BEDBUGS - in Burnaby the vermin are German

We hit a new low in September when WALMART ran TV ads offering bedbug impervious sheets at its Vancouver area stores. I heard reports of The Bedbug Registry, but I was never curious enough to take a look. Actually I've never seen a bedbug, and I have no hankering to bump into one.

A SIX INCH BED BUG - courtesy of the Burnaby NEWS LEADER, Nov. 9, 2011.

I've been too busy of late to research Blog articles, or read local newspapers, but I couldn't ignore the NEWS LEADER delivered to my door on November 9th. You might have thought that the November 19th Civic Election would be the story worthy of page one.... but those of us who have been around a few years know that not until the protagonists and the antagonists start paying for large election adverts do the papers start narrating THE ELECTION STORY.

On P1 they printed a photo of a bedbug as big as a juvenile trilobite! A warning of such ghastly proportions simply could not be ignored. So I read the article. If you want to read "Avoiding the bedbug bite", its archived HERE.

Infestations at two of Burnaby's public libraries made the news recently, as did a report that BC HOUSING spent over $721,000 in one year fighting bedbugs "at 43 of 49 of its housing complexes" in Greater Vancouver. Lest you try to point a bony finger at "Welfare" tenants, I hasten to add that several were senior citizen buildings. Poverty and vermin don't necessarily go together. I spent much of my childhood on Welfare in Saint John, N.B. and we never once encountered lice, bedbugs or cockroaches. As my mother often said, "We're poor, but we're clean."

What did startle me in the NEWS LEADER report was one loopy comment attributed to a pest-control professional who said "the fall of the Soviet Bloc in the late 1980s and early '90s led to increased travel to and from Eastern Europe which had a nasty bedbug problem... Combined with the ease of travel today, it's led to a worldwide spread of bedbugs." I guess that in Burnaby the vermin are East German.

No, the spread of vermin including the rats which are also plaguing Burnaby, is actually due to the banning of chemicals and poisons which had largely defeated most of those ancient scourges by the mid 20th Century. When Environmentalism became a religion on this continent it lit candles to the Second Coming of Willard the rat and Benny the bedbug. Get used to it. The powers that be will not be arming for this war any time soon.

Finally I Googled the infamous online resource known as THE BEDBUG REGISTRY. I predict it going to become more popular than GAS BUDDY. You better have a look. You'll find that bedbugs are EVERYWHERE!! Feeling itchy?

A couple of typical reports on The Bedbug Registry. For a look at Burnaby Metrotown

infestation patterns go HERE.

Highrise fire in Metrotown Burnaby, Tenants rescued from 27th Floor, 4390 Grange

In what may have set a height record for Burnaby Fire -Rescue, tenants were rescued last night from the 27th floor of a condo tower in Metrotown. Seven tenants were rescued from a balcony on the 27th floor of the PANARAMA building [sic], 4390 Grange Street, and taken to Burnaby Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. The fire is considered "suspicious"and is under active investigation by Burnaby RCMP.
Windows of the burned out unit on the 27th floor, PANARAMA building on Grange Street, Metrotown. (photo by Curtis Kreklau) Nine Burnaby firetrucks responded to the blaze, but none of the B.F.D. aerial ladders extend to such a height. It is unknown what special provisions are being made to accomodate fire-rescue services for the SOVEREIGN and METRPOPLACE super-towers which will be completed in 2014.

