Just West 46-96 King Edward Avenue 55 garden suites and townhomes by Sightline Properties
Just West offers convenient location near rapid transit and urban amenities
Simon Briault
The Province
It’s not hard to find a condo for sale in Vancouver. You won’t have too many problems finding a single-family home either — if you’re lucky enough to be able to afford one, of course. But a townhome? Not so much.
“In the City of Vancouver there is a clear difference between what people can afford and what they want,” said Jamie Vaughan, a director and owner of Vancouver development firm Sightline Properties. “Historically, Vancouver has not built many townhomes.”
“There has been some new zoning in the last few years in places like Marpole that has allowed it,” Vaughan added. “But really if you want to get into the Vancouver market you need millions and millions of dollars to buy a single-family home or you need to buy a small condo. If you are a family, a small condo is not ideal, and a single-family home may not be achievable.”
Just West is Sightline Properties’ answer to what the company sees as a significant unmet need. The development will be in one of the most desirable and family-friendly areas of Vancouver. It will include smaller garden suites priced from $799,900, but the main attraction here are the one-, two- and three-bedroom and den townhomes priced from $1,430,900. Homes range in size from 631 to 1,840 square feet.
“It’s really the missing middle that we’re catering to here,” said Vaughan. “In the last decade families have left the city because they need to find an appropriate home and townhomes is often where they land.”
Sightline Properties is the creation of three founding partners that have extensive real estate experience. Just West is the fledgling company’s first project, but together the developers’ experience adds up to working on thousands of units, according to Vaughan.
“We’ve been friends for a while and had been talking about starting something on our own,” he said. “Sightline grew out of that. We feel like we really cover the full spectrum of real estate and understand how development and especially construction works.”
“We like this product because it offers families the opportunity to get into something that’s bigger than a condo but not as expensive as a single-family home,” said Vaughan. “Then they can stay in the city that they love. We see our demographic as very family oriented and the bulk of what we’re offering are stacked, three-story townhomes. They’re desperately needed in the city.”
Just West is at 46 to 96 King Edward Avenue. It is by no means the busiest East-West artery in the city, but it’s connected to an enviable range of local attractions, parks, amenities and transit options. Cambie Village, a vibrant shopping and entertainment district between West 6th Avenue and King Edward (at 25th Avenue), is within easy walking distance. King Edward Canada Line Station is less than 10 minutes away by foot and provides rapid transit to the airport or downtown Vancouver. Queen Elizabeth Park is also nearby and just to the south of Just West, you have what Vaughan calls one of the best community centres in town.
It’s hard to argue with him. Hillcrest Centre features a huge aquatic facility, a fitness centre, an ice rink, a gymnasium, indoor cycling, multi-purpose rooms, a games room, a dance studio, playgrounds, a childcare centre and a café.
“It’s such an amenity-rich area in general that you literally can step out your door and you have endless options for anything you want to do,” said Vaughan. “The proximity to downtown is awesome too. If you work downtown, jumping on a Canada Line train or getting on your bike is no problem at all.”
As for the homes at Just West, Vaughan says one of the key attractions is the rooftop patios, which are well over 300 square feet and offer the type of outdoor living space you would expect to find in a single-family home. Elsewhere, the kitchens feature large islands, engineered quartz countertops, custom-built quartz shelves above the ranges for additional storage and built-in recycling centres. The appliance packages are by Miele.
Bathrooms feature custom shower ledges, white porcelain tiling, frameless shower doors, custom vanities with grooved cabinet detail and large storage drawers. Some of the homes will also have freestanding bathtubs.
Vaughan is confident the location of Just West and the quality of the homes on offer will bring in buyers even though the COVID-19 pandemic has created huge uncertainty in the real estate industry — among many others.
“We believe in the product and we know that the location is as good as it gets,” he said. “Ultimately, when things settle down, people are going to want to buy because there’s such a big demand for this type of housing in the city.”
Just West
Project location: 46-96 King Edward Ave., Vancouver
Project size: 55 garden suites and townhomes with between one and three bedrooms and den. Garden suites start at $799,900, townhomes start at $1,430,900 and units range in size between 631 and 1,840 square feet.
Developer: Sightline Properties
Architect: Shape Architecture
Interior designer: Annaliesse Kelly Design
Sales centre: 479 West 16th Ave., Vancouver
Sales centre hours: Open on weekends 12 noon to 5 p.m. and weekdays by appointment
Sales phone: 604.734.8883
Website: justwest.ca
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