The state of the housing construction

Good morning,

Get out that sunscreen because it’s going to get as high as 18 on Friday. It may not be beach weather yet, but it’s getting there!

A reminder, if you like discovering new Vancouver restaurants, we’ve got a free newsletter that reviews many new and undiscovered places around town. You can sign up for free instantly by clicking this link. 

Today in the newsletter we’ve got a look at the home construction industry and some art events and news from around town.

Let’s dive in!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout editor

 If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

Wednesday: 14 🌡️ 6 | 🌧️

Thursday: 17 🌡️ 7 | 🌧️

Friday: 18 🌡️ 8 | 🌤️

HOUSING

The state of the housing construction

What happened: Houses and apartments require people to build them (duh). But what happens if the people aren’t there? That’s the challenge BC’s construction industry faces, a critical component in the drive at all levels of government to build homes

Breaking it down: The number of trades workers dropped by 167,300 in the last five years, with 15 construction companies losing 15% of their workforce in the last five years, according to the Vancouver Sun, while construction wages have also gone up 21% in the last five years. Of course, the inflation rate over the last five years was around 16%.

• The big problem? There are an estimated 6,000 positions that may be unfilled by 2032, according to an analysis by The B.C. Construction Association, with an expected 22,700 new job openings. 

The construction industry has also raised alarms in the past over BC’s high cost of living, where skilled and unskilled workers cannot afford to live in the areas that need their skills, according to Victoria News. 

Zoom out: While there are construction challenges, that hasn’t stopped the region from building. A report by Rennie Landscape outlines how there were just over 33,000 home starts in Metro Vancouver last year, a record compared to previous years, according to CTV.

Yes, but: The CMHC noted that while housing construction grew last year, it’s been mostly in line with previous years. But they noted that timelines to build homes has increased, to 22.7 months for an apartment project, which is 1.5 months higher than the 10-year average. 

• While purpose-built rentals and condos are increasing, especially in response to government policy, single, semi-detached and row homes have fallen 20%. The question remains whether upzoning that the BC and federal governments have championed will have any impact on that in the future, especially row houses. 

Dig deeper: For all you policy nerds — count me as one — you can read the CMHC’s spring Housing Supply Report here. 

Looking ahead: The CMHC report notes that condo housing starts will likely moderate due to challenging financial conditions this year. It also noted that government programs have seen a broad take-up by developers, which is a positive sign.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🏒 14%: The percentage of Canadians who think the Canucks, out of each Canadian playoff team, have the best shot at winning the Stanley Cup. Toronto came in first at 21% and Edmonton second at 20%. [CTV]

💰 $2,993: This is an important number because it’s the average price of a condo in Vancouver, which for the first time since July 2022, is below $3,000. [CTV]

📈 2.7%: BC’s annual percent of inflation for March, up from 2.6% in February. That’s 0.2 percentage points lower than Canada at 2.9%. [Business in Vancouver]

RESTAURANT REVIEW

No visit is the same at Bar Tartare

Restaurants face a challenge each day — how do you keep customers returning?

Sure, maybe they’ve got a few regulars, people on a first name basis with the restaurant team. The popular places will always have returning customers, eager to show it off to friends and family. 

But naturally, we want diversity, freshness, an experience you haven’t had before. That has to be balanced with a restaurant’s brand, their approach to food and drink, and what makes them, well, them. Menus constantly change, but some dishes always remain. You can dilute what makes a place great, but it needs some connection to history. Otherwise what is a restaurant? 

All this to say, there’s an inherent tension within every restaurant, the past and present, the new and old, regulars and first-timers, that plays out in each restaurant’s menu.

But what if you threw all that out the window? What if each week had an entirely different menu, an entirely different chef, and a whole new type of food? Is the restaurant still the restaurant? 

It’s a question I pondered as I left Bar Tartare. Located at 54 Alexander St., Bar Tartare is different from any other restaurant I’ve been to. The popular wine bar hosts a rotating selection of chefs each week, that changes day to day. 

To read our latest review and subscribe to our free food newsletter, click this link. 

DREAM HOME

I’m normally not one to feature very expensive homes, but I’ll make an exception for this one, and you’ll see why.

Located on a hill in West Vancouver, it was designed by well-known architect Barry Downs and is a beautiful example of West Coast modernist architecture. A mid century modern design, large archways, big but not too big windows framing a beautiful view, it doesn’t get much better than this. And at only 1,464 square feet, it won’t take much to clean!

Of course, with a view like this, it also comes with a hefty price…

House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labelled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team. 

