Two reasons why the business and development community will be strong supporters of the referendum.
First: Transit hubs a magnet for new Metro Vancouver office developments.
According to a report from commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle … nearly 90 percent of new office construction outside downtown Vancouver will be within 500 metres of a transit station. That’s a clear turnaround from 2006 to 2011, when 75 percent of new suburban office space was built further than 500 metres from a transit station.
“Transit has clearly become the driver for new investment and development,” said JLL broker associate Scott MacDonald.
Second: The vast designer outlet mall under construction near Templeton Station on the Canada Line (one of the reasons YVR ponied up hundreds of millions for the extension to the airport)*.
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So as the referendum season begins, the question is whether there will be a turnaround at the provincial level. Will the Premier come on board, and send a message to her MLAs and supporters to get behind the ‘Yes’ side and make the referendum a winner? If her jobs-and-economy platform is at all sincere, she’ll make the connection between transit and the economic health of the province, not just the region.
There’s lots of evidence for that message. See above.
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* And another reason why Tsawwassen Mills and Commons – a vast car-dependent mall at the far corner of the region – is a dubious proposition.
For the YVR outlet mall, Canada Line riders will probably be dinged the $5.00 surcharge when leaving Sea Island – so that’s a $3.75 (in) + $8.75 (out) = $12.50 per person per shopping trip – even if you don’t buy anything.
A car load of price conscious outlet shoppers (i.e. 4 x $12.50 = $50.00!!) would be cheaper (if the lot isn’t full).
So it remains to be seen what the ratio of transit versus auto will be.
Maybe they’ll have a validate your transit ticket type thing like they do for parking.
The outlet mall at the airport was not planned to be next to a Canada Line station. Originally it was to be beside the BCIT Aerospace complex. It wasn’t until long after the line opened they moved the site, possibly because the planned 250 room hotel fell through. And even in its new location, it has a large parking lot.
Yes, it has been relocated under pressure of the Richmond council, expressing severe concerns on the traffic impact over its bridges on the Fraser middle arm
the Yvr mall will be separated of the Canada line station by a huge parking lot (which airport greeters will find conveniently located, since the Canada line is free on the sea island section). Transit access has never really been a prime concern and in fact it has received no more than lip service attention in the Yvr mall project.
A poorly executed plan in fact…
On the other hand, you have the Aberdeen mall extension providing direct access to the Canada line….
a 2 storey building ? not exactly a dense development. How about 6 with housing on top ?