2007 UDI Awards for Excellence in Greater Vancouver Real Estate Vancouver Innovations in Community Building – Industry Honours Outstanding Development

According to Susan Boyce: The mood was distinctly upbeat as more than 500 people gathered at the Fairmont Hotel for this year’s UDI Awards for Excellence in October. This Vancouver tradition honours best of the best throughout our vibrant construction industry. It’s a celebration of commitment, vision, and the energy, an evening that proves we remain on the cutting edge of innovation and quality.

About the UDI 2007 Awards in Vancouver: The Urban Development Institute’s Awards for Excellence honour projects representing superior and innovation forms of real estate development by members of the Institute. The Institute’s own values and principles are the standards against which all property projects are measured.

Greater Vancouver UDI 2007 Awards for Excellence Include:
1. Innovations in Creating a More Sustainable Development
2. Master Planned Development
3. Low-Rise Multi-Family Development
4. Mid-Rise Multi-Family Development
5. High-Rise Multi-Family Development
6. Mixed Use
7. Ground Oriented Residential Development: Multi Family (Urban Infill)
8. Ground Oriented Residential Development: Single Family
9. Ground Oriented Residential Development: Multi Family
10. Revitalization, Renovation or Heritage
11. Industrial/Office Park Development
12. Commercial/Retail Development
13. Innovations in Creating a More LIvable & Sustainable Region
14. Innovations in Creating More Affordable Housing

UDI Award #1: Innovations in Creating a More Sustainable Development
A real estate development designed with innovative features to reduce waste, energy and resource consumption that embodies the three pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental.

2007 Winner: Verdant | Developer: Vancity Enterprises
Designed and developed to be a true leadership project, one key objective was to provide affordable home ownership to serve the needs of Simon Fraser University staff, faculty and families. Other priorities were to create a leading-edge example of healthy, sustainability building a practices and an esthetically attractive, community-friendly project at UniverCity. It is estimated that Verdant will use 65 per cent less energy and 50 per cent less water than a code building. Careful selection of interior finishing materials significantly decreased the amount of chemical “offgassing” into interior spaces. Landscape design focused on the real estate project’s relationship to the adjacent park, retaining site trees wherever possible and integrating a number of stormwater-management strategies. “A clear winner in the environmental category… it embodies all three pillars of sustainability, a very innovative financing scheme,” stated the jury.

2007 UDI Award #2: Master Planned Development
Any multi-phased, multi-product planned development, including significant regional public amenities. This may include resort development, residential, retail and office/industrial projects.

2007 Winner: Garrison Crossing | Developer: Canada Lands Company
The vision for Garrison Crossing is for a 153 acres “complete community” that respects the natural environment, connects to its neighbours, provides a range of housing choices and affordability through use of existing buildings. Its rich military history has become a central theme, as has environmental sensitivity. Ground was broken in April 2005, since then there have been 375 sales to the public at Garrison Crossing, significantly exceeding market-share projections. “Garrison Crossing worked around the existing landscape and integrated existing road patterns to keep disruption to the environment to a minimum,” the jury noted. “Density at Garrison Crossing was successfully tripled on the site… and they developed a retail niche to market to the local community.” Garrison Village’s scheduled April 2009 opening of their mixed-use retail/residential neighbourhood will add grocery and drugstores, a medical clinic, video store, coffee shop and restaurants, as well as 160 residential units.

UDI Award #3: Low Rise Multi-Family Real Estate Development
Up to four storeys with a central entrance.

2007 Winnter: Folio | Developer: Intracorp Projects
Located between UBC’s historic Iona Building and St. Mark’s College, this eclectic collection of apartments, townhomes and ground-oriented apartments at Folio by Intracorp Projects includes expansive patios that flow into cantilevered “docks” that articulate its centerpiece – the reflecting pond. In full recognition and respect for the real estate development planning criteria established by the Board of Governors of VST Properties Trust, Intracorp went through three years of community planning for Folio apartments that included adhering to the Comprehensive Community Plan and pre-zoning the site. This Folio project by Intracorp, the jury said,” used the site to the fullest, and successfully incorporates the heritage building of the area, yet looks modern and clean.”