As of this morning arson investigators had blocked off the 24th to 27th floors of the tower. The PANARAMA [sic] is generally considered a family-safe building, where the tenants go to the trouble of organizing annual Christmas parties. Maintenance and rentals are handled by GATEWAY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT and at the 27th floor the three-bedroom penthouse suites list at $2500 per month.
A recurrent problem with Metrotown Condos and high ratio rental towers, besides all the break-ins, is the ongoing presence of members of drug gangs who take up residence. There presence sometimes paralyzes the weaker condo associations. Burnaby Detachment RCMP will not go into buildings with their dogs unless actively chasing suspects. As a consequence, over the last 24 months some condo managers have taken to doing secret sweeps of properties with private security companies who offer canine service. It's an interesting phenomenon and I plan to interview one of the 'sniffer-dog for hire' investigators in the near future.
One thing is for sure - the Burnaby Fire Department will be giving thought to its ability to attempt fire-rescue at even greater heights, now that we have approval for two 45 to 46 storey towers in Metrotown.
Update - This afternoon the B.F.D. released details of the arson. There are four 3-bedroom apartments on the 27th floor of PANARAMA. The attacker ignited combustible material outside a door, and the flames burned through and into the apartment. An attempted multiple murder it would seem. I put in a query to the B.F.D. seeking to confirm this a height record for fire rescue, but did not get a response.

SOVEREIGN Tower - BOSA has a tiger by the tail, but deserves praise for imposing rules to avoid an ugly feeding frenzy

What a difference just one week and ten kilometers can make in the high-stakes world of condo marketing in Greater Vancouver! Down at Vancouver's False Creek, veteran salesman Bob Rennie is struggling to help the City of Vancouver recoup some cash from the ashes of the ill-starred Olympic Village project. (more below) The trick is to raise price levels, because even with a promised 30% price break on some units, there is still substantial risk. The Millennium Water project will be a political football and lawyer bait for years to come. In contrast to Rennie's agony witness BOSA's euphoria!

In Burnaby Metrotown, the good folks at BOSA Properties are scrambling to get into shark cages, lest they be eaten in the feeding frenzy beginning at their tower site at 4509 Kingsway.

We were alerted just a week ago that BOSA would have tents, heating and and porta-potties on site by 9 a.m. Friday, a full 25 hours before the Sales Centre was scheduled to open - i.e. Saturday at 10a.m. Suddenly matters threatened to get out of hand. Late on Tuesday night, after the final SOVEREIGN preview concluded, over 125 Buyers refused to go home. BOSA staff must be praised for being fast on their feet and putting together a solution. The details are in a Realtor Advisory which went out just after 11 A.M. today:

Bravo ! These measures will certainly deal with queue-jumpers, but it remains to be seen how staff will calm the agitated majority who will take a number but have no chance at all of securing an apartment. My suggestion is that BOSA give each disappointed client a hearty handshake and remind them that Intracorp's METROPLACE will begin marketing in about six weeks time. In addition there are several other mid-size towers coming to the Metrotown corridor. A Chinese language forum I consulted today reported that one less than generous Chinese realtor was offering placeholders $1,000 for three days of work. That is three 24 hour days! Now he can keep his cash in his pocket.

A knot of prospective Buyers wait to enter the SOVEREIGN Tower sales centre on Kingsway. That was before noon on Feb. 10. The final Preview concluded last night (Feb. 15), and more than a 125 Buyers refused to go home. They elected to camp out over night and BOSA staff had to scramble to bring in tents, heating and toilets to keep them comfortable.

I should mention the offer of 1.9% Financing, which has figured prominently in BOSA marketing for SOVEREIGN Tower. For me at least, it was a very attractive proposition, especially in light of the Bank of Canada's firm decision to drive up the rates, over the next three years. Well, in brief, BOSA is offering 1.9 % on the first 80 units sold - and guarantee the rate for 36 months. If you have your own lender, the Buyer could opt for 5% on their purchase deposit. My sense of the situation is that the clientele, almost exclusively Mainland Chinese, are in no need of a break on financing. Pardon my enthusiasm, but that is the glory of this landmark project. The SOVEREIGN tower is a magnet for wealthy Chinese, and will pull in a container load of foreign dollars. Enough to fill the pay-packets of the local building trades and later create jobs in the hotel and the retail stores. The down-side of course is that SOVEREIGN is contributing to raising the ceiling on condo prices in Burnaby, although at 4509 Kingsway "market value" may settle out a tad lower in 2014, when short-term investors begin flipping units.

