Articles by Mike Howell

Business

Beedie clears final hurdle on Vancouver Chinatown condo project

The city’s development permit board was unanimous Monday in approving a developer’s revised application to build a nine-storey 133-unit market condo building in the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown. The board had previously given Beedie (Keefer Street) Holdings approval in principle in June 2023 to proceed with the project on a piece of vacant property it owns at the corner of Keefer and Columbia streets. That approval required Beedie to meet conditions related to design, including significantly reshaping the corner of the building, its facade and working with members of Chinatown’s design and art community on the project. The three-member development permit board comprised of senior city staff heard from dozens of residents over two meetings — the majority in opposition to the project — before explaining their support for the development. 'Raises many concerns' Matt Shillito, the city’s director of special projects, said he wanted to acknowledge the many residents who spoke “very passionately and eloquently” about Beedie’s project. More than 100 people registered to speak to the board. “I appreciate that it raises many concerns for a lot of people around affordability, gentrification, the relationship between the building and [Chinatown] Memorial Square and the very sensitive cultural context of the project,” said Shillito from the council chamber at city hall. But, he added, the board’s scope was limited to “the exclusions and the relaxations” of the revised design, rather than the overall principle of the development in terms of land use or housing tenure and affordability — or the overall form of the building. “I agree with the staff assessment that the revised design is an improvement on the one that the board considered in 2023,” he said, noting the addition of a courtyard with publicly accessible open space. “I think that some of the new features added to the design — the cupola, the articulated facade, the colonnade — are all thoughtful in the way they pick up on existing design features in Chinatown.” The fact that the Chinatown historic area planning committee unanimously approved the project was also “telling,” said Shillito in reaching his decision. 'Trust the professionals' Corrie Okell, the city’s general manager of development, buildings and licensing, used part of her closing remarks to address concerns raised by speakers over Beedie failing to meet a Jan. 15, 2024 deadline to satisfy conditions requested by the board in the 2023 decision. “Applicants may request an extension, which was done in this case, and this is a common practice and supported,” Okell said. “There's no requirement to submit a new application, as it is in response to the initial proposal.” Added Okell: “We as the board are here today to make a decision on the changes to the design to address the conditions requested as part of the 2023 [development permit] board. I feel that these conditions have been addressed with these minor relaxations, which I will support.” Lon LaClaire, the city’s general manager of engineering services, also commented on the passion of the speakers, many of whom had spoken at earlier council and development permit board meetings. LaClaire pointed out that veteran architect James Cheng had been hired by Beedie to improve the design of the project. “In terms of the architecture and the urban design, I actually trust the professionals in the room,” he said. “I believe the applicant has a great architect. I think he's particularly talented. In terms of the specifics that we're being asked for — the height, the density —again, I kind of trust everyone that said that those are supportable.” 'Accelerate gentrification' Prior to the board meeting, a coalition of Chinatown and Downtown Eastside residents rallied outside city hall in protest of the project — as they did Oct. 20 before the first meeting. The coalition issued a news release after the meeting to condemn the decision. “This decision marks a singularly appalling moment in Vancouver’s history as the city continues to serve elite developer interests, and continues to prioritize profit over people,” the coalition said. “This decision will exacerbate displacement and accelerate gentrification in a neighbourhood that is increasingly unlivable for low-income seniors and residents.” Beedie acquired the property in July 2013. It is adjacent to the Chinatown Memorial Plaza, which features a monument to Chinese railway workers and veterans. The city is currently finalizing a new design of the plaza to improve the public space. The company has taken several years to get to final approval, with it first being turned down in June 2017 by the Vision Vancouver-led council. Beedie later went to court where the company won the right to go before the development permit board this year. A timeline of the company’s battle to get final approval can be read here. X/@Howellings

