[Update – It appears this item remained on the “consent agenda” as the City Clerk posted on X (Twitter) that it had been approved on consent. If true, this means Mayor/Council/City Manager either had a secret meeting to work out some deal or details, or they consciously decided to ignore our letter of concern. CityHallWatch did not receive any response from any of them, not even the courtesy of an acknowledgement of receipt. Any readers who are concerned about the City losing more than a million dollars in the sale of one single laneway, feel free to contact your favourite member of Council, and do let us know what they tell you. This seems to be a systemic problem, amounting to potentially hundreds of million dollars over several years. Another of many examples is one we covered at 5025 Arbutus Street, 2126 West 34th Avenue and 2109-2129 West 35th Avenue. Members of our civil society have good reason to be very concerned about this pattern. Municipal decisions are being further shrouded in secrecy under BC NDP legislation that will eliminate public hearings for the majority of land use decisions across the province. These are serious matters.]
Meeting link: https://council.vancouver.ca/20240507/regu20240507ag.htm
*************
Re: Closure and Sale of a Portion of Lane Adjacent to 906-982 West 18th Avenue and 907-969 West 19th Avenue (in Council 7-May-2024) (Link: https://council.vancouver.ca/20240507/documents/r7.pdf)
Dear Mayor Ken Sim, Councillors and City Manager Paul Mochrie, City of Vancouver,
City staff are recommending that you approve the sale of public land at your Regular Council meeting on May 7.
CityHallWatch is requesting that Mayor and Council carefully examine the valuation of the public land in question, and to have this done in public at the meeting.
Any time public land is being sold, the public should be able to count on the municipal government to get the best deal, in the public interest, especially in an era of tight city finances. We recommend you have this item pulled from the consent agenda, to allow for proper discussion.
From the report, “Engineering Services has conducted a comprehensive review and determined that the Lane Portion is surplus to civic needs and is available for sale to the Balfour Lands owner, subject to
the conditions detailed in Appendix B of this report. An independent third party appraisal of market value has been conducted on the Lane Portion. The Director of Real Estate Services advises that the negotiated sale price of $3,161,156 represents fair market value for the Lane Portion to be conveyed to the Balfour Lands owner…. The General Manager of Real Estate, Environment and Facilities Management recommends a purchase price for the Road Portion of $3,161,156.”
The staff recommendation is to sell the 7,923 sq. ft. lane for $3,161,156, which works out to $399 per sq. ft. of land.
Developer Wesgroup bought the rest of the site, 101,890 sq. ft. for $46,200,000 from Balfour Properties in 2015, nine years ago. That works out to $453 per sq. ft. of land.
References https://vancouvermarket.ca/2021/02/08/wesgroup-envisions-241-units-for-balfour-block/ and – https://www.cwilson.com/app/uploads/2016/03/Full-list-of-Top-100-biggest-real-estate-deals-of-2015-_-Business-in-Vancouver.pdf
It is generally acknowledged that Vancouver land values have increased in the last nine years. The 2024 BC Assessment land valuation for the rest of the site is $55,843,000 which equals $548 per sq. ft. of land. If sold at that same land value, the price of the lane would be $4,341,804, more than a million dollars more than city staff are recommending. Also note that it’s generally considered that assessed values often tend to be on the low side compared to market value.
A lower price recommendation than the 2015 sale price and current assessed value of the site is surprising. This merits more scrutiny by Mayor and Council.
In terms of benefits for the developer, besides what appears to be a proposed sale price below what the public might expect, the developer has also avoided nine years of holding and financing costs, compared to the surrounding the land it purchased in 2015. A saving on these costs could also be seen as a benefit, costs saved by the developer in relation to the purchase from the City in 2024.
On the public’s behalf we ask you to get a proper explanation of this valuation, and ideally, the release of the third party appraisal. This should be done now, before Council makes its decision, instead of under FOI legislation after the deal is done.
Best wishes,
CityHallWatch
Additional notes
1. Although the staff report for May 7 states that the “General Manager of Real Estate, Environment and Facilities Management” recommends the purchase price, this actually refers to “Deputy City Manager” Armin Amrolia, who has been exercising that function since December 2021.
2. The rezoning page for this property is https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/balfour-block. This resubmitted rezoning application was approved by Council at a Public Hearing on July 5, 21 and 26, 2022. The resubmitted rezoning application of the Balfour Block at 906-982 W 18th Ave and 907-969 W 19th Ave. The proposal was to allow for the development of a 6-storey rental building, a 6-storey condo building with a rooftop amenity and a childcare space on the ground floor, and seven 3- to 4-storey townhome buildings. The zoning was changed from RT-2 (Residential) to CD-1 (Comprehensive Development) District.
3. The rezoning referral report shows the registered owners of the 8 lots as holding companies Shaughnessy Laurel [Lots A to H] Investments Ltd. The beneficial owners with significant interest in Lot F are Mary Elizabeth Wesik and Peeter Wesik, the latter being former president and CEO of Wesgroup Properties, a private real estate organization.
https://council.vancouver.ca/20220607/documents/rr11.pdf.
Below – excerpt of referral report 7-Jun-2022
CityHallWatch: Tools to engage in Vancouver city decisions 
Thanks for trying. Never seems to go in the residents and tax payer favour.