Dianne Moscrip. Realtor with Remax Advantage, specializing in the Greater Vancouver, New Westminster, and Burnaby areas of British Columbia.

New West’s million-dollar views

By MICHAEL MCQUILLAN, NewsLeader
Thursday, August 16, 2007

New Westminster real estate has now entered the prestigious million-dollar-condo club.

Earlier this month two condominiums were sold for $1 million or more. Both units are penthouse suites at The Point, a 23-storey condominium tower built by the Onni group of companies. The pricey condos, one sold for $1 million and the other for $1.1 million, were purchased by a New Westminster businesswoman and a city resident.

According to Brian Naphtali, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, these are the first $1 million condos sold in New Westminster. The price points to the city being a desirable place to live, he explained. Not having to travel across any bridges to get to Vancouver, easy access to SkyTrain and the recent revitalization of New Westminster’s Downtown are attracting developers and new residents while driving up the prices of condominiums in the city, said Naphtali.

Outside of Vancouver and Richmond, he was not aware of any other $1 million condos that had been sold in the region, although there is currently a unit for sale in Port Moody.

“The big features of these properties are the roof top decks – 2,200 square feet of roof top deck for exclusive private use,” said Rob Marchand, marketing manager for Onni.

One of the units faces south and the other north. Both have wrap-around decks on different levels. In the south unit, views of the Fraser River stretch from Citadel Heights in Port Coquitlam to Vancouver and Richmond. Presently there are no other buildings in New West obstructing that view. And it’s likely none ever will, said real estate agent Dawne Edwards, who sold the two condos.

If the Larco development is ever built along the city’s waterfront, it’s unlikely to rise as high above the river as The Point because The Point, located at Sixth Street and Victoria Street, is set higher up on the hill.

“New Westminster is getting the Yaletown effect,” said Edwards. “If you remember Yaletown more than 10 years ago, it had its downside. Now they’re getting more than a $1,000 a square foot.

“These condos are setting a new benchmark for New West. They’re sending a message that New West is up and coming.”

Marchand also sees the condos as raising the bar in the city. He justified the price for the units through the views, “the space and the finishing details.” Each condo is about 2,100 square feet of interior space.

The Point, consisting of 146 units, is nearly sold out. The first home owners moved in last Saturday, although interior construction of the two penthouse units is still ongoing.

“Two [$1-million condos] within a marketplace the size of New West maybe slightly insignificant, but at the same time it does set a benchmark,” said Marchand. “But we feel it’s all positive – if people are looking to spend that amount of money in the community, that usually shows strength in a community. We see those sales as positive for us of course, but also positive for the city of New West.”

mmcquillan@burnabynewsleader.com