A New Plan for Vancouver’s False Creek Flats Category: First Time Buyer, Real Estate Agent, Renew Refinance, You might have heard that the industrial area near Vancouver’s core, known as the False Creek Flats, is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Over the last couple of years, the City of Vancouver has been busy with a planning process aimed at unlocking the untapped potential of the area. To do that, it teamed up with Vancouver Economic Commission, as well as more than 3,600 people who weighed in with their input. Last week, a much anticipated draft plan was unveiled at an open house. So, what’s in store? The plan offers a framework for creating a more productive, sustainable and integrated Flats. That includes plans to increase green jobs, support the presence of rail, celebrate arts and culture, create new public gathering places, and much more. Confused about where The Flats are? The area extends east from Main Street to Clark Drive and south from Prior Street to Great Northern Way. It’s less than a kilometre from downtown Vancouver. The Flats, by the Numbers Comprised of 450+ acresIt’s home to 500 businesses that span a variety of sectors like logistics, arts and culture, food, software and construction, and that employ 8,000 people63% of Flats is zoned industrial26% is zoned for mixed employmentThe median floor space for businesses is 3,000 sq. ft What’s the Plan for the Flats? Today, many people think that the Flats are underused. The plan covers a lot of areas to fix this. 1. Increased land area for jobsThe Flats Plan will increase employment floorspace from 5.4 million sq ft to an estimated 11 million sq ft. through new land use policies. 2. Job growth in new economic sectorsThe Flats Plan will increase jobs from 8,000 to + 30,000 (many will come from the new St. Paul’s hospital and Emily Carr University campus.) 3. A new economic development strategyVancouver Economic Commission is concurrently releasing an Economic Development Strategy to support new and innovative businesses. Let’s take a look… Health Hub The new St Paul’s Hospital and health campus will be housed on the north-west corner of the False Creek Flats. The goal is for the Flats to become a world-class integrated health care, research and teaching hub. Some features of the new hospital include single-patient rooms, highly specialized programs and services, new technologies and state-of-the-art spaces, and integrated care. It will employ more than 2,000 staff, and should open its doors in 2021-2022. The cost for the hospital and health-care facility is estimated at $1.2 billion, and the provincial government has already committed $500 million toward that. Check out this video of the concept. As for the current location of St. Paul’s Hospital, that’s likely to be replaced by high-rise condos. Creative Campus The Emily Carr University of Art + Design is moving from its current digs at Granville Island to Great Northern Way. The new 18-acre campus will accommodate 1,800 students and is expected to be completed this fall. It is being designed to achieve the LEED Gold Certification for sustainable construction. Housing Opportunities As for housing, the focus of the plan is on industrial uses for the Flats, but it does plan to bring an additional 3,000 units for those who work and learn in the flats. Student accommodation at the new Emily Carr University of Art and Design will also be explored. Benefits Local Serving New and improved local roadsNew and improved walking & cycling connectionsWalk the Line pathway and public amenity nodesLocal park renewal and improvementsChildcare facilities to support local job growthGreen infrastructure (rainwater management, renewable energy, etc.), water and sewer renewal and expansion District-Serving Innovation business spaces & programming to support local economyArts Factory renewal and expansionNew housing opportunities, including market and non-market rental to serve key groups such as artists, young workers and students City Serving New East-West arterialCentral Valley Greenway & Adanac connectionsService yard expansions (e.g. Fire facilities, Evans Yard and National Yard)Renewal of animal service facilityMillennium Line Broadway ExtensionDowntown steam system fuel switch plant What’s Next? The area clearly has a lot of untapped potential. Right now, the plan is soliciting feedback from various constituents, with the aim to present it to City Council in the spring. I’d love to hear what you think about this plan. Drop me a line to chat! Or if you’re in need of a top rated Vancouver mortgage broker, get in touch! Continue Reading: Read Article What's Your Best Mortgage Rate? Category: First Time Buyer,Renew Refinance, “Mr. Mortgage Broker, please give me the best rate!” In the past, it was easy to give our clients the best mortgage rate available. Unfortunately, new government regulations have created a fragmentation of interest rates that make “giving you our best rate,” more complex. I wrote about these new government regulations in my blog: “The […] Read Article Read Article Is the BC HOME Partnership Program Worth It? Category: Renew Refinance, The short answer is “Yes”. The long answer is: YES, the BC HOME Partnership Program (the Program) is worth it in almost all scenarios. This is a long blog; please don’t hesitate to contact us for any technical questions.Refresher: what the program is and how to apply. We will be looking at three scenarios where this interest free mortgage loan […] Read Article