Award #4 for UDI: Mid-Rise Multi-Family Development
Five to nine storeys with a central entrance.

2007 Winner: Metro Living, 1168 Richards St. | Developer: The Townline Group of Companies
The objective was to create architecturally distinctive and modern, yet intimate boutique residences at the site of Metro Living 1168 Richards Street in Yaletown. Six storeys high, the Metro Living lofts are nestled between buildings in Yaletown, designed to complement, rather than overpower neighbouring buildings. As an urban-infill real estate development, the project at Metro Living at 1168 Richards was born from an underutilized property – a 50-foot parking lot – and helped to catalyse revitalization in the neighbourhood. The jury called the Metro Living project “gutsy and innovative.” And added that “it demonstrates that mid-rise developments are now a viable alternative to a more conventional high-rise tower for people wanting to live in the downtown and elsewhere in the region.”

UDI Awards #5 2007: High-Rise Multi-Family Development
10 storeys or more with a central entrance

Winner 2007: Pomaria | Developer: Qualex Landmark Group
Located in False Creek, Pomaria condos is one of the last full-block sites in downtown Vancouver. As such, it was felt that it should serve as an example and a benchmark of original architecture and sustainable living. The objective of Pomaria condominium high-rise was to create a distinctive structure with larger, more livable homes in a building that used LEED Silver guidelines to be energy-efficient and environmentally responsible. Pomaria’s most notable feature was the creation of “sky gardens” – a pair of architecturally unique, three storey gardens, the inspiration for its name, which means “a treed area.”

Lower Mainland UDI Awards #6: Mixed Use Development
A real estate development consisting of a residential component with one or more of the following uses: retail, office, hotel or industrial.

Winner: The Melville | Developer: Amacon
Developed by Amacon, the Melville was designed as a landmark residential tower, instantly recognizable on the downtown skyline. One of Vancouver’s tallest building, its 400 foot height was earned under a special design-panel review which determined it achieved “architectural excellence in world terms” by virtue of its unique architecture featuring copper cladding, a distinctive lit-glass sail and a Melville rooftop sky garden, pool and hot tub. Architects for the downtown Vancouver Melville condo tower were flown in for the special planning required. The jury noted that “The Melville was a tremendous undertaking,” and that it “seamlessly integrates a unique residential tower with the hotel, retail and office space.”

UDI Awards #7: Ground Oriented Multi-Family Urban Infill
Attached infill housing (townhouses, row housing, stacked townhouses, or cluster housing) with individual entrances located in a predominantly urban setting.

The 2007 Winner: Towne | Developer: Mosaic Homes
The developer’s first Oakridge urban-infill development proved a tremendous success, its 40 homes sold out prior to completion. Its intensely detailed, elegantly composed Georgian architectural style, two storey facades on West 42nd Avenue called Towne townhomes with pitched roofs, dormers and chimneys create an intimate residential ambiance appropriate for the adjacent single family homes surrounding Mosaic Homes Towne townhouses. Though relatively small, the Towne homes offer very functional and generous living spaces some with 10 foot ceilings on the main floor. The jury described Towne Oakridge townhomes as having “exceptional architecture that fits into the neighbourhood well.”

UDI Awards #8: Ground Oriented Single Family
Exemplary detached housing that is part of a comprehensive subdivision development

2007 UDI Award Winner: Bedford Landing | Developer: ParkLane Homes
This special waterfront site was recognized as one of the last great pieces of residential waterfront along the Fraser River, so developer ParkLane Homes was determined to create a world-class, mixed use neighbourhood offering quality single-family and fee-simple rowhomes, a new housing form for the Township of Langley called Bedford Landing. Working in the small and historic community of Fort Langley, the real estate developer for the ParkLane Bedford Landing community recognized the need to be sensitive to this important heritage so identified an early goal to provide a variety of housing forms and character reflecting a community that has evolved over time.

