in government at the time and they had been negotiating with some guy named Peter Toigo over he site which was rather toxic from all those years as an industrial wasteland. I think I remember the value being talked around as about $80 million cash. After Expo 86 and the entrance of the very savvy Li Ka Shing who offered a smart structured deal of 150 million over 20 years. It was something like that. But his deal was a good political sell and… Read more »

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Carioca Canuck

Regarding Ferrari Maserati of Vancouver…….the dealership has been owned by the wealthy Ferrari collector and Ohio commercial real estate developer Brian Ross for a few years now. MCL has never had an interest in that business.

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Informer10

Time to rethink your mortgage

Some are refinancing not for the savings, but rather to lock in today’s low rates for five years. http://www.vancouversun.com/Business/Time+rethink…

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Boombust

It's a wonder that anything was completed in the False Creek area in 1982 or so. Remember the "Pennyfarthing" fiasco?

Well, I do. Been here a long time and none of this crash and burn stuff is new.

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patriotz

realpaul:

#19 patriotz, in fact there were far fewer high rise developments in progress to be cancelled in the 1980’s

That is quite right, as the big high rise districts of today were still mostly industrial or commercial back then. But your quote that I replied to:

“Unlike prior real estate recessions there are a great many large stagnant water filled pits left to stink up the place.”

didn't mention high rises. There were a lot of abandoned low rise projects in 1982.

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no-lympics

Another reason to not buy in the town of the newly wed and nearly dead..ie Victoria

New sewage price tag for Victoria: $2 billion

11 plants would be built around region, heat and water recovered

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/sewage+price+Vic…

Watch them taxes shoot UP and UP and…

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no-lympics

This just in:

"FOR SALE" sign next to Bacon Brothers home

http://twitpic.com/1biwa

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no-lympics

realpaul: The one on St Albans(actually it turns into Cooney Rd. North of Granville)finished just when things tanked. Not sure of pre-sale numbers, but not a bad locale…ie there are a lot worse. However, I don't think they have even a single live -in owner yet. Garden City Rd…I was really surprised they started the one at Garden City…I think it is built be by Am-Pri a mid size townhouse builder. However, they held the land assembly a while…so bought it much cheaper in past….PLUS cost to build (labour and materials)have come way down so their overall input costs(cheaper land and lower costs of construction) may actually allow them to undercut the other finished product now on the market which was more expensive to build. The one along #4RD ?..I think that's the Polygon one where they threw in a… Read more »

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doug r

I still it's bad karma from knocking down the Fine Arts Cinema.

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crashandburn

It's been said on this forum that we would drop through the 90's to the 80's and possibly back to the 70's. But then last week Canada's GDP flew back to resemble the worst economic performance since 1961 !! But wait it isn't getting better, in fact it just got a lot WORSE !! We have blasted through the 50's into the economic equivalent of the 1940's. Holy Shit….1930's here we come. http://www.marketwatch.com/ ECONOMIC OUTLOOK Worst job losses in 60 years expected By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Last update: 6:44 p.m. EST March 5, 2009Comments: 456WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Based on the old rule of thumb that a recession is when you lose your job and a depression is when I lose mine, 650,000 families fell into a depression in February, according to the latest forecasts. The Labor Department will release its… Read more »

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realpaul

no-lympics:

#42 no-lympics, I drove by a low rise condo project sitting in the northeast corner of Granville and St. Albans Rd in Richmond. It seems to me the price has been reduced from 349 to 299 but it's compltely empty by the looks of it. There are quite few townhouse projects in Richmond ( three on Garden City) that look like the foundation was being prepped and another which is framed but workers are non existent. Another project along # 4 Rd in between Cambie and Alderbridge is near completion but no workers there either. Did I miss the neutron bomb going off in Richmond? Where are all the workmen?

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no-lympics

Condos to be auctioned off Pre-sales didn't meet expectations at Langford's Reflections project http://www.timescolonist.com/Business/Langford+co… The sound of a gavel hitting wood could mean some homebuyers and real estate investors will have new digs later this month. Reflections, the 114-unit development just off Veteran's Memorial Parkway in Langford, is planning a liquidation auction March 14 for 40 of its suites as the developers try to recover costs after a number of the project's pre-sales failed to close. "We were left with more units than anticipated," said developer Andrew Khoo, noting 70 per cent of the project had been pre-sold before construction began. "As we finished off, a number of buyers and investors chose not to complete." Khoo said a drop in housing prices pushed some speculative investors to walk away rather than pay the original price. Those investors put down deposits… Read more »

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Vansanity

Yawn… this crash needs to pick up some legs, it's getting boring.

Where's Tony Danza? Or Scullboy, post up a rant, I love those, rip someone a new one.

Need to spice it up around here, just sayin.

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khoek

#39 Noname

Sorry… I should've posted a warning 🙂 But it's truely amazing that they print that garbage as news. Talk about fluff!

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Noname

#37 Khoek:

You really should've told everyone here it was writen by a realtard. It surely wasted my time to read the garage.

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no-lympics

Post # 36

Re that Community Garden Loophole:

If it exists, what the developers are doing is legal. Its based on a BC Assessment deeming it eligible to qualify for a classification at a lower tax rate.

Yes, the deferred cost is downloaded onto others.

However typical of Gov't to play the middle…given the COV obligated its own citizens to the Olympic Village(sure is quiet…any news?), then goes after the big bad developer like they are robbing the City blind ?

It's the Local Gov't Act/Community Charter that needs to be amended…these F*ckers at your local City Hall are the root of most civic evils.

.

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khoek

This may be the greatest real estate full piece in history care of our friends at the Metro in Toronto. Never before has the justification as to why real estate prices are not impacted by the economy been made by comparing them to hockey hall of famers. You couldn't make this crap up.

http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/comment/article/1…

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Van-zee

I hope the developers can figure out how to turn a crater into a park or community garden before the tax loop hole closes for them.

http://tinyurl.com/bp765c

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Supraboy

Post #1:

Chilled Says:

March 4th, 2009 at 10:00 pm

Too funny. I’ll bid $750K on it!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think I'd even want that property for $300k, it's bad karma buying properties that have gone bankrupt or foreclosed. Whoever buys that big pit will go bankrupt next, you watch.

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oneangryslav

Apropos of the stock market/real estate correlation discussion, it's important to note that the companies that comprise the Dow Jones 30 (which is the most publicized proxy for the health of the stock market) is in constant flux as losers are removed and winners added. Here's a great link to the history of the Dow's companies:

http://www.quasimodos.com/info/dowhistory.html

Incidentally, how long before sChITty corpse is replaced on the Dow?

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