Malcolm Parry
Sun
George Wong Will sell and Henry Man develop the $140-million Atelier at Robson and Homer Street, Kitty-corner from the Vancouver Public Library’s main branch.
BUSINESS LUNCH: Henry Man has the $12 tuna-melt sandwich in the Westin Grand hotel’s Aria restaurant, where $13 quesadillas and $12.50 chicken sandwiches are perennial favourites.
It’s a handy place for the Magellen Developments (20/20) Inc. president and CEO to take on nourishment. One set of floor-to-ceiling windows looks down to the Robson-at-Homer Street intersection, where Man’s $140-million, 29-floor Atelier tower will soon rise. Another faces the Vancouver Public Library’s Colosseum-aping central branch, which enhances Robson Street’s white-hot reputation among those aiming to acquire Atelier’s average 830-square-foot units when they go on sale in mid-May.
Not with Man handling the sales operation, though.
True, his nine-year career at Concord Pacific Developments included an early stint as marketing VP. The 47-year-old Man also stick-handled sales on his own debut project, the 20-floor, 185-unit Freesia tower he developed at Seymour and Helmcken Street for $52-million in 2002.
Man was so deft at that gig, he even got Langley-based freesia-growing mogul Anthony (Tony) Duyvesteyn to purchase a penthouse suite.
Man has been systems-oriented since he graduated as an electrical engineer and went to work for giant BP in the Alberta oilfields. In the traditional British manner, he was quickly schooled in geology, as well as drilling, geophysical, production and reservoir engineering, and says such broad-based methodology has guided him ever since. As for developing and applying skill sets outside one’s original disciplines, like the MBA degree gained while at BP, the Hong Kong-born Man quotes the Chinese saying: “You don’t ask where a hero comes from.”
For the flogging of Atelier, the former soccer jock (and continuing coach) is anticipating a heroic performance by Macdonald Realty’s Platinum Projects head George Wong, who has been scoring consistently lately. Wong, sister Lily Korstanje and their team have reportedly sold $150 million worth of condos in seven weeks. That’s not far behind an equal period in 2005, when they raised $180 million from Aspac Developments brothers Raymond, Thomas and Walter Kwok’s 71-unit Two Harbour Green project in Coal Harbour.
Wong is happy with Atelier’s location. “When you buy Robson,” he says with his hands raised, palms upward, “you buy Vancouver.”
Nor does it hurt that city hall plans to create a yet-unnamed central-downtown park on Atelier’s block.
Like every other developer in town, devout Roman Catholic Man may cast a covetous eye on the large parcel of diocesan property down Robson between Cambie and Beatty streets. More realistically, his next projects will likely entail 40 or so townhouses on each of two Kerrisdale sites he has tied up.
Asked whether he’ll handle sales on those projects, the ever-pragmatic Wong weighed his forthcoming Atelier campaign before replying: “I’ll know in a month.”
© The Vancouver Sun 2007