BOB RENNIE BLOWS A FUSE
If you missed the Vancouver SUN report on the Olympic Village pre-sale, which was conducted in secret over the weekend, you owe it to yourself to have a look. It's not often that pros like Rennie blow a fuse when talking to the press, but then it's also a rare day when condo Sellers force Buyers to sign confidentiality agreements. Mr. Rennie is now on the warpath because one of his confidential Buyer's, whom he termed "some A-hole", violated the agreement before the ink was dry. I don't know how long the Vancouver SUN will keep the article available online, (it's already buried by today's news) so I copied it to file. Jeff Lee's story, Olympic Village condos to go to market - again is worth your time.

CLOVERDALE, where antiques are out, condos in

Yes, Burnaby Metrotown is red hot, but property developers are beavering away in all eight corners of the GVRD. Maybe you read in the SUN recently that the famous Cloverdale Antiques Mall was forced to shut down. Customers were still thronging its many shops, but most of the stalls were run by retirees who could not swallow higher rents. The owner of the property was bent on jacking up rates - allegedly the increase was a near doubling, and the lease holder found himself in an untenable position. I must admit that I do most of my own antique and collectibles shopping in Bellingham, but still, Cloverdale has been a weekend mecca for so many families that it's sad to see an institution disappear.
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A pair of brothers enjoy one of the kiddie rides at the Cloverdale Agricultural Fair. It was August of 1966. These boys are now men in their fifties. Perhaps they are "property millionaires" by now, if they had the foresight to invest in the Canadian Dream of home ownership. If they have not fared as well as others, they may resent the reality of rising costs and surging property values in our region.

The demolition of Cloverdale Mall (a separate location from the Antiques Mall) began on January 8, 2011. The building was a "leaker" in every sense, and looked its age. After SAFEWAY pulled out a few years ago all the other tenants fled, one by one. Cloverdale residents are now served by Surrey mega-malls. When this tired out property is finally cleared, construction begins on Cloverdale West Village, a wood frame complex with above retail condos. The term "Mall" is now so frequently shunned, it seems at risk of becoming another "antique". What is this mania for labeling every cluster of shops and homes a "village"? Will it end? [The Cloverdale Reporter has a story on the fate of the derelict mall: SLIDE SHOW]

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SOVEREIGN TOWER - Metrotown, Burnaby - Bosa unveils its landmark project at Realtor Event - February 8, 2011

We had the pleasure of attending the unveiling of Bosa Properties landmark project tonight in Metrotown. The SOVEREIGN, soon to be constructed at 4509 Kingsway, can be expected to dominate the Burnaby skyline and offer a prestigious residence for those looking for an alternative to Vancouver's over-regulated downtown core. The first true skyscraper in Burnaby, the SOVEREIGN will mate an ultramodern hotel (167 rooms) to 25 floors of premium condos. Bosa Sales Manager, Jean Openshaw is to be congratulated for hosting an highly effective event. The Realtors I spoke with on the floor are convinced that the residential portion of the tower will sell out in a single day. Bosa is to be further congratulated for the open and fair manner in which this project is being marketed. There will be a total of three "opens," (no pre-selling) and no Offers will be accepted until February 19th. In addition, only one apartment will be sold per client. Offers will be received on a first-come, first-served basis, and security will be on hand to ensure that aggressive Buyers do not rush the door.

The first Realtor-Open for SOVEREIGN, 4509 Kingsway, was held on February 8. These door crashers are evidence of the heightened interest in this landmark project.

Ms. Jean Openshaw is the Sales Manager for the SOVEREIGN tower, at 4509 Kingsway. She has been very open and helpful, assisting in my preparation of two other articles on SOVEREIGN for the Runagates Club blog. I do thank her for that kindness.

