Heritage: Dunbar / Southlands

A retrospective on the Dunbar / Southlands neighbourhoods in Vancouver, BC.

Archaeological data indicate native people occupied this area for at least 2,000 years before the arrival of Europeans. The first homesteaders, in 1863, were Fitzgerald and Sam McCleery. The McCleery farm, now McCleery golf course, was the first operating farm in Vancouver, and the farmhouse, built in 1873, was the first permanent dwelling in the Vancouver area.

Dunbar/Southlands was part of the old Municipality of Point Grey. The area had been logged, but land for development was available only in Marpole and Kerrisdale. Most of the land was a mass of fallen, burned timber and was held by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the provincial government.

The origin of the name Dunbar is sometimes attributed to Charles Trott Dunbar, general agent for the Union Land Company of St. Paul, Minnesota, who came to Vancouver in 1888. He invested largely in real estate, and owned and controlled considerable property in the city. In 1906 a Vancouver newspaper reported he was promoting Dunbar Heights and "selling lots like hotcakes." However, the name's origin is earlier, for in 1886 it already appears on a map of Vancouver. Another suggestion is that the area was named after the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, in association with other battle-named streets in the area--Trafalgar, Balaclava, Blenheim, Waterloo and Alma. These names, however, were given by the city council in 1907 in substitution for Boundary, Richards, Cornwall, Lansdowne and Campbell, which were in use elsewhere in the city.

In 1912 a section of the UBC lands was subdivided and town-planning principles were established. The fact the university was to be established nearby was undoubtedly responsible in large part for the early development (and type of development) of the Dunbar/Southlands area. By 1919 the municipality was earning a reputation as a well-controlled area with regulations outlining building and landscaping. At that time a third of Point Grey's municipal revenue came from CPR land taxes. By 1927 three streetcar routes served the area.

When Point Grey amalgamated with Vancouver in 1929, it was agreed Vancouver would respect the area's restrictive zoning by-laws. The first land development of any consequence occurred in the mid-1920s, and some of the homes built during this period are still standing. Dunbar/Southlands consists almost entirely of single family dwellings and there are no highrises. There are "castle" homes scattered throughout, with two fine examples on West 39th Avenue just west of Dunbar.

The area is noted for its beautiful gardens, and the park board has planted many flowering trees along the streets. In some parts the trees meet overhead, forming archways several blocks long. There are many parks, the largest being Memorial Park West on Dunbar between 31st and 33rd avenues. Dunbar Community Centre opened here in 1950 after a spirited community drive for funds. At Musqueam Park one can plunge into the forest and follow Tin Can Creek, where salmon still spawn each fall.

The churches have followed the area's development. Knox Presbyterian started in 1920. It later became part of the United Church and changed its name to Knox United. Immaculate Conception Church began in 1924 and St. Philip's Anglican in 1925. Dunbar Heights United also dates from these years.

Within 15 minutes of downtown Vancouver, at the mouth of the Fraser River, there's a serene pastoral retreat where horses and waterfowl mingle with high-tech development and historical landmarks. No other major Canadian city has country living so close by. It's not uncommon to hear the cries of blue herons, red-tailed hawks and bald eagles as you clip-clop along a country road on your horse. You'll also pass opulent new homes next to old rustic dwellings, as the area is still zoned for limited agriculture.

Spring cherry blossoms, among the best in the city, herald the beginning of the planting, pruning, and sowing season for spectacular English country gardens. Great pride is taken in creating these postcard-quality blooms.

Southlands Riding Club, incorporated in 1943 and home to some of Canada's finest equestrians, sits on just over seven hectares in the heart of the community. The clubhouse, once an abandoned fisherman's net storage hut on Deering Island was dismantled and carried piece by piece, by members on horseback, to its present site. Today cyclists, joggers, walkers and riders enjoy the wonderful river trail along the Fraser leading to Pacific Spirit Park, with its meandering trails under giant cedar and firs. Two-thousand-year-old Camosun Bog, a unique wetland within the park, can be reached by a boardwalk path beginning at Camosun and 19th Avenue. The bog is revered by the Musqueam people as a portal to the spirit world.

The entire Dunbar/Southlands covers an expanse from 16th Avenue to the Fraser River, and from Camosun Street east to Blenheim. It encompasses the Musqueam reserve, Celtic and Deering Islands, plus two public and three championship-rated private golf courses. This area contains some of the highest priced real estate in Canada.

