JUNE 2015 BCBusiness 21 BcBUsiNEss.cA
right away we know some-
thing's wrong with it. It means
there's challenges in there that
if we can ¢nd a solution, we can
do a project that no one else
either could do or is willing to
do. I like to see what's possible
for a certain project and putting
the pieces together. We have
this little module called Rizelab,
which is experimenting with
things like movable walls or con-
tainers as livable units. Di¦erent
explorations of di¦erent ways of
doing things—that's what keeps
us going.
What is it about unusual
projects that appeals to you?
I love getting lost because you
never know what you could
¢nd. If you know exactly where
you're going, you're not going
to ¢nd anything interesting.
You're going to go on the same
old route. You're going to get to
the same old place at the same
old time. Nothing happens.
Affordability—and the lack
thereof—is a perennial issue
in Vancouver. What's your
take on that?
Unfortunately it's only going
to get more expensive. A lot of
people have a misconception
that developers love to drive up
the price of real estate because
we make more money from it.
It's the opposite. As we sell our
project we have to buy more
raw land to work on, and the
cost of production has just gone
up because everything is so
expensive for us to buy. It's a
vicious cycle.
Five years ago, you downsized
yourself—moving from a house
to a downtown condo. Has that
changed your perspective at all?
I ¢gured if I'm providing condo
living, I'd better experience it
myself. It made me realize that
we could always use more open
space, so parks and amenities
are important.
rIze's Independent: a tImeLIne
JANUARY 2005
Initial land
purchase
JUNE2007
Mount Pleasant
Community
Plan process
starts "
JULY 2010
Rezoning
application to
change"•oor
space ratio"
from 3.0 (C3-A)"
to 6.37 (CD-1)
and maximum
height of"246 ft.
(26 storeys)
NOVEMBER
2010
Community
plan approved;"
Rize site to
potentially have
"iconic" build-
ings; designated
one of three
higher-density
locations
JANUARY 2012
Revised rezon-
ing submission
requesting"5.55
•oor space ratio,
215-ft. maxi-
mum height
(19 storeys)
FEB.-APRIL
2012 Public
hearing and
council rezon-
ing approval in
principle"(9-1
vote, 5.55 •oor
space ratio, 19
storeys, 215-ft.
maximum
height)
JULY 2014
Development
permit board
approval"(5.55
•oor space ratio,
21 storeys,
215-ft. maxi-
mum height,
height of three
buildings
reduced)
NOVEMBER 17,
2014
Community
amenity con-
tributions paid
($6.25M)
NOVEMBER 25,
2014 Rezoning
bylaw and form
of development
approved
FEBRUARY 2015
Independent
presentation
centre opens
APRIL 2015
90% of residen-
tial homes sold