The scale model for the SOVEREIGN tower seemed to draw even more interest than the display suites. At 511.4 feet it will be Burnaby's first true skyscraper. I was told that Bosa plans to begin excavation in three months time.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Daryll Simpson, one of the dozen Sales staff Bosa had on hand this evening. Mr. Simpson filled me in on a subject which has been of concern. Could Bosa find a hotel chain of sufficient credibility to match this prestigious project? It could...in New York. Bosa Properties is getting into the hotel business! The Burnaby-based developer will maintain ownership of the new hotel, and is already busy designing its 167 rooms. The name of the chain will be announced in two weeks time. The franchise agreement and further details are yet go under the pen. Mr. Simpson says that Burnaby residents will be pleasantly surprised when they learn which brand-name is coming to town.

Another of my concerns was how the developer and City of Burnaby planners would handle the incredibly high volume of traffic in and out of the SOVEREIGN tower. Simpson had the answer, which is confirmed by my photographs of the scale model, at ground level. All traffic flow around the building will be clockwise - all right turns. Vehicle access to Hotel parking and Retail parking will be confined to a single ramp on Willingdon Avenue.

In keeping with the landmark status of the SOVEREIGN, the tower designer- Chris Dikeakos Architects Inc, have conceived a very dramatic residential entrance coming off of Hazel Street. (corrected) The very wide and open ramp shows up well in these photos of the scale model.

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The SOVEREIGN of Metrotown - getting dressed for his debut

The promised floor plans for the SOVEREIGN tower are not yet in, but the website has a nifty widget that allows us to admire the view from four different elevations. BOSA is promising a February 2011 launch but as of yesterday there is no activity on site - although a sales centre will appear soon. I admire the design of the building but having recently watched the superb documentary film IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, my mind keeps juxtaposing the SOVEREIGN tower with the famous gantry and support deck which launched the Saturn V rockets for the Apollo moon landings.

The views from each unit on the upper floors of the SOVEREIGN tower will defy superlatives. Shown here is the line of sight toward downtown Vancouver and the north mountain wall.

In the absence of hard information on the SOVEREIGN tower, speculation is rife among Realtors. Chinese New Year is fast approaching and billions of freshly landed dollars are up for grabs, but don't discount the legion of locals who are desperate to sink their savings into something solid. The only SOVEREIGN secret anyone cares about is how steep the prices will be for individual units. They will sell at any price, but the risk is that Buyers saddled with extortionate prices, will be denied any viable resale potential.

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Directly across the street from the tower property is the infamous "Crystal Mall". Why infamous? For a number of reasons including the fact that it's "THE CRYSTAL", not a mall but a marketplace. I well recall the intense speculative interest in the project in the late 1990s. All manner of promises were made - there would be retail anchors and a multi-screen cinema, etc. Never happened! (The major components did open in 2000 but many people averted their eyes as they drove by, for the longest time. It was painful.)

We had lined up a number of buyers for retail and residential units in THE CRYSTAL but whole blocks were sold out (unethically in my opinion) by insiders to pre-assembled buyers from Asia. The "Sold For" prices at the time were ludicrously high because the project was never exposed to the Marketplace. For several years the hapless suckers twisted and squirmed trying to unload bad investments. The complex itself looked sick for the longest time, but fortunately the Goddess of Property sometimes shines on the least of us. Those who didn't dump an impulse purchase, in time saw prices exceed what they had paid for a unit. Today the Crystal thrives and is a happy place to shop or eat.

I have the highest hopes for THE SOVEREIGN, but again everything depends on how the marketing campaign is conducted. Burnaby Metrotown doesn't need another fiasco like THE CRYSTAL. Buyers are being told that a "famous" hotel chain is going into the building and that "retail giants" will take the floors on the ground level. Unfortunately the residential component will be 100% SOLD OUT before any announcements are made for the lower portions of the project. We just have to trust that all will turn out to everyone's satisfaction.