January 14, 2005 in Location, Location | Permalink

Elan: Yaletown - Seymour & Drake

This development is still in the early stages with no showhomes available for public viewing just yet. However, if recent history is any indication it would be a wise idea to register for early notification if you are in the market for a Yaletown condo. The developer for the Elan project is Cressey. You may have seen their name at 16th & Cambie street as they are also erecting the unique Olive development which will feature gourmet kitchens and a 20,000-ft Capers megastore.

Name: Elan
Developer: Cressey
Location: Seymour & Drake
Prices from: $199,900
Telephone: 604.696.9030
Website: http://www.elanliving.ca

Logo & Photo: [Cressey]

January 13, 2005 in New Development | Permalink

Squamish: Millionaires Club?

Picturesque beauty sandwiched between a bustling metropolis and the world's finest resort community, Squamish figures to be well-positioned for growth and upward market attention. But has it matured enough to support high-end residential pricing? That's the million-dollar question we're about to get answered with 4 properties currently listed above that barrier.

The Squamish real estate market has hit a new high, with the listings of four homes with price tags of more than $1 million. The homes have been built within the last year-and-a half in the Howe Sound Community, halfway between Vancouver and Whistler. Lisa Bjornson, who manages a realty office selling two of the homes, says the listings will be a test. "Have we not sold homes over a million dollars because we've not had them in the marketplace, or is it because we are not there yet? This is what we are about to find out," she says. - CBC News

 

Million-dollar homes in Squamish [CBC News]
Photo: [Jeff Chiang]

January 12, 2005 in Market Watch | Permalink

Brix at Commercial: Kensington-Cedar Cottage

Townhomes in Vancouver are in short supply and when you couple a low-supply unit in a growth-demand area you get an attractive development to both investors and homebuyers. Brix at Commercial is situated on a two-block portion of Commercial that has been the home of light-industrial activity for years despite being surrounded by a neighbourhood of single-family homes. While it may take a little vision to imagine the transformation this part of Commerical drive will undergo in the coming months and years, it certainly is worth a look. Not only are you within walking distance of some of this city's best eclectic food and shopping nearby, but this development is also just a pitching wedge away from the stunning Trout Lake Park and adjacent Community Centre. If you haven't gone for a walk around Trout Lake Park on a nice day or attended the annual Illuminares Lantern Festival, you really should - it's worth it.

The first phase is on sale now, 38 three-storey townhouses and one-storey "garden flats." (Twenty-two have been bought.) The second phase will probably be released this quarter.

"Commercial Street itself is undeniably a work in progress," another Brix buyer, Chris Townsend, comments. "One has to be a bit of a visionary to appreciate the potential that street has. It has a wonderful approach -- a wide boulevard feel on a gentle rise, which is anchored by the elementary school. Once new residential developments emerge on that street and neighbouring streets, and a coffee shop pops up here and there, it will be quite a dynamic place."

"Keep in mind, however, that the culturally diverse hotspot of Commercial Drive is just minutes away." Cameron McNeill of McNeill and Craik Real Estate Solutions, the project's marketer, suspects that only about 18 months separate the current Commercial Street from the ''dynamic'' buyer Townsend is anticipating: There's just too many land transactions going on nearby not to see the inevitability of the residential future on Commercial Street. (Developer inquiries started City Hall on the road to "all residential.'')

There's a refreshing next-best-thing realism to McNeill's advocacy of Brix: It is not a detached-single-family home development, but it is a single-family-home development and it is not occurring in a westside neighbourhood, but it is occurring in a "character neighbourhood less than a 15 minutes' drive from downtown.''

''The over-all Commercial Drive area in the last five years has become really, really popular,'' he says. ''That coupled with the economics of real estate in greater Vancouver have meant prices have increased a lot [in Kensington-Cedar Cottage]. ''A single-family home in this area, if it is a character home, is very expensive. So what the developer envisioned here was a product that filled the niche between the condo and the single-familly home. ''It wasn't going up an elevator, down a hallway and through the front door. What this particular product provides is a sense of your own front yard, your own front door, your own home . . . .''

