rodsager

[rodsager]

Downtown needs a couple more Music/Arts Venues

I have opined on this subject in the past but I can’t be alone on this. For decades Vancouver has seen proposals for some form of performing arts center in the Downtown area. Each time it kind of fizzled out. Such a facility could provide a nice auditorium that holds perhaps 1500-2000 guests. This could be used for live theatre, music, opera, classical symphony, etc. But one of the things our…

[rodsager]

Apartments continue to fill up Downtown

Despite the slowdown in urban condo sales, Downtown Vancouver continues to see a tight apartment vacancy rate with most developments having well under 10% units available. I compiled a list of the majority of apartment projects in the Downtown and Midtown areas using data from Apartments.com. Even with 500 units under construction and another 1,000 in the permitting pipeline these are very…

[rodsager]

World Razer with two beam builds

Last time I mentioned I might build a tank ship, but true to my inner being I picked a tactical tank. The World Razer Juggernaut is a variant of the Galaxy class that has a heavy tactical side with a commander tactical seat on the bridge. I spent a fair amount of resources and robbed a few pieces from other ships to make this about as tough as I can. I do not have the resources to get a ship…

[rodsager]

How an 75 year old camera can still dominate today!

There are very few people that can afford a true 4×5 inch digital back. But if you want to do true large format and large format begins at 4×5 inches, you generally have to do it with film. Over the years I have owned a fair number of view cameras; field cameras and monorails alike that utilize 4×5 inch cut film. Back in the early 90s I bought my first Linhof camera. It was a Super Technika IV…

[rodsager]

A piece of our history is gone and condo inventory is creeping up.

Hudsons Bay Company, the oldest company in North America quietly closed down forever. After 335 years of operation the landmark Canadian firm finally succumbed to financial problems. Here in Vancouver USA Hudsons Bay Company has strong roots as their entire Pacific Northwest Operations were based from our very own Fort Vancouver. From the legendary trading post sprang up the town that became…

[rodsager]

New Apartment Projects Moving Slower

There are two large waterfront projects that have not started yet and the permit pipeline on both is a bit quiet. The widely anticipated Mill Creek Residential, Moderna Vancouver has been nearly silent for over a year. This is a big project ranging from 14-16 floors and slated to fill Block 21. Meanwhile on Block 11 Holland Partner Group has yet to move forward on their proposed project of a more…

[rodsager]

A Strange Market Development for Downtown

Vancouver’s Downtown area is still very popular. Despite the new addition of several thousand housing units over the last half decade, the vacancy rate remains firmly planted in the healthy single digits. Downtown has continued to attract people far and wide with our amazing city core and spectacular Waterfront. With all this upward pressure on housing, one might think the condo market would be…

[rodsager]

Waterfront Block 1 Just About Topped Out.

Lincoln decided to swap the ten story office tower proposal for this block out after a series of market developments came up. Originally they had the entire 365,000 square feet at Terminal One leased to ZoomInfo so another office tower seemed to make sense with Vancouver’s office vacancy rate at the time in the single digits. But two significant things happened. First Vancouver hired them to be…

[rodsager]

Vancouver Continues to Land on the Good Side

There is an endless stream of magazines, lifestyle blogs, newspapers, TV shows, etc. that run annual ‘best place to live’ type articles each year. And year after year, our fair city manages to land on those lists. Sometimes we are near the top sometimes a little further down, but almost always making the cut. Recently real estate website Redfin ranked Vancouver among the top five places to live…

[rodsager]

Best Lens Combos for the Serious Shooter

Whether you shoot Canon, Nikon, Sony, or any other brand for that matter, there are some excellent lens combinations that make up a serious photographer’s kit. Of course there are different types of photographer that people engage in but we can break it down into broad categories to simplify this exercise. Again this is not a beginner setup. This is aimed at people that are serious amateurs or…

[rodsager]

Rare Viewpoint Unit Hits Market & the 1500 Block Project is Back

File photo of Vancouvercenter 3 I had an opportunity to show the recently listed Viewpoint #1125 condominium. This is a very special condo for a variety of reasons. Viewpoint units rarely come to market, in fact the last unit to sell in the building was #927 back in August of 2023. This unit was reportedly the very first home to sell in the building back in 2004. It was originally two separate…

[rodsager]

I think I will build an attack tank

I am going to use last year’s premium ship token to acquire the World Razer Juggernaut. I actually do not have a juggernaut ship with any of my toons. I have over 200 different ships but no Juggernaut. The World Razer is an impressive ship and it leans on tactical enough to keep me smiling. Admiral Sager will likely be the recipient of this ship as he has the most resources and character…

[rodsager]

The First Building at Gateway Should Break Ground Soon.

The City of Vancouver city council approved a measure to allow the city to sell a parcel of land in Block X of the new Waterfront Gateway District to an affordable housing developer for just $1. This project will provide 95 income restricted apartments for those earning as little as 60% of the area median income. These apartments will be contained in a five over one podium, six story building.…

[rodsager]

Prices May be Softening in the City Center

Activity has been picking up but I have noticed the trend towards new listings over new pending sales, and price reductions. A few weeks back I mentioned that the glut in Portland for urban condos, particularly in the South Waterfront, may be affecting us here in Vancouver. Now don’t worry, the sky is not falling, but prices are getting competitive and that is an opportunity for buyers to write…

[rodsager]

New Urban Districts Could Come to Orchards and Hazel Dell

Last month I mentioned that the city council is considering options for accelerating the annexations long since scheduled under provisions of a 1990 state legislative act. Although the annexations are not strictly mandated they are aggressively encouraged by the state. Last time the city tried to pull off a major annexation was back in the mid 2000s when Mayor Pollard made an effort to complete…

[rodsager]

Why is Block 16 Still Available?

Block 16 on the Vancouver Waterfront is an ideal property for a premium apartment or condominium project. Gramor Development had a 14 story 80 unit condominium development proposed in the early days of the waterfront’s build-out, but apparently had no takers for the project. The FAA has a 148′ ceiling for buildings but that is plenty tall enough for a 12-14 story building. This plot has an…

[rodsager]

Slow start to 2025

I have had a slow start to the year in STO so far. I got the free ship for the Anniversary event and I have completed the Event Campaign to date. I’m just barely keeping up however. Other things have interfered with my free time. I still haven’t selected my two free c-store ships nor my one free ‘premium’ ship either. I would love to hear about the ships some of you decided to take with your…