UDI Innovations in Community Building Award #(; Ground Oriented Multi-Family
Includes any of the following: townhouses, row housing, stacked townhouses, or cluster housing (duplexes, triplexes, quadruplexes) with individual entrances from grade.

Winner for 2007: Somerset | Developer: Ledingham McAllister
This real estate project was developed through a strong partnership between UBC and Ledingham McAllister, following on the success of Westchester, a 2005 UDI Awards Winner. Somerset’s objective was to allow the university to meet its goal of having a minimum of 50 per cent of its housing occupied by students, staff or faculty members. The developer’s intent for Somerset UBC was to address the aspirations of a demanding West Side buyer with a flexible design that allows changes in family structure and lifestyle and a good mix of high-quality luxury housing with affordable housing.

UDI Awards #10: Revitalization, Renovation or Heritage
An existing real estate project (residential, commercial, office or industrial) which ahs been renovated for new uses; or the reuse of heritage building.

UDI Award Winner: Bowman Lofts | Developer: The Salient Group
Project objectives were to recapture and celebrate the original grace and style of a significant heritage building, the first brick structure building this block of Vancouver’s historic Victory Square neighbourhood, formerly a warehouse for paint an industrial products, and now known as the Bowman Lofts in Gastown. Rehabilitation of the 1906 building in the 500 block of Beatty Street included the reconstruction of structural, seismic and building systems in this nine-storey masonry and timber building called Gastown’s Bowman Lofts condominiums. The jury commented “Bowman Lofts was the hardest project to do successfully due to the unique target market.”

Award #11: Industrial/Office Park Development
A comprehensive site development consisting of an industrial and/or office park component and may include other commercial uses.

Award Winner: Northwoods Business Park | Developer: GWL Realty Advisors
This 24-acre business park in North Vancouver was conceived with a high level of design and adherence to sustainable building practices. Northwoods Business Park in Nort Van had two phases represented a combination of light industrial, office, and retail, its two main objectives to develop a project that was well received in the marketplace and sensitive to the environment. A unique sustainable storm-water managmenet system was developed in conjunction with the District of North Vancouver for the Northwoods Business Park, trees were preserved and waste management practises used to minimize impact on landfills, among other environmentally sensitive practises.

UDI Vancouver Award #12: Commercial/Retail Development
A building or building complex consisting of retail and/or office uses and may include other commercial uses.

UDI Award 2007: Holt Renfrew | Developer: Cadillac Fairview
The objectives were to develop a world-class retail store at Holt Renfrew downtown Vancouver with exceptional design features and quality while maintaining a fast-tracked construction schedule. At its peak the project had 450 workers on site. Designed by New York architectural firm Janson Goldstein and Vancouver’s IBI Group, the Holt Renfrew store includes a rooftop restaurant, full-service spa and personal shopper suites. “The development operated in a tight capacity with minimal interruptions to the existing mall facility, exceptional design features and a high level of quality,” jury said.

UDI Award #13: Innovations in Creating a More Livable & Sustainable Region
A real estate project (including its urban public spaces) which has made a significant and innovative contributions to advancing these regional objectives.

UDI Winner: Univercity Burnaby | Developer: SFU Community Trust
Built on four sustainability cornerstones: environment, equity, economy and education, UniverCity’s goals have been to create a vibrant, self-sustaining community and to generate long term revenues for university endowment funds. At its heart of UniverCity stands a beautiful Town Square, where residents can meet and interact with the university community. Each neighbourhood includes an elementary school, community, and childcarecentre, neighbourhood park and tot lots.

UDI Award #14: Innovations in Creating More Affordable Housing
Affordable housing created through innovative approaches, unique partnerships, creative design and/or non-traditional financing.

2007 UDI Winner: Verdant | Developer: Vancity Enterprises
This is the second UDI Award this year for developer Vancity Enterprises’ SFU townhouse project, the other for Innovations in Creating More Sustainable Development. Targeted towards university staff and faculty, particularly families, Verdant’s homes were sold for 20 per cent less than market value thanks in part fo a variety of cost-reduction strategies. The creation of “community” at Verdant Burnaby was an important aim in meeting social-sustainability goals.