Yaletown homeowner Townsend bought a "courtyard" townhome, three storeys, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two terraces, a den and a top-storey deck. "Who wouldn't enjoy that?" The 12-year Vancouver resident reports he was looking for an investment, and not a new home, when he visited the Brix presentation centre. "... I was so impressed by the structure -- it's a very modern townhouse complex with clean lines, over-sized frosted-glass door entries -- by the finishings and the layout that I couldn't help but be drawn to the idea of living there myself." Chris considers the Brix neighbourhood "probably ... one of the city's best kept secrets." "Trout Lake itself is very picturesque and quiet. It's hard to believe that this spacious, tranquil park is less than a 15-minute drive from downtown. Further, nestled on inclining streets are some heritage-style homes; even homes built using the design vernacular of the '70s and '80s look appealing because of the attention to landscaping and the overall appeal of the streetscape." - Canada.com

Name: Brix at Commercial
Location: 3705 Commercial Street
Website: http://www.brixliving.com

Townhouse trailblazers [Canada.com]

January 12, 2005 in New Development | Permalink

Urban Home Ownership Pays Off

Owning versus renting is a debate that resonated with a stronger tone when mortgage rates were not tickling 40-year lows as they have been in recent years. Home ownership is still the end-goal for many renters and a just-released Statistics Canada report confirms that owners fared better than renters over the 10-year period examined for the report.

The proportion of owned accommodation in Canada increased from almost 63 per cent in 1991 to nearly 66 per cent 10 years later. The largest increase during the decade occurred in Calgary where home-ownership rates jumped 10 per cent, but still fell short of the highest proportion of home ownership: in Oshawa, Ontario, more than three-quarters of all households owned their own home.

Households that rented were much less likely to live in affordable housing than property owners, meaning that they were more likely to spend 30 per cent or more of their total before-tax household income for shelter. Lower household incomes among these renters meant they could not qualify for "cheaper to buy than rent" mortgages that converted more financially-sound tenants into owners.

The net effect over the decade was that the proportion of owners living in affordable housing rose, while that of renters declined. As property values increased in the following years, these owners have benefitted financially from their initial investment. - PJ Wade: Realty Times

Canadian Urban Home Ownership Rising [Realty Times]

January 12, 2005 in Money Matters | Permalink

Granville Island: North America's Finest

A secret no more. Get used to it. As we inch closer and closer to the 2010 Olympic frenzy we will continue to see Vancouver's best assets receive more and more global showcase and attention. Everybody's favourite food cornucopia, Granville Island - has now received the exclusive distinction of "Best Neighbourhood in North America".

Vancouver's Granville Island has been crowned king of the neighbourhoods, districts and downtowns in North America by the American organization Project for Public Spaces. The organization's monthly publication, Making Spaces, rated thousands of neighbourhoods across the continent for their November issue. Granville Island topped the list that included the East Village in New York City, South Beach Florida, and Kensington Market in Toronto. The list honours the first inductees into the Great Public Spaces website's new category Neighbourhoods and Districts. - TravelVideo.tv

Photo: [DotBC]

January 11, 2005 in Location, Location | Permalink

Uno Living: Mount Pleasant / South Main

The Mount Pleasant / South Main areas have been sizzling with buzz and activity for over 18 months now and Uno Living puts itself right in the middle of this hotzone. As many of you know already, Main Street has transformed itself into one of this city's most flavourful streets. In addition to being trendy and hip, this location is less than a 10 minute drive from the heart of downtown Vancouver.

Everything about Uno feels right. From the secluded courtyard to the custom designed features that are evident in every home. And, many of these homes have the best city and mountain views you'll find in the neighbourhood.

Inside award-winning interior designers Cecconi Simone have made their distinctive mark on Uno. You can call it modernist or minimalist, and we do. But, we also call it intelligent. Uno is a building that is at one with itself, its neighbourhood, and it is the one that will move you. - Uno Living marketing information

Name: Uno Living
Developer: Intracorp Developments
Location: 11th and Kingsway
Hours: daily Noon to 5 except Fridays.
Telephone: 604.874.1611
Website: http://www.unoliving.com

Logo & Photo: [Intracorp Developments]

January 11, 2005 in New Development | Permalink

Downtown: Green With Envy

I've always trumpeted Vancouver's downtown development model to out-of-town friends and visitors as a rare example of urban city planning done right. When visiting other cities, I am far too frequently appalled by how 'unlivable' their downtown cores are. Many cities used the suburban trend that began in the 1950's as an excuse to overlook the residential viability of downtown living in favour of packing in as much office/commercial density as humanly possible. The end result? The lack of residential population in downtown cores primarily equates to a daily mass exodus away from downtown at the end of the work day resulting in increased traffic congestion, an inherent lack of green space, and above all else a downtown core that is widely considered 'unsafe' past 8-9pm. Vancouver's downtown residential environment is a near utopia as compared to many cities in North America, and now other cities are starting to take notice of some things that have made Vancouver's core so successful;

