…an ‘oasis’ in Queensborough Aragon’s master-planned community in New Westminster, Port Royal, is bringing new life to the city’s Queensborough area. More than 200 families already live in the quiet community, which is central, yet secluded. Several home-types are offered in the community including the single-family homes at Red Boat. ›› p.5
November 12, 2009
High sales spark rise in home values Metro Vancouver benchmark price up by nearly 7 per cent Home prices in Metro Vancouver are on the rise. Strong demand over the past 12 months has led to a steady increase in home values, reports the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. The benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has risen 6.8 per cent since October 2008, from $518,668 to $553,702, states an REBGV release. “While home “High prices have been rising in 2009, they confidence have not eclipsed and low the peaks reached in mortgage early 2008,” says REBGV president Scott rates are Russell. continuing “We’re coming off to drive the several months of activity we’re unseasonably high sales levels, which has seeing in allowed for a gradual the housing increase in home market today.” values this year.” Property sales in the region totalled 3,704 in October 2009, an increase of 4.1 per cent from the 3,559 sales recorded in September 2009 and an increase of 171.6 per cent compared to October 2008. In October last year, only 1,364 sales were recorded in Metro Vancouver. Looking back two years, the REBGV notes October’s sales this year increased 22.3 per cent compared to October 2007, when 3,028 sales took place. “High confidence and low mortgage rates are continuing to drive the activity we’re seeing in the housing market today,” Russell says. Visit www.rebgv.org for the full report.
Art: add taste to your home Take your time, choose what you like and even rent pieces MAGGIE CALLOWAY Feeling the pressure? Don’t know which way to turn? You have purchased your home and decorated with care but… those bare walls are mocking you! Buying art can be a scary business. You
Art consultant Denise Bezanson displays select pieces from her collection. Whether renting or buying art, you can take your time while decorating your new home. Rob Newell photo
can blame anyone else for bad choices – my mother bought us the chair as a house warming present... Art on your walls speaks volumes about taste. I know art is in the eye of the beholder but that black velvet portrait of Elvis shrieks loudly about the need for an intervention. Let’s face another problem head on: what if your soul mate loves paintings of the hunt in its full gory and you love Jackson Pollock? Here are some suggestions to help homeowners get started.
First, there’s no need to rush. Buying art should be savored and enjoyed. We are blessed in Metro Vancouver by an amazing amount of galleries displaying and selling every imaginable style. Make a list of five or six galleries and spend Saturday visiting each one. Spend time looking and learning, ask questions of the staff and get to know not just which style appeals to you but gain a CONTINUED ON P.2
2 • New Local Home | November 12, 2009
New Local Home | November 12, 2009 • 3
Gerry Teahan’s bronze-on-granite ‘Skier’ is offered for rent at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Rob Newell photo
“Spend time
Vancouver Art Gallery volunteer Ellen Doise shows Nancy Day’s ‘Looking to the Morning Sun’ in the gallery’s sales and rentals shop. Rob Newell photo
in the gallery” ‘Individual Green Tree’ by Barry Shelton is also available for rent. Rob Newell photo
Off the front:
“Developing taste in art is like wine. As the years go by taste does change” – Susanne Doise CONTINUED FROM P.1
Art consultant Denise Bezanson says bright colours are trendy. Rob Newell photo
familiarity with individual artists work. There are an amazing amount of magazines dedicated to art – especially at the local library. Again, take a rainy Saturday morning, get comfy in an armchair at your library and browse through all the magazines. Don’t limit yourselves to any one thing. You can explore magazines on ceramics and sculpture, which would work brilliantly displayed in those niches that are often built into the walls of new homes, and anything else that catches your eye. Another option is collecting black and white photography – some would say this has been done to death but I maintain a brilliant photograph that you love stands the test of time. Like any other subject, you won’t know what you like until you expose yourselves to wide examples of every genre. At the Vancouver Art Gallery on Robson Street in Vancouver, assistant manager of the gallery’s art rental and sales department Holly Hames welcomes art perusers. “Spend time in the gallery. Our permanent collections are vast – over 9,000 works – plus we have fantastic visiting exhibitions throughout the year,” she says. Used by researchers, scholars and students, authors, publishers and other museums and