Technology

Vancouver condo tax sale saga takes another turn

The heir to a Vancouver condo assessed at $1.6 million in 2024 didn’t meet the deadline last week to pay the outstanding property taxes on his West 10th Avenue property and it’s unclear if he ever will. If he doesn’t pay the tab, the condo at 1208-1575 West 10th Ave. that was originally purchased by his mother in 2000—the late Melba Dorothy Hofmann—could end up in another tax sale. City council heard at an unscheduled meeting called Nov. 6 that Hoffman’s son lives in Washington state and does not own a cellphone or computer, does not have an email address or a motor vehicle. The son, whose name was not disclosed during the meeting, was supposed to pay the outstanding property taxes on the condo by Nov. 6. That was the deadline for him to avoid losing the property to Smit Kamdar, who purchased the condo at a city-run tax sale in November 2024. A staff report on the case that was to go before city council Nov. 5 was withdrawn after city lawyer Grant Murray told council that Hoffman’s son planned to wire the money before the Nov. 6 deadline. “The fact of the matter is that the heir to the leasehold owner has indicated that he has wired the money to redeem the property, and it should be arriving today or tomorrow,” Murray said at the time. “And as a result of that, there is no need to declare a manifest error. The owner's heir knows full well that this would have been sold if it hadn't been redeemed by Thursday. They've wired the money from a bank, and it's on its way.” 'Peculiar decision' A day later—on the Thursday—the money still hadn’t arrived and Kamdar was told a special council meeting was being called in the late afternoon of Nov. 6, where he could argue to keep the condo. He was present via a video link. What he heard is Murray tell council that the bank working on behalf of Hoffman’s son incorrectly scheduled the wire transfer a day late to pay the taxes. That information was provided to the city after council had withdrawn the staff report. The bank cancelled the wire transfer and intended to provide a cashier's cheque for the appropriate sum, but Hofmann’s son decided not to travel to Vancouver to deliver the cheque. “That seems to me to be a peculiar decision for somebody to make,” said Murray, adding that “there appears to be valid reasons to question whether he appreciates the nature of the proceedings he is facing.” 'Manifest error' The staff report that was withdrawn by council indicated a “manifest error” had occurred and the condo shouldn’t have been auctioned at the tax sale in 2024. The error was that Hofmann’s mother had been dead since 2016, and that property taxes hadn’t been paid on the condo since 2019. The Vancouver Charter requires that real properties with unpaid property taxes that have been delinquent for two years are offered for sale by public auction each year. Successful tax sale purchasers of property are required to pay the “upset price,” which is the sum of the delinquent taxes, penalty interest and registration charges payable to the land title office. Kamdar bought the condo for $271,944.81, with $91,944.81of the total amount having been collected by the city. The sale came with the condition that if outstanding taxes were paid before Nov. 6, 2025, then the deal would be off. What mystifies Kamdar is that the staff report indicated that the city had only recently learned about Hoffman’s death, but Murray told council Nov. 6 that the city had in fact known about the death on the evening of the tax sale in 2024. Kamdar said he purchased the property in good faith. “It's not right,” Kamdar said. “These guys knew that the very same day — after the tax sale was completed — that the person is deceased. They don't call for a manifest error for the entire year. Then the property is not getting redeemed, and they call for a manifest error.” He added: “There was no manifest error. So now they've cancelled [the sale], so there's not much I can do about it.” 'In the spirit of the law' Council was unanimous in scrapping the deal, with Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung describing the case as “an unfortunate situation by all accounts.” Before Kirby-Yung cast her vote, she clarified with Murray on the reason for cancelling the sale. Kirby-Yung: “I just want to understand that I heard correctly that you're proposing this course of action because we feel that an individual may not have sort of the full possession or ability to kind of comprehend the situation, and we probably have a duty of care to ensure that we're providing full fairness for the individual to exercise their rights.” Murray: “Yes, I think that's a fair characterization. It seems odd that he appreciates the nature of the proceedings he's facing if he is willing to forego approximately a million dollars for the sake of travelling to Vancouver. But that seems to be a peculiarity that we've just recently discovered. There was, of course, the notices that were provided to his mother. They were done in accordance with the rules, but they wouldn't have been done in the spirit of the law, which is to actually inform the person and the person who is aware of what actually this means.” Kamdar, meanwhile, said the city returned his money this week. He is considering taking legal action but said he can’t afford a lawyer. “I'm in the process of just getting all my thoughts together and seeing what I feel needs to be addressed,” he said. Whether the condo in question will end up in another tax sale is unclear, although the city’s communications department did say in a previous email that “if the tax sale is cancelled, the registered owner or person acting on their behalf must pay the property taxes owing, or the city would have to conduct a further tax sale.” X/@Howellings