Holding the line in Central Lonsdale

January 15, 2013 By in North Shore, Urban Villages Project Tags: , 2 Comments

Shops, Fourteenth Street, North Vancouver

Bakery front, Lonsdale Avenue, North VancouverCentral Lonsdale sits east and west of Lonsdale Avenue, the “spine” of the City of North Vancouver. North and south, it extends from Upper Levels Highway down to 8th Street.  The area offers advantages as an urban village: good public transit,  independent shops and services, recreation and culture, and proximity to downtown Vancouver (with  Shopfront, Lonsdale Avenue, North VancouverBurrard Inlet serving as a buffer.)

But the neighbourhood and the city  government face development pressures, and  controversy came to a boil in December 2012. Onni, a major developer in the region, said it would withdraw an application to construct two condo towers (24 and 17 storeys, with 350 units), a six-storey office block and ground-floor retail space, citing “public abuse” and a “smear campaign” on the part of two members of Council. Continue reading →

B.C. party preferences, seat by seat

December 23, 2012 By in Around B.C. Tags: , Leave a comment

The Esplanade, North Vancouver

The polls indicate that British Columbia will see a change of government in the election scheduled for May 14, 2013.  The BC Liberals have taken the last three elections, but  credible polling firms have given the New Democratic Party a lead of at least 15 points over the Liberals throughout the past year.

Based on a compilation of polls through to early December 2012, Eric Grenier of ThreeHundredEight.com has determined that an election at that time would likely have given the NDP about 60 seats in the B.C. Legislature, with 24 Liberals in opposition and one Independent (Vicki Huntingdon in Delta South).  Mr. Grenier’s work appears regularly in the Globe and Mail.  He tracks opinion at the federal and provincial levels by combining polling results, recognizing that different polling methods have different strengths and flaws. Continue reading →

Speculation and stagnation in the real estate market

December 16, 2012 By in Housing, Real Estate and Property Taxes Tags: , 3 Comments
Burnaby Heights

Burnaby Heights

Home prices have sagged across Fraseropolis in recent months, but they’re still something of a marvel.  Realtors estimate the “benchmark” cost of a detached house in north Burnaby at close to $1,000,000;  west of Ontario Street in  Vancouver, the figure last month was above $2,000,000.

So, inevitably: is there a residential real estate bubble in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland? Are we verging on a crash?  Is it time to panic?  This debate has run on for years, and I won’t issue a ruling here, except to observe that the pricey parts of the region have tended to get pricier over time, despite the fretting, while home prices in the least expensive areas have stagnated (see the chart at the bottom of this post.) Continue reading →

Renovating Austin Heights

November 20, 2012 By in Tricities, Urban Villages Project Tags: , 2 Comments

The City of Coquitlam, which has a current population of about 130,000, was a Angle parking in the key pedestrian block of Austin Avenue, Coquitlamsuperstar of sprawl in the 1970s and 80s.  The City government has  changed course in its more recent neighbourhood plans.  The Austin Heights plan, dated April 2011, would see 5,000 additional residents housed  between Blue Mountain and Linton streets.

“Coun. Doug Macdonell, who grew up in Austin Heights and attended Austin Heights elementary, said the area needs to be modernized. ‘It’s come to a time now where it’s pretty tired,’ he said, adding, ‘We need the density to rehabilitate this area and make it a thriving community again.’ (Tri-City News.) Continue reading →