THE AGENDA

🤷 There wasn’t much new in the budget yesterday, particularly for Vancouver, with most of the major announcements focused on housing released earlier in the month. [CBC]

👮 A man who was shot on April 3 in downtown Vancouver wasn’t the intended target, as police announced charges against a man for the shooting. [Vancouver Sun]

🎉 No fun city strikes again. Currently there are still no watch parties planned in Vancouver for the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs, or in any other major municipality in the area. But Vancouver and the Canucks may have something to say in the future... [CityNews]

🏘️ There’s a new phenomenon of non-compliant development proposals, ones that run afoul of existing policy, advancing further along in the development process. Part of this is council’s desire for more proposals to be brought forward to help address key priorities, like rentals and below-market housing. For example, a project may exceed maximum height limits, but achieve other goals like providing a childcare facility. [Vancouver Sun]

👮 A protestor who allegedly assaulted a police officer in a protest over the conflict in the Gaza Strip back in March has been arrested. An investigation of the incident is ongoing. [Global News]

📇 This is an interesting project — TransLink is experimenting with developer-funded transit subsidies by providing tenants at a new development, Yarrow East Village, with a $150 pre-loaded Compass Card. It seeks to understand if these subsidies increase transit use. The findings will be shared with developers and municipalities. [TransLink]

🏗️ While not technically in Vancouver, if you’re interested in how the future of the massive development at Metropolis at Metrotown will look, the master plan for the area has been released. [Urbanized]

⛺ The CRAB Park saga continues. After allowing people to return to the homeless encampment, park rangers removed tents that were located in the temporary area while the main park was cleaned up. [Vancouver Sun]

📈 I apologize for just how negative the housing news is. Really, I am. If there’s ever any positive news, I’ll be sure to share it. In the meantime, it appears that you now need $232,620 in yearly income in order to afford a home in Vancouver. That’s up $2,270 from February. [CityNews]

SPONSORED BY INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE

Geopolitics in under 5 minutes?

International Intrigue makes staying updated on international news easier than ever. Crafted by former diplomats, their daily briefing covers all things global politics and lands directly in your inbox. It's free, a quick read, and razor-sharp! 

Sign up today for free.

ARTS

Theatre

To celebrate International Dance Day, the Dance Centre is hosting free events at the Vancouver Art Gallery South Plaza on April 29. [Straight]

This is How We Got Here is a theatre production at the Firehall Arts Centre about a family overcoming grief. 

Ever wanted to see a musical-interview show? Well now you can, at the Improv Centre tonight at 9:15 pm. [The Stir]

Music

The Marley Brothers will be performing at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby on Sept. 5, celebrating their father’s musical legacy. [Straight]

Come listen to some American folk songs as the SFU choir performs this Saturday at the Cliff Avenue United Church. 

2024 Grammy nominee classical and jazz pianist Aaron Diehl is performing this Friday at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts. 

Movies 

It’s National Canadian Film Day today and VIFF is showcasing works from Norman Jewison, actress Sandra Oh and others. There’s also the classic A Matter of Life and Death on this Sunday. 

Directors being shown at Cinematheque in the coming weeks include Justine Triet, Steve McQueen and Bong Joon Ho, with his dystopian masterpiece Snowpiercer.

Art

The Vancouver Art Gallery welcomed three new curators in residence back in March, Pantea Haghighi, Makiko Hara, and Nya Lewis, each with a different regional and art-based focus and background. [Stir]

There’s still time to artist Pedro Reyes’ PACE IN SPACE!, the outdoor art showcase of large anthropomorphic creatures. You can find it at 1100 West Georgia St. before it ends its run April 21. 

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Congrats to Mike Nasr whose being celebrated for helping save two different lives, a father and a son, two years apart at the PNE. [Vancouver Sun]

• Tired of drowning in science news? Dive into The Aurorean! Their weekly briefing scours 100+ sources to bring you the juiciest bits of science news every Wednesday. Stay ahead of the curve—subscribe now for free! 🔬[Sponsored]

• New playoff banners have been put up along Granville. [Reddit]

• This is a lovely story about the Kingsgate Mall which is celebrating 50 years. [Straight]

• A year-long pilot at the Vancouver General Hospital seeks to provide patients with better food options. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

This is a very calming video of Vancouver’s cherry blossoms while biking. 

GAME TIME

Turns out yesterday’s question was tricky, with half of you getting it wrong! Violent crime was down 0.2% last year.

Today’s Vancouver Guesser is a popular beach! Can you guess it? Reply with the correct answer and your name to be featured in the newsletter.