To call SFU’s development Univercity at “yuppie Slum” paints an image that doesn’t represent the feelings of the owners here.

The past three years living here we have all known we were early in the curve, and we are now seeing the value in being here early. The new Nesters Market is now open, we’re seeing some wonderful public art installations popping up, there are outdoor music and cultural events in the summer, micro farmers markets, some affordable and good eateries, great public transit, clean air, miles of walking trails in a pristine forest conservation area – all in an eco density neighbourhood that encourages interaction between residents – hardly a slum.

There’s a new elementary school opening in September that has a focus on greener living, and will have some wonderful programs:

“The district hopes to develop partnerships with SFU faculty members, particularly the education faculty, to engage with the elementary’s students, as well as provide space at the school for community programs run by Burnaby’s parks and recreation department”
(Wanda Chow – Burnaby Newsleader Feb 19 2010)

Univercity at Simon Fraser University is getting attention around the world and has one many awards ( video: http://tinyurl.com/ylelgf5 ).

The SFU Community Trust’s President Gordon Harris and his team are doing a great job of moving Mr. Geller’s legacy forward and creating a true sustainable neighbourhood.

Drop by sometime – I think you’ll change your view.

Unfortunately, the only people that know for sure one way or another who’s living in these units and whether they’re occupied or not is the University Neighbourhood Association, which contracted out a fairly comprehensive survey of the local residences a couple of years ago. HOwever, they have systematically ignored my requests to see the data (although they promised they would be made public when they distributed the questionnaire). To make it even more interesting, partial (and aggregated) results that they did comment on seemed to suggest that the “local” population in these developments was somewhere between 35% and 60%…

I live here and, although I can’t say I know for sure, I have plenty of anecdotal evidence for my impressions. For example, the cashiers I spoke with at the new Save On Foods haven’t got all the shifts they expected because there simply aren’t enough customers (yet? I don’t know if this lack of business is temporary or permanent, but other shops away from the campus center have already closed and left… which doesn’t seem to suggest a vibrant and local community).

So, until we see the numbers, all we have is just our own biased opinions as to what is going on here.

This is street-oriented urbanism at a walkable scale. Good stuff. Can we clone it?

The shopping street acts as a traffic-calming barrier, protecting the neighbourhoods to the west, and making this section of 41st lighter in traffic than the typical arterial.

That’s an important fact to keep in mind: there is a direct correlation between the volume of traffic on the street, and the ability of a street to function as a residential site. Urban quality matters, and high-volume streets fail that test.

How are we going to get more sites like this, Michael? Isn’t the answer to get the City to plan new neighbourhood centers, learning from Kerrisdale, around the “Olympic Miracle” (i.e. Transit)?

A third fact about this site’s location is that it is 0.5 km (0.33 miles) from the Arubuts rail R.O.W.

In your opinion, what would be the effect for developing sites like this if the Arbutus corridor were running an “Olympic Line” tram on it?

Might we use Tram corridors to get a break on the cost of land? Or, are we moving too fast for the “herd”? Would municipal involvement take some of the risk out of it?

I’d love to see the numbers you have to back this claim up… the anecdotal evidence around here in UBC points to the complete opposite (speculation / money laundering / “investment” / units barely used)

Dan, I don’t know in which neighbourhood you live, but I can say that the price will be influenced by two things…the prices achieved at UBC and elsewhere in the region; and the cost of creating new apartments in your neighbourhood.

A major factor affecting the latter is the availability and cost of land in the area. The reality is that there are virtually no undeveloped multi-family sites in most westside Vancouver neighbourhoods. There are commercial/residential sites along arterials, but I suspect this is not your first choice.

The housing is being built at UBC because there is land available…but the high prices for the land and housing are a reflection of the significant demand, primarily from local residents, and limited supply.

Many developers like myself would love to build more apartments in Kerrisdale or Dunbar or Cambie but there are no sites available. We can try and assemble single family lots and attempt to rezone them, but as we have recently witnessed, this is often very time consuming and expensive, with no guarantee of success. You also make a lot of enemies through the process!

I will conclude with an anecdote. I was touring the Canadian Mint display with my wife last week when a lady came up to us and said “You don’t know me, but I want you to know my mother recently moved into the apartment you developed at Larch and 41st. She just loves it. I hope you will build another like it.”

I’d love to. Just find me the land. cheers