$180-million downtown Vancouver tower featured conveyor belt to park resident’s vehicles
Susan Lazaruk
Province
A room with a simulated view in Jameson House’s presentation centre. Photograph by : Wayne Leidenfrost, The Province
A splashy jewel of a downtown condo development — which included plans for a parking lot in which residents’ cars would be whisked away on a conveyor belt — has been put on hold after a bank pulled funding, the latest in a growing list of failed residential projects.
The sales presentation for Jameson House, a 37-storey tower on West Hastings Street near Hornby, was closed and dark yesterday, a regular sales day.
At the site, a crane sat idle and there was no activity in the partially completed seven-storey-deep hole at the $180-million project that was scheduled to be finished by spring 2010.
Developer Tony Pappajohn of Jameson Developments Corp. confirmed in media reports a major unidentified Canadian bank had withdrawn its loan, despite pre-sales of 105 of the 144 upscale suites ranging from $500,000 to more than $5 million.
He couldn’t be reached for comment yesterday.
At an average price of $3 million for each suite, buyers had committed over $300 million in total sales and had put down secured deposits of 15 to 25 per cent.
The project was being marketed by Vancouver condo king Bob Rennie. He didn’t return a message yesterday.
The development also included several floors of office space, a majority of which was spoken for, and retail on the ground floor.
“This is not a surprising development in this economic climate,” said Peter Simpson of the B.C. Home Builders Association.
“When the banks look at its economics and if its economics don’t work, they won’t advance the money.”
He said banks are being “very vigilant” these days.
“He may have done nothing wrong, but he got caught up in the global economic restructuring,” he said.
“The banks aren’t willing to take risk.”
Jameson Developments is looking for another investor or to sell the project.
The space-age-looking tower with rounded corners, designed by famed London architects Foster and Partners, was described as minimalist and “sexy” by Rennie two years ago.
The kitchens were to include countertop islands that could be hydraulically raised and lowered and the suites were to have in-floor radiant heating throughout.
They were to include membership in the exclusive Terminal City Club across the street and the robotic parking lot.
Jameson House is one of several condo projects suspended or halted, including:
– Onni Group’s the Whittaker in New Westminster and its proposed V6A development in Vancouver‘s Chinatown.
– Two Surrey residential towers, Infinity and Sky Towers.
– Lucaya, a $30-million condo development in Kelowna, and Capella, a $1.4-billion luxury project on Vancouver Island.
– Millennium’s $400-million Evelyn towers near Park Royal mall in West Vancouver.
– The $500-million-plus downtown Vancouver Ritz-Carlton hotel-condo project has also been put on hold.
“There is no precedent for what’s happening today,” said Simpson.
But he said banks are continuing to lend money to clients with a long history with them. He added that the West Coast is better positioned to rebound than other areas.