T H E C I T Y E DI T
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH INSIGHT: The Art of Living speaks to expert real estate brokers about emerging top-tier neighbourhoods in Canada’s four largest cities. By Tracey Ho Lung
VANC OU VE R, T H E FAL SE CRE E K F L AT S A block away from the prestigious and ecowinning Olympic Village, the False Creek Flats encompasses some 450 acres. The City of Vancouver’s ambitious goal is to connect the Flats and Olympic Village and develop a productive, sustainable and integrated community. Recent Developments St. Paul’s Hospital and an
integrated health campus is set to be completed here in 2022. “It’s being conceived as a world-class health-care, research and teaching hub,” says Shaz Karim, a real estate broker at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. Also coming this fall: a new campus for Emily Carr University of Art and Design, which will be a welcome addition to the area’s attractive amenities such as an Urban Fare high-end food market in the Olympic Village, art galleries and several craft-beer houses. Mountain Equipment Co-op has also confirmed the opening a flagship store in the area. The Appeal “In less than a generation, nearly all
of Vancouver’s inner-city industrial lands have made way for a mixed-use residential landscape,” notes Karim. “The city has developed a plan for the Flats that will establish programs to assist local economic sectors by increasing jobs, from
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8,000 currently to 30,000.” Cool on-trend food purveyors are already here, including Bodega on Main, Torafuku and Beta 5 chocolate shop. “It’s enticing young professionals to move out of the downtown core,” says Karim. Property purchasers love that the Flats are by the seawall (aka there’s an opportunity to dock a boat) and are connected to Stanley Park and Kitsilano. The Range of Properties Condos and live/ work lofts comprise the majority of housing in the Flats. “There are only around 60 homes in the area, built in the early 1900s so they are seen as precious as gold.
TO RONTO, THE DU P ONT C O R RI D OR
This strip of land bordered by Ossington Avenue stretches southward, from Davenport Road to the rail lines at Barton Avenue. In the ’70s, it was known as a busy manufacturing hub. Recent Developments Upscale décor shops
and avant-garde art galleries have relocated here, bringing with them clientele with discerning tastes. Ten years in the making, this influx started when Faema Caffè moved into a refurbished factory building in the neighbourhood, followed by Stubbe, a top chocolatier, and trendy coffee bar Ezra’s
Pound. Then, in 2015, über-cool art galleries Cooper Cole, Neubacher Shor Contemporary, Angell and p|m abandoned their trendy digs on Dundas West and Queen West to reopen on Dupont. Independent design stores have also moved in, such as Pimlico Design Gallery, South Hill Home and Peaks & Rafters, as well as, just recently, Creeds Coffee Bar and Rose & Sons, which now has two concept restaurants within several blocks of each other. The Appeal There are two noteworthy trends in the Dupont Corridor, according to Paul Maranger, a real estate broker and senior vicepresident of sales at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada in Toronto. “There is an ‘indie’ spirit here. Businesses are independently owned. There’s no concentration of any one type of store,” says Maranger. “There’s a [mix] of high-end and older, established shops — like Vinny’s Panini, which has been around for decades.” The result is a visually diverse street with an industrial vibe. The Range of Properties The neighbourhood boasts a wide diversity of houses. “Stately homes can be found on Brunswick, Howland, Palmerston and Walmer, and more modest ones west of Christie,” says Maranger. “[And] There’s more variety coming. The bulk [of new residents] are young, professional, first-