An older rental apartment building in Ladner that recently sold for $6.9 million isn’t going to bulldozed for redevelopment.
That’s according to the real estate broker for Lora Court at 4711 57th Street, a 34-unit one and two bedroom rental building.
Mike Guinan-Browne, now with the firm Multi-Family & Development Land, said the new owner has no plans to redevelop the building into condos, having purchased it as a rental property and is happy for it to remain that way.
Guinan-Browne, though, noted he personally believes the site would be perfect for a redevelopment opportunity for even more rental housing as it is large and not fully utilized by the current building.
The list price was originally $7.39 million and the building was assessed at $7.23 million when sold.
The city, meanwhile, has been undertaking a housing needs assessment in advance of a new housing action plan that’s to be written this year.
According to the recent city report, 80 per cent of homes in Delta are single-detached dwellings, including those that have secondary suites.
There’s currently 7,575 rental units in Delta. Of these, according to figures for 2019 provided by Canada Mortgage and Housing, 1,691 are primary rental units, down from 1,727 in 2018.
Meanwhile, 5,885 of the total rental units are assumed to be in the secondary market, such as secondary suites or privately rented dwellings.
The report also notes there’s a limited number of rental buildings as well as limited construction of purpose-built rental housing in the city, while the rental vacancy rate in the city last year was 1.1 per cent, compared to 3.3 per cent being considered healthy.
What’s more, 48.6 per cent of all households in Delta have an income less than $90,000, which is insufficient to achieve 30 per cent affordability when it comes to paying for housing.
The report that was to be discussed at a council workshop Monday also notes one of the key themes that emerged from public engagement on housing last year was a desire for more rental options for all stages of life.
Acknowledging a market exists, developers said they would like to see barriers reduced to build rentals, while there is strong interest for broader permissions for secondary suites.
Staff note a housing needs assessment report will be coming in February.
