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The story behind one of my stories.
Last week, advocates sounded the alarm over a growing problem with single-room occupancy (SRO) buildings in Vancouver: insolvencies. Advocates say that numerous SROs have become insolvent and called for the Government to acquire the properties so tenants are not displaced.
The insolvencies were first reported by me a few months ago for The Tyee after the Avalon Hotel was placed under receivership. The Avalon is owned by Christopher Wall and I found that several of his other SROs had faced foreclosure and/or been sold. Check out the story if you haven’t already, cause it’ll be one I continue to follow.
The big headlines.
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Toronto-based Woodbourne Capital has initiated receivership proceedings against the 24-acre Portwood master-planned project in Port Moody they are co-developing with Edgar Development. QuadReal was the senior lender before Woodbourne bought the debt from QuadReal earlier this year. The receivership application is set to be heard on August 7.
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Vancouver City Council has officially concluded its business for the term, with the summer break and municipal elections to come, but not before one last eventful week.
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In a big plot twist, Vancouver City Council voted 10-1 to reject the proposed Villages Plan, after strong opposition. Would this have happened if it wasn’t an election year? We’ll never know.
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Council also voted 7-3 in favour of Holborn Group’s big downtown proposal, which incudes the tallest towers in Western Canada.
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Council also voted 6-4 in favour of Nicola Wealth and Lotus Capital’s 21-storey hotel proposal in Mount Pleasant, which has drawn strong opposition and even protests.
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Lastly, Council voted unanimously to approve a new floating spa that will be moored in Vancouver’s Heritage Harbour Marina.
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GM of Planning Josh White said the City processed 127 rezoning applications in 2026, which was twice their annual volume in about half the time.
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Two Vancouver sports stories, both with a bit of a real estate aspect:
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The City of Vancouver signed an MOU with The Show Vancouver Bid Corporation as their preferred proponent in a bid for an MLB team. The group is led by Zack Ross, President of Vancouver-based developer Cape Group. Various other business leaders have also signed a letter of support.
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The City of Vancouver also signed an MOU with the Vancouver Canucks — owned by the Aquilinis — to explore a new hockey development facility at the Britannia Community Services Centre site, adjacent to the Britannia Ice Rink.
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ICYMI: Last week I published my interview with Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle reflecting on her first year in the role. We talked about Budget 2026, the Condo Conversion Partnership, and she also revealed that the Attainable Housing Initiative is set to launch in the fall.
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On the completed unsold condos topic: I have obtained a cache of data that breaks down standing inventory by municipality, construction type, and building, which I then matched to developers, and The Realist will be publishing the data in the coming days and weeks.
Also In This Edition: Updates on projects by TransLink, PCI, Holborn, and Nch’ḵay̓; listings and sales by Colliers and Cushman’; and people news pertaining to the Rental Protection Fund and Colliers.