BC Business
Evolve in Surrey (left) and the Ward house in North Vancouver (right)Evolve in Surrey (left) and the Ward house in North Vancouver (right)
Real estate deals? They’re not exactly giving homes away, but on Saturday Weststone Group is offering the first 200 buyers of its Evolve condos a loss leader on mortgages: payments of $1 to $30 a day for the first year. Condos in the 35-storey tower in Surrey City Centre start at $93,000 for about 300 square feet. More than 700 hopeful buyers have already booked appointments.
Meanwhile in North Vancouver, they actually are giving a home away. Developer Charan Sethi of Tien Sher Homes has purchased a property on East 5th Street with two heritage houses on it. The King house will be retained as part of a new townhouse development, but the Ward house has to go. “It would be nice if someone would take it and preserve it,” says Sethi. “For the right person, we’ll give it away.” Four people have already expressed interest.
It takes a village On Saturday, the City of West Vancouver is holding the first of three community open houses regarding the proposed Cypress Village development in the Upper Lands area at the base of Cypress Mountain. The mixed-used community would be modelled after Whistler Village, with restaurants, shops and a range of housing types. British Pacific Properties is the major landowner. A council-appointed group of citizen volunteers spent two and a half years assessing environmental data, reviewing existing bylaws and policies and engaging with the community to come up with development recommendations.
Healthy innovation Also in Surrey, this morning former mayor Dianne Watts officially opened a new Health Tech Innovation hub across from Surrey Memorial Hospital at 13737 – 96th Avenue. Watts is CEO of the Health Tech Innovation Foundation, which oversees Surrey’s Innovation Boulevard, founded by the City of Surrey, SFU and Surrey Memorial Hospital to create new health technologies.