Burnaby NOW • Wednesday, July 17, 2013 • A11
17 Hunt on for bagpipes 19 Real estate balance
20 Good summer grilling
SECTION COORDINATOR Janaya Fuller-Evans, 604-444-3024 jfuller-evans@burnabynow.com
Developer building his legacy in the Heights Stefania Seccia staff reporter
Instead of moving on from Burnaby to seek his fortune, one local developer decided to stay where he was born and raised to give something back to the community. Peter Censorio grew up in the Burnaby Heights area where his family planted their roots. He attended Capitol Hill Elementary, graduated from Alpha Secondary School and even worked at the Hastings hotspot, Anton’s Pasta Bar, in his youth. Now 42, he’s working on revitalizing the neighbourhood through his development business, Censorio Group, which he established in 2003. “We started out as an interior design company, we’re a very designed-focus group so we took that and basically started with single-family homes in 2003 and moved into family stuff in Burnaby,” Censorio said. After working in interior design and making a name for himself, the Burnaby resident worked with major players on the development scene and made the transition into development. After honing his skills, he built 40 cottages on the Sunshine Coast. Censorio said he’s concerned with preserving the area he grew up in and his latest development, Altezza, is just the start. The Altezza spot is at 4710 Hastings St. and is a low-rise building, with about 21 units. It also has retail space currently filled by Chez Christophe Chocolaterie Patisserie and Adele-Rae Florist. “I’ve always looked around the neighbourhood,” he said. “I remember the building with the first video store, first pizza place. … There’s a lot of memories going down there, and so being able to do something, I wanted to give it back.” Censorio said the Heights is equivalent to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive, as far as esthetics and placement go – but it has a way to go before it can be that famous. He said his goal is to keep the small mom-and-pop shops that made the Heights the place it is today in the neighbourhood, and is doing so by making more affordable yet modern retail space available. When the owner of the floral shop Adele-Rae was starting to look for new space, it was a chance encounter with a representative from the Censorio Group
Larry Wright/burnaby now
New heights: Peter Censorio developed the new Altezza building on Hastings Street, right in the neighbourhood he grew up in. Censorio is hoping to build on the neighbourhood’s tradition of mom-and-pop shops. that would lead her to the new spot in Altezza. Kathy Hanson said someone came in to her former shop, near Hastings Street and Gilmore Avenue, to drop off brochures about the condos in Altezza and one of her staff members asked if they had retail space, as well. “Within a few hours we got a call, and Peter himself said, ‘I’ll come, and I’ll take you,’” she said. “So he came and picked me up and drove me down here and showed it to me. And just talking with him, it just felt right.” Hanson said the landlord wanted to raise the rent to a cost she couldn’t afford, but she wanted to stay in the Heights neighbourhood. “It all seemed so right for me,” she added. “And then I got to stay in the
Heights. I could afford the rent.” Although she’s downsized from about 2,500 square feet to 1,200 sq. ft., Hanson said her business, which was bought by her mother in 1963, will adapt to the change. “He’s been really accommodating, really,” she said. “He’s not done it for a long time, either. But he’s really good and happy. His mom lives in the building … and actually a couple of my regular customers that I’ve had for years that have lived elsewhere have moved in.” While maintaining an urban village theme, the Censorio Group also gets its inspiration from European design. “We’re doing a project in New West right now, and it has all Italian appliances,” he said. “We’re putting in built-in coffee machines. It’s those little things that
make a bit of a difference.” Altezza is also architecturally inspired by Censorio’s Italian heritage. “The quality, you see it,” he said. “It has more of a Tuscan theme, definitely a European theme – there are a lot of Europeans that live in this area. Europe is always leading in fashion, it’s always a step ahead –we always take the general characteristics of design and put our own little twist on them.” On the horizon, Censorio said he’s working on another development across from the Altezza building, is developing a building in New Westminster’s downtown area and hopes to move his offices from Vancouver to the Heights so he can walk to work. For more information, visit www. censorio.com.
City scientists work on skin cancer phone app MOVERS & SHAKERS Stefania Seccia
B
urnaby happens to have some of the greatest scientific minds working today, attempting to solve some of the world’s leading problems.
Recently, MetaOptima Technology Inc., founded by a team of Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia scientists, was recognized for its idea of a smartphone app to help monitor, record and assess potentially cancerous skin lesions. The local health tech company made it as a top 25 finalist of the 2013 BCIC-New Ventures Competition, which is one of North America’s largest technology business idea
competitions. “We were incredibly fortunate to be part of the New Venture B.C. Competition and to have the chance to work closely with such a dedicated group of mentors and experts,” said Dr. Maryam Sadeghi, MetaOptima’s co-founder and CEO. “Thanks to the organizers of this fantastic competition.” The smartphone app, “Molescope” relies on a low-cost, smart mini-
microscope that provides 60X magnification plus automated visualization of health or non-healthy moles. It helps users examine their skin and keep track of moles over time to catch any abnormalities. The app also provides access to expert consultations from dermatologists and helps the user book local appointments online. “I learned that it’s critical to have a strategic perspective, always,” she
said. “We networked with many awesome mentors with great industry insight, and we are so excited to learn more and more. Although we are working hard to be in (the) top three, at the end of the day there is nothing more valuable than the lessons we learn here to build a healthy venture and this is the most precious ‘take home’ for us.” For more information, visit www.metaoptima. com.
Phone scam
Telus is putting consumers on the alert about a phone scam hitting B.C. and Alberta. The scam affects both wireless and landline customers who receive fraudulent calls that reprogram the caller ID signal to make it seem as though the call is from a legitimate source. When the call is picked up, the “impostor” on the Movers Page 12