Richmond City Centre population to triple over 25 years

Changes are coming to Richmond City Centre

Two years ago, ALEXIS ROOHANI wrote:

The rush to Richmond

Planners are preparing for a tripling of the population over the next 25 years as Vancouver's housing refugees flock to the suburb in search of affordability and a better quality of life, writes ALEXIS ROOHANI

ALEXIS ROOHANI Special to The Globe and Mail POSTED ON 06/10/06

Richmond is coming of age, and its claim to fame is beginning to reach well beyond its reputation for prolific shopping centres and tasty Chinese cuisine.

"Richmond has a higher profile. You think about moving here now," says Tracy Lakeman, a veteran of the Strathcona area who moved to Richmond with her partner in 2005, buying a home in Richmond's Seafair neighbourhood. "It's not so much a suburb of Vancouver any more; it's becoming a city in its own right."

Moreover, says Ms. Lakeman, now Executive Director of Tourism Richmond, all the development hasn't erased the area's other pleasures. "When I'm out walking, I'm watching bald eagles, hawks, coyotes, blue herons, ducks..."

Home builders have taken note.

Hani Lammam, Vice President of Development and Acquisitions for Cressey Development Corp., has watched affordability turn Richmond into one of the Lower Mainland's biggest real estate hot spots.

"We see a higher demand for real estate in Richmond than we do in Vancouver," says Mr. Lammam. "The values are better in Richmond because land is cheaper, and yet the quality of the product is comparable."
As one of Richmond's foremost developers, Cressey is responsible for kick-starting McLennan North, a major developmental collaboration with the City of Richmond that has evolved into one of the city's most coveted neighbourhoods.

"Because of Richmond's demographics and geographic advantages, we predicted that it would be a success," says Mr. Lammam of the company's decision to spearhead the master planning for McLennan North 12 years ago. "It had everything going for it."

Whether you chalk it up to clairvoyance or just prescience borne of proper due diligence, Cressey could hardly ask for a better return on its wager. The July release of Mandalay and Brandywine Lane, Cressey's crowning residential projects in McLennan North, saw more than 250 realtors in attendance, hinting at the high level of demand in Richmond's real estate market.

"It's been a tremendous success," Mr. Lammam says, "way beyond our expectations."

Sassan Pourfar, who bought into Brandywine Lane in July, chose Richmond specifically for what it offers to homeowners who don't want to sacrifice quality and lifestyle for the sake of affordability.

"Compared to other places around Vancouver, the price of living [in Richmond] is much less," says Mr. Pourfar, who researched the Lower Mainland area extensively before moving from Iran and settling in Richmond with his wife in 2001. Since then, Mr. Pourfar has purchased two properties in the city, experiences he believes provided him with a better return on his investment.

"If I wanted to buy something in Vancouver for the same cost [$600,000], I'd have to buy a 40 or 50 year-old house, and even then I'd have to redevelop it," says Mr. Pourfar. "Based on what I expect in terms of quality and design, there's no comparison for what I found with Cressey and for the price I got in Richmond."

Strong market values may be a draw factor, but Richmond's ability to satisfy diverse lifestyle needs is ultimately what keeps people in the city. The city has attempted to provide that by implementing a strict plan for densification.

"We are taking densification very seriously," says Terry Crowe, Manager of Policy Planning for the City of Richmond. "We only have a limited amount of land in Richmond that we can effectively use for urban growth. If we want to continue to have an agricultural land reserve and a sustainable region, we have to densify the areas that are designated urban now as efficiently as we can."

Urban density has not characteristically been one of Richmond's calling cards, a fact best illustrated by the uninspiring strip malls that dominate many of the city's main drags.

But with plans in place for supporting 120,000 people in the city centre by 2031 -- an increase of 80,000 over the area's current population -- it's safe to say that the times are a'changing, a point that will only be reinforced by the introduction of rapid transit over the next few years.

Focusing densification primarily on arterial roads and shopping districts (in order to protect the city's fiercely guarded single-family neighbourhoods), the city's planning department is also committed to building five high-density urban villages around each of Richmond's scheduled rapid transit stations.

These villages will be designed as individual live/work/play communities, and will strive in their planning to maximize transit ridership and effectively eliminate the need to own a vehicle.

While a vibrant and diverse downtown core satisfies the requirements of a complete community, What makes Richmond appealing to many residents are the city's 1,500 acres of open park space and comprehensive network of recreational facilities -- assets that city planners are making every effort to balance with growth.

"We have to grow to make the community livable at the end of the day, and what makes it livable are parks and other amenities," says Mr. Crowe.
A livable city also means job opportunities, which proves to be yet another area of surprising wealth for Richmond. According to Craig Jones, Executive Director for the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, current figures estimate a total of 1.5 jobs per resident, a ratio that even Vancouver can't boast.

"We've got a number of industries that have decided to locate here because of the talent pool that's available and the city's proximity to the airport, the U.S. border, and the local port authorities," Mr. Jones says.
Several industry hubs have been cultivated by the city over the past few decades, including high-tech, agriculture, biotech, manufacturing, transportation, and the overflow from Vancouver's diminished warehousing sector.

"Companies like to locate here because it's affordable for their staff to live and work in their community," explains Mr. Jones of the 12,000 companies that call Richmond home. "In Vancouver, that's changed dramatically."

Another Major City Centre Project Approved

A new Richmond City Centre project located at the current site of Lansdowne GM’s car dealership was proposed to the city’s planning committee, and councillors unanimously agreed with a staff recommendation to support a rezoning bid by W.T. Leung Architects. The proposed development is consisting of a new 33,000-square-foot community centre - City Centre South Community Centre, a 22,000-square-foot campus for Trinity Western University and a $1-billion residential development, comprising five high-rises with nearly 600 apartments and dozens of stacked townhouses.

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