‘Biogenica’ is a bronze sculpture by Zalel Mondlak in the Vancouver Art Gallery’s sales and rentals shop. Rob Newell photo
galleries, the collection is surely a ready source of research for the rest of us. For those embarking on a discovery of their taste in art, they can try renting – the Vancouver Art Gallery has a wonderful department where they rent out art. More than 1,400 works of art are for sale or rent. Rental fees are based on the stated value of the individual piece and can be rented for one to 12 months. This is a fabulous way to experiment with different styles of art right in your home. Georgie Award-winning West Vancouver designer Susanne Doise says choosing art is a step not to take lightly. “Just like any other stage of designing a home – choosing a contractor or carefully choosing an interior designer – you should just as carefully choose an art consultant if you feel you need support in purchasing art to
ARt Inspiration
complement both your taste and your décor,” Doise says. Denise Bezanson of Bezanson Art Consulting Inc. agrees, and adds her two cents. “My advice to people just starting out and buying art for the first time is to set a budget, then decide whether they want to buy one more expensive piece, then wait and buy another,” Bezanson says. “One way to stretch the budget is to buy a Giclees – canvas transfer prints – which can be relocated into less public space when budget allows investment into a more substantial piece of art. Bezanson encourages art buyers or renters to pay attention to their taste in art. “Developing taste in art is like wine. As the years go by taste does change. People today are much more sophisticated than they were 20 years ago, unless they studied art, because of their exposure to mass media and the Internet. I have also noticed that young people today want different art than what they grew up with at home,” she says. If you’re wondering how things work with an art consultant, Bezanson first asks clients to have a really good look at her website, to help narrow down what style of art suits their personal taste. “Next, I get an idea of budget, then look through my inventory and visit artists’ studios and galleries. I may end up visiting my client’s home with five or up to 20 canvases,” says Bezanson. “It’s important to see the paintings on-site,” she notes. “This is especially important if you are dealing with a couple with sometimes-different tastes. What they need to see for themselves is how different styles can look fantastic together if done right.” CONTINUED ON P.4
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Developing your own taste in art is important, say the experts.
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4 • New Local Home | November 12, 2009
Queensborough: a ‘residential enclave’
Paintings with colour are ‘in’
New Local Home | November 12, 2009 • 5
CONTINUED FROM P.2
Bezanson adds that she has noticed bright, bold colours are trendy in paintings right now. “Colour is now hot in paintings. People are going for paintings with very strong colour components. In interiors where the palette is calm and muted, bold splashes of colour look fantastic. Some of the condos today have very limited wall space, so a large painting with bold colour really makes a statement.” Bezanson is working with the folks at the Capilano Golf & Country Club, who are looking for art to install in the various lounges. Just like the rest of us, there is a budget that must be observed. Yes, there are clients for whom money is not an issue and who buy what they want, but for most of us the pleasure is in the hunt and the learning as we go. Another thing that needs expertise is framing. This is especially true if you have invested in fine art. A professional framer will make sure the frame enhances the painting, your taste, your décor and, most important, meets professional standards and protects your art from the ravages of interior dust and temperatures. So, savour the exercise and take the time to expose yourself to what may be a whole new experience and take a chance. You never know – you may surprise yourself.
