Vancouver condo's selling from $819 to $2,500 per square foot

More than 12,000 people toured the $1-billion Vancouver Olympic Village's sales office on the weekend, checking out more than 200 condominiums that were put up for sale Saturday.

Bob Rennie, president of Rennie Marketing Systems, confirmed he made 36 sales in the two days, about double the number anticipated. The sales ranged from a 505-square-foot one-bedroom that went for $445,000 to a 3,000-square-foot waterfront unit costing $4.75 million.

"We want to be really transparent on the numbers," said Rennie.

"We've got two years to complete the sale of the Olympic village. Over the weekend, we saw some pent-up demand. We're very encouraged. We're ahead of schedule. We're really happy."

The market portion of the Olympic village consists of 737 units, 263 of which were sold before the Games. About 200 of the remaining 474 units were put on the market over the weekend.

The City of Vancouver oversaw the development, which provided accommodation for athletes during the Olympics, with the idea that the units would eventually be sold to the public for a profit.

But the global financial crisis, a soft real estate market and cost overruns have put those profits in jeopardy.

Rennie has predicted there will be demand for the Olympic units because of the development's waterfront location, its connection to the Winter Games and a shortage of condos that he anticipates over the next few years.

About 300 people, including politicians, developers and Olympic representatives attended the official unveiling of the project to the public on Saturday morning.

"The competition could be fierce," Mayor Gregor Robertson told the crowd. "There are some amazing homes and I understand there was even a grey whale in here the other day checking out the development. I don't know if it put a deposit on it or not, but Bob Rennie can report on that."

Saturday's events included a protest from a group of antipoverty advocates unhappy about the amount of affordable housing in the project, which is separate from the 737 market units.

Protest leader Maxim Winther, 23, charged the city's pre-2006 promise of 33-per-cent social housing "has dwindled to a token amount in the context of gentrification and a city-wide decline in available affordable housing."

He noted homelessness has gone up 12 per cent in the past two years, according to a recent city study. He said he doubts Rennie can sell the majority of the market units to people other than foreign real estate speculators.

Earlier, Robertson told the media that the city had in fact met its promises on social housing in the village according to the last proposal submitted in the final agreement with Vanoc.

The city wants to recoup its investment in the $1-billion project, built by Millennium Development Corp. The city is owed about $170 million for the land and is also financing $750 million in loans.

"It was a unique set of circumstances," said city manager Penny Ballem. "The city never intended to finance such a large development."

Ballem said the city, at this point, is not in the "business to make a huge profit?" and has offered Millennium incentives in the form of a lower interest rate if it can sell the units and pay the money back sooner than scheduled.

The new seven-block community, now known as Millennium Water, consists of 16 buildings.

Market units start at $389,000 for a 475-square-foot unit ($819 per square-foot), rising to about $10.5 million for a 4,000-square-foot penthouse ($2,500 per square foot) overlooking all of downtown Vancouver and the North Shore mountains.

The public was invited to visit nine suites, each decorated by a different interior designer. The biggest selling points marketed by Rennie's team include location, quality of life and sustainability.

Units are heated and cooled with small capillary-like hot and cold water tubes that run inside the ceiling as opposed to traditional air ducts, which use more energy.

About 50 per cent of roof space is covered in plants and grass, which helps regulate temperature as well.

Twenty-five per cent of storm water from each roof can be collected underground and used for flushing toilets and watering courtyard gardens.

Units also have a smarter in-home energy monitoring system.

Rennie said the typical condo buyers at the Olympic village will be empty-nesters or soon-to-be empty-nesters.

"When you look at [units costing] into the millions and you look at local incomes, it rules out the first-time family homebuyer? " he said.

Darren White, 35, visited the main plaza area with his two-year-old daughter Celia and wife Kim.

"I'm looking forward to it. I think it will add some vitality. It will be nice to have the stores and see the sense of community that will develop at the community centre," said White.

("Potential buyers, protesters turn out for condo sales" prepared by Graeme Wood/Vancouver Sun)