SARAH HARROWITZ - Vancouver's latest stab at innovative and affordable housing (after laneway homesand shipping container homes) comes in a more unexpected form: a jail. The former Remand Centre (250 Powell St.) in downtown Vancouver is being turned into a seven-floor unit of affordable housing for marginalized and vulnerable community members. The project is a collaborative effort between BC Housing, the government, BladeRunners, The Bloom Group, CPA Development Consultants, and Henriquez Partners Architects. The finished product will feature 96 self-contained housing units. The jail, which was built in 1981 to hold those waiting to appear in court, was closed in 2002. Funnily enough, the original was designed by Henriquez Partners Architects founding partner Richard Henriquez. The redesign, led by the same firm, is in the hands of his son, Gregory. "We have worked hard to get it off the ground and know it will make an enormously valuable impact on the DTES community, providing stability and dignity to at risk aboriginal youth, women at risk of homelessness and others struggling to build better lives," Gregory Henriquez told The Huffington Post B.C. in an email. "That my father designed the original detention centre further personalizes this project for me – I’m proud to be breathing new life into his original design." Nearly 40 of the building's units are being designated for at-risk Aboriginal youth who participate in BladeRunners, a training employment program focusing on the trades. “Ninety-five per cent of the kids we work with are homeless when they first start the program,” BladeRunners’ Garry Jobin told Global News. “Our need for affordable, stable housing is unbelievable.” The rest of the units will be available to women at risk of homelessness and those in low income households. Priority will go to those who already live or work in the Downtown Eastside. There will also be a community garden and a multi-purpose space. The multi-million dollar project (which is receiving funding from three levels of government) will be managed by The Bloom Group. "We were really interested in having [the project] be something that we could support and make an asset in our community," The Bloom Group's director of resource development and communications Lesley Anderson told The Huffington Post B.C. While the project was first announced back in 2011, people were reminded of it last week when BC Housing tweeted some photos of the building and its progress. Read more : Fullstory at Huffington Post REBGV - First-time home buyers received welcome news in today’s provincial budget.
The government has announced, effective February 19, 2014, under the Property Transfer Tax (PTT) First-Time Home Buyers’ Exemption program, qualifying first-time buyers can buy a home worth up to $475,000. The previous threshold was $425,000. The partial exemption continues and will apply to homes valued between $475,000 and $500,000. With this change, the government estimates 1,700 additional first-time buyers will annually be eligible to save up to $7,500 in PTT when they buy their home. The government estimates this measure will cost $8 million in lost tax revenue each year. The Real Estate Board, together with BC Real Estate Association, has actively lobbied to make home ownership more affordable for first-time home buyers. This increase in the threshold clearly signals our efforts have paid off as in past years. In 2008, as a result of industry lobbying, the provincial government increased the threshold to $425,000 from $375,000. In 2005, the government increased the threshold to $325,000 from $275,000. The PTT is calculated at a rate of one per cent on the first $200,000 and two per cent on the remaining value of the purchase price. On February 12, the Canadian government closed a popular program which started in 1986, to lure Chinese investors to bring their millions into Canada. What was labeled as the Immigrant Investors Program (IIP) offered visas to business people with a net worth of minimum 1.6 million (cdn) who were willing to lend $800,000 (interest free!) to the Canadian government for investment across Canada for a term of five years. Provincially, this program directly gave the BC government access to over $400 million in funding used to help replace schools and expand hospitals. This fund was also used to invest in local BC based businesses involved in the high-tech sector.* Approximately 56,000 applicants, representing 7 years of VISAS, were cancelled and the program suspended indefinitely. In the same announcement, the Canadian government offered two new programs for applicants to apply under a new Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Fund or a business skill option - both to be launched later this year** It is unknown if the government was directly trying to impact the housing market or if the announcement will have any impact at all. The government exerts that despite the millions of dollars in interest free loans, the immigrants under this program held very little ties to the country and were not major contributors to the economy - via taxes. In a press conference in Toronto, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander stated, "Citizenship is not a right, it is a privilege." A position that has been maintained in Ottawa, contributing to their decision early last week.*** The local housing market has been steady for the past 12 months. Both activity and price points have been consistent. Luxury detached home sales, sold at or above $2.5 million, represents 28% of sales in Vancouver in 2014. Luxury condominium/townhouse sales represents less than 1% of sale in Vancouver in 2014. Luxury homes for all properties in Vancouver represents 10% of the local housing market. What kind of impact do YOU think this announcement will have for Vancouver real estate. Read more (credit): *Vancouver Sun **CBC News ***Chinatimes ****statistics derived from MLS Sales 2014, YTD |
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