4509 Kingsway - a SOVEREIGN to rule over Metrotown

In Greater Vancouver the 'greed meter' went up another notch on Monday January 3, 2011. On that day property owners began receiving envelopes from B.C. Assessments, all bearing a late Christmas gift - significantly higher values on what they own. It shouldn't have taken the reasonably alert by surprise, because a company called LANDCOR DATA CORPORATION gave advance notice on December 8. My wife used that 'heads up' to advantage and made money by sharing the info with Buyers who were dithering in December. (Thanks LANDCOR!) But she lost a sale today because, very predictably, a Seller in Coquitlam rejected her close-to-asking-price Offer, and just bumped up the Asking Price, justifying avarice by waving a just received 2011 Assessment.
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Another useful 'Heads Up' arrived yesterday, this one from Jean Openshaw, a residential Sales Manager for Bosa Properties. (I see the Commercial Realtors also launched on this project yesterday.) Openshaw's email is very guarded but did offer a few details for the newest tower in Metrotown, Burnaby - which is guaranteed to sell out very quickly, no matter what they charge per unit. We always knew the $$ prices for the 162 condos at 4509 Kingsway would pinch, but Monday's big news news of steeper property values all across the board, will help Bosa staff justify very high sticker prices for those condos on floors 20 through 45. (Her email says "45-storeys and 511 feet,") Equally important is that while cities like Richmond have too many condos on the market, Burnaby still has room for growth.
This project has been in the works since 2005 but Bosa has finally given it a name other than "4509 Kingsway" It is now dubbed the "SOVEREIGN". I guess that was a no-brainer; the Sovereign will be the tallest tower on Kingsway, after all. In fact it will top out as the tallest tower in Greater Vancouver by virtue of the fact that it is being erected on Metrotown Ridge. To quote Ms. Openshaw- "Simply put, there is no high-rise residence that sits higher above sea level anywhere in Greater Vancouver." Something very cute we noticed in the email is that three bedroom apartments in the SOVEREIGN will be marketed as an "estate". I don't believe I've seen that before.

What I like most about this "landmark" project is that it is entirely "homegrown" - the developer, Bosa Properties is a Burnaby company and they have hired Chris Dikeakos Architects Inc., a firm which is located just five minutes from the project site. I am in fact eager to have a peek when the Sales Centre opens.

The SOVEREIGN, a 45 story landmark tower is now under development opposite Crystal Mall, the Chinese shopping complex in Metrotown, Burnaby. The pre-fab Sales Centre is going in this week, and Bosa sales staff are already chatting up registered buyers. The photo illustrates clearly the bottom ten floors for the hotel, and the upper fifteen floors which will host the 162 residential units.

The 45 floor SOVEREIGN tower (street level retail, a premium hotel, and 25 floors of condos) will soon rise at 4509 Kingsway (V5H 2A1). METROTOWN CENTRE is the second largest shopping complex in Canada. The SOVEREIGN property sits opposite to CRYSTAL MALL , the Chinese shopping centre located at 4500 Kingsway, Metrotown.

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2010 was an extremely interesting year in Vancouver property. I saw and heard plenty, and now kick myself that I didn't write a few Blog articles, if only to refute some of the baloney I read in the Vancouver SUN. I've resolved to change my writing habits. Articles on Gang warfare are by far the most popular among Runagates Club readers, but there are many other local issues worth exploring.

UPDATE- Further word from Ms. Openshaw which clarifies notes I had from another source. There will be "a total of 203 homes starting on the 20th floor all the way to the 45th. The first 3 floors are retail, 4 to 19 are hotel." Ms. Openshaw says site line photos will be ready soon. I will add them to this article when I receive them.

UPDATE - August 2015
I thought I would go back and slip in a photo of how the finished SOVEREIGN tower appears today.