ARt Inspiration
Vancouver Art Gallery assistant manager of art rental and sales Holly Hames is surrounded by art pieces for rental and for sale at the popular Robson Street gallery. Hames concentrates on the rental website, but encourages people to come in and peruse what they have. Rob Newell photo
Home sweet home
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Community thriving at Port Royal
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A city rich in history, New Westminster today is a bustling, busy municipality that continues to grow every day, welcoming new homes and new residents to its environs. One area of the royal city that is rapidly expanding is Queensborough, at the eastern tip of Lulu Island, where Aragon Properties Ltd. is building a master-planned community entitled Port Royal. The multi-phased neighbourhood will eventually offer 1,040 homes; currently, 405 homes are either completed or under construction, with nearly 200 families already living in the new community. From single-family detached homes to townhomes, condominiums and highrises planned for future phases, Port Royal offers home-types of all sizes and price ranges, to suit any new homebuyer. Along with a recently completed Port Royal Park, turned over to the City of New Westminster by Aragon, the community has several acres of green space and a riverside walkway that people use daily. The park space and walkway were built “to encourage an outdoor lifestyle and offer residents a real sense of community,” says Aragon director of sales and marketing David Wan. As well as being centrally located in Metro Vancouver, with transit and major transportation routes minutes away, Port Royal is also convenient to the many shops, services, CONTINUED ON P.6
Brand-new homes on the Fraser River waterfront are selling fast at Aragon’s Port Royal. The master-planned community is located at the eastern tip of Lulu Island in New Westminster, in a secluded, quiet neighbourhood. Currently, a phase of Red Boat homes (pictured) is selling. The single-family houses feature quality design, construction and architecture and exceptional finishings inside and out. Port Royal homes are situated near a 1.7-kilometre riverfront walk, a brand-new community park, and plenty of natural green space. Rob Newell photos
New Local Home | November 12, 2009 • 7
6 • New Local Home | November 12, 2009
Community central, yet tranquil
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restaurants, cafes and other businesses at Queensborough Landing and the riverboat Starlite Casino. While much of Queensborough has a largley industrial past, Port Royal is fast becoming a neighbourhood of new homes and families who say they feel secure and safe in the peaceful riverside community. “I love that Port Royal is an oasis in the middle of all the hustle and bustle,� Wan says. “It’s a residential enclave that isn’t detached from all the essential amenities that we need for everyday life, and yet it’s tranquil, calm and a very relaxing place to be.� Construction is currently underway on more single-family homes and rowhomes in phase two of Red Boat and Marmalade Sky. Phase 2 for Red Boat consists of 39 detached and semi-detached homes ranging in size from 1,363 “I love that square feet to 1,800 sq. Port Royal is ft., while Marmalade Sky phase 2 consists of 42 an oasis in fee-simple rowhomes. the middle So far, all the Marmalade Sky units released for of all the sale have been sold; Red hustle and Boat homes start from bustle. It’s a $536,900. Designed by awardresidential winning Ramsay Worden enclave...� Architects, Red Boat houses present a striking streetscape in a unique waterfront setting. Most kitchens, eating nooks and family rooms feature nine-foot ceilings and all kitchens have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. More granite countertops can be found in the bathrooms, which have deluxe soaker tubs, shaker-style wood cabinetry and set slate floors. Cozy fireplaces help stave off the chill of winter nights, while second-floor skylights maximize incoming natural light. Wan believes the wide variety of home types that Aragon offers to new homebuyers is attracting them to the thriving community, as well as the range of prices. “More and more Lower Mainland residents are realizing that New Westminster is indeed smack in the middle of everything,� he says. Visit www.portroyalhomes.ca for more information about Red Boat.
Four bedroom Townhomes
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CONTINUED FROM P.5
Aragon’s Port Royal community offers several new home-types to potential homebuyers, including these singlefamily detached houses at Red Boat. A variety of floorplans are available, most featuring overheight ceilings and windows, allowing lots of natural light inside.
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New West ‘smack in the middle of everything’
Three and four bedroom Georgian rowhomes bordering Victoria Park and Leigh Elementary School. Part of an emerging new neighbourhood plan in Coquitlam.
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Rowhomes, Duplexes, and Single Family Homes in Surrey’s Clayton Village with park and mountain views.
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8 • New Local Home | November 12, 2009
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