Many point to the lively downtown neighborhoods blossoming in Vancouver, B.C. Sleek, chic high-rises have persuaded more than 130,000 people -- roughly a quarter of the city's population -- to live in dense urban settings. - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Hey, Seattle, welcome to the club! Practically every city on the West Coast is building "Vancouver-style" neighborhoods in or next to their downtowns -- compact, mixed-use communities characterized by the kind of high-rise residential towers seen on the Vancouver, B.C., skyline. So, Seattle, it looks like you're next. Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed rewriting the codes for downtown to allow tall, Vancouver-style towers. And with your views, downtown amenities and new transit options, you're more than ready. Give people what they can get in the suburbs -- neighborhoods that are clean, green and safe -- and plan for children. That means providing for child care and good schools. And then you may find you can hardly keep up with the demand, as people choose the city over the distant suburbs. - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Downtown tall and skinny as that latte?
[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
Vancouver-style housing great for Seattle
[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

January 10, 2005 in Location, Location | Permalink

2005 Outlook: Signal vs. Noise.

Just a few short months ago, the Bank of Canada was raising rates in response to a surging economy and impending inflation concerns. However, when your dollar spikes 40% in value in the short span of two years and you're an export country, there are bound to be some consequences. These are the early signals;

Despite the apparent health of the economy this year, experts say trouble is brewing beneath the surface. That was becoming much more apparent by December. The Bank of Canada, which initially feared strong growth would trigger inflation, raised rates in September and October to 2.5 per cent. But by December, it suddenly noticed the dollar's drag on the economy and took a break from raising interest rates. Analysts now predict the central bank could leave its key policy rate at 2.5 per cent through the first half of 2005.

The noise on the street is resonating a calmer tone for the 2005 market as compared to the feverish pace we've seen in recent years. However, with the vital signs that drive the market continuing to look favourable to start the year, 2005 is shaping up to be another active year in residential real estate in the Lower Mainland.

December 29, 2004 in Money Matters | Permalink


| Comments (6)

Terms of Use

VancouverHome.com Terms and Conditions of Site Use

This statement covers the site www.VancouverHome.com (“VancouverHome”). Please read this statement carefully before proceeding to access VancouverHome. Your use of VancouverHome indicates your agreement to abide by the Terms in effect.

External Link Disclaimer
VancouverHome contains links to external, third party web sites along with relevant commentary to provide our visitors with an up to date digest of current news stories.

By providing links to other sites, VancouverHome does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to VancouverHome.

VancouverHome does not operate or control and has no responsibility for the information, products and/or services found on any external sites. Nor do we represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any information, products and/or services provided on or through any external sites, including, without limitation, warranties of any kind, either express or implied, warranties of title or non-infringement or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Visitors to VancouverHome assume complete responsibility and risk in your use of any external sites. Visitors should direct any concerns regarding any external link to its site administrator or webmaster.

VancouverHome Comments and Discussion Terms of Use
In order to make our Comments interesting and informative for our users, the following guidelines must be adhered to by all users posting and/or viewing comments:

- If a comment is made using your identity it will be deemed to have been posted by you.
- Do not post abusive, obscene, threatening, harassing, defamatory,libelous, offensive or sexually explicit material.
- Do not intentionally make, false or misleading statements.
- Do not offer to sell or buy any product or service.
- Do not post material that infringes copyright.
- Do not post information that you know to be confidential or sensitive or otherwise in breach of the law.
- Keep all comments relevant and 'on topic' to the particular VancouverHome posting open for comments.
- VancouverHome will not accept responsibility for information posted in the Comments.

If VancouverHome receives notice that any posting is not in keeping with these terms and conditions or the intended use of the Comments, VancouverHome may remove that posting and/or any other related postings.

Please note that unless VancouverHome is notified of a posting that is not in keeping with these terms and conditions then we will not remove it, furthermore we do not exercise any form of editorial control or censorship of Comments other than the above stated procedure.

Notification of Changes
Whenever VancouverHome changes our Terms of Use, we will post those changes to this Statement, and other places we deem appropriate so our users will be aware.

Contact Information
If you have any questions or notices of violations to these terms and conditions, please contact us at editor@VancouverHome.com or via post at Daily Pixel Media, 2906 West Broadway, Suite 228, Vancouver, BC, V6K 1G8.

December 1, 2004 | Permalink