[kungpow]

Anyone live around kingsway and gladstone? How is the smell from KFC?

I wonder how bad the smell is for the people on the west building of Kensington Gardens. They