BELIEVERS: Funky, one-of-a-kind retailers are making the area a destination spot

Jeani Read
Province

Joani Rustulka loves the idea of living in the gritty part of town. “It’s an awesome place to live,” the 27-year-old web designer said as she scoped out the Woodward’s display suite. “I want to be an urban dweller.”

Rustulka already is — she lives in the West End — but has friends living in Gastown lofts and likes that edgy feel. She came to view the display last week with Brian Leroux, also 27, a computer programmer who works downtown, bought a home in the suburbs but wants to come back.

“The area is definitely on the cusp. [Woodward’s] will revitalize it and be a cornerstone,” he said. “It’s a smart time to buy.”

SALES STORY

Huh? Rave reviews about an area notorious for being hard edge? Yes, meet what may be the new Vancouver, footed firmly in the past.

The buzz is all about Woodward’s, the amazing sales story: from slum central just a few years ago to a tickety-boo condo development with more than 6,000 applicants world-wide vying for its 536 sleek, modern, condo suites. They’ll likely be close to sold out by now (at $200,000 to $600,000, with a few up to $800,000) on the reverse-snobbery theory that on the edge is the only place to feel at home.

“Be bold or move to suburbia,” is the tag line.

It’s very much condo-king Bob Rennie’s baby and, with 200 social- housing suites, a grocery store, drugstore (no jokes, please) and SFU campus, it will provide the anchor for the neighbourhood.

“It’s a sustainable community,” says Rennie of those crucial add-ons.

IT’S ALL GOOD NEWS

It’s not just Gastown, it’s the whole historical heart of the city that’s slated for revival: Gastown, Chinatown, the bleak Hastings corridor and Victory Square. And something about this plan brings out the optimist in just about everyone involved.

For every naysayer worried about drugs, prostitution and poverty, there are yea-sayers so positive it’s easy to believe that soon the place will become the funky, idyllic live/shop/work zone envisioned for decades. According to many, it’s already on the way.

“This is one of the good stories, and it’s going to happen,” says city heritage planner Zlatan Jankovic. “It’s all good news.”

“Gastown is the new centre for an emerging residential neighbourhood,” says developer and Gastown Business Improvement Society past-president John Stovell.

“It’s not about how, if somebody shows up in a nice car, the poor people have to leave. It’s about having a more balanced proportion.”

Even Rennie waxes a bit lyrical.

“I think we all have to live together,” he says. He is also putting his money where his sales pitch is. His offices will be moving to the Win Sang building, the oldest building in Chinatown.

Woodward’s opens in 2009. In the meantime, all kinds of other projects have also been bringing the area back to life.

Since Vancouver’s heritage incentives were put in place three years ago, says Jankovic, the response has been “overwhelming. We expected maybe seven projects a year, but in 2006 there will probably be 16. It’s a very exciting time, and will be more exciting very soon.”

OVERWHELMING RESPONSE

Not bad for a part of town that about 12 years ago, almost exactly the same moment that Woodward’s closed, slipped from being a “vibrant, prosperous part of the city” to skid row.

Stovell’s Reliance Holdings has created great new rental housing. Sean Heather owns local properties and businesses, including Irish Heather, Limerick Junction, Shebeen Whiskey Bar and the Salty Tongue deli. Developer Scott Hawthorn is building commercial/retail space and is a partner with Heather in the new wine bar Salt.

And there’s more: Marc Williams is about to complete the long-waited condo project Koret Lofts. Inform’s Nancy and Niels Bendtsen are opening a new 30,000-square foot home design store.

Projects like The Salient Group’s Terminus condos are set to transform old structures. New condos in Chinatown like Rennie’s East are also having their effect.

Funky, edgy, one-of a kind retailers like Richard Kidd, Modern Kids, Hunter Gatherer and Livestock are making Gastown a destination spot. It’s a mix of the best of old and new, in market housing, rental properties, commercial ventures and live/work spaces.

“My opinion is, even if Woodward’s didn’t happen, Gastown has already turned the corner,” says Heather.

“It’s beyond the point of no return. Woodward’s is the icing on the cake. It’s the cherry on top of the sundae.”

© The Vancouver Province 2006

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 23rd, 2006 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Real Estate Related. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.