Theatre possessed
Westside Church's purchase of the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts will be a done deal this week, when the church takes possession of the property at 777 Homer Street.
Formerly owned by Colorado-based Four Brothers Entertainment Co., the property is assessed at $9.4 million. The purchase – reportedly bankrolled in part by business people within the congregation – is notable because many churches, such as St. Andrews Wesley United Church and those partnering with LionRock Development Corp. – have pursued development projects to generate cash to maintain buildings. It's rare that congregations buy property to provide mansions for the spirit (to steal a phrase from Anglican bishop Michael Ingham).
Ventures of the BC Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches – which launched Westside in 2005 under the aegis of Church Planting BC (now the C2C Network, which lists 20 churches under its banner across B.C.) – have typically leased space.
Westside's congregation originally met in the Fifth Avenue Cinemas on Burrard Street, expanding to a theatre on Granville Island in January 2009. It took space for a second location at North Vancouver's Park & Tilford cinema in 2012.
Meanwhile, Westside launched Reality Vancouver Church at Charles Dickens Elementary School four years ago, and will launch Christ City Church at an undisclosed location on Vancouver's south side in September.
Norm Funk, lead pastor of Westside and chair of the C2C Network, was unable to comment on the ease of finding meeting space for religious groups prior to deadline, but his group clearly faces competition.
St. Peter's Fireside – an initiative of St. John's Vancouver, a group of dissident Anglicans from St. John's (Shaughnessy) Anglican Church that found space at Oakridge Adventist Church – is preparing to launch at UBC Robson Square, while at least a dozen religious groups, generally categorized as "churches," rent space at eight city-owned community centres around the city.
Vancouver School Board properties host five churches – including two C2C Network churches, Reality Vancouver as well as Pacific Church, at Elsie Roy Elementary School. (Bayview Elementary, Gladstone Secondary and Kitsilano Secondary schools lease space to three separate churches.)
"They're terrific for us, in terms of rental income," said Kurt Heinrich, public relations manager for the Vancouver School Board. "They're stable, they're great clients."
Going public
Capital City Centre, the billion-dollar development that Victoria-based League Financial Partners is undertaking in Colwood on Vancouver Island, is set to be rolled into a new publicly traded entity by the end of August.
"We're combining the assets of the Capital City Centre project into a listed entity," said Adam Gant, co-founder of League, who cites Wall Financial Corp. as a model. "Our goal is to really have that seed a new public development company."
Capital City Centre's first building, a 76-unit residential project, broke ground earlier this year. Sales are proceeding for two buildings representing 282 residences, with deposits placed on 63 units. The project will eventually boast 11 buildings with a total of 4.3 million square feet split almost evenly between residential and commercial uses.
Confirmed retailers to date include London Drugs, Coast Capital Savings and Credit Union and RBC Royal Bank, while League will occupy half the office space (23,000 square feet).
Innkeeper's special
With the summer holiday season in full swing, CBRE Ltd. reports that North Shore hotels are outshining their counterparts elsewhere in the country when it comes to filling rooms.
The first half of the year saw occupancies at Vancouver North hotels rise 8.1% versus the first six months of 2012 – the greatest increase for any market in Canada. While revenue per available room didn't make stellar gains, the improvement reflects stable and even strengthening demand in the area, thanks to shipbuilding contracts and the rising profile of the Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier.
"The Pinnacle is one of the main ones that's making a name for itself over here, and as that hotel has been very successful it's pushing demand into other areas," said Carrie Russell, managing director, HVS Canada. "It's put the North Shore on the map, versus the Capilano corridor, which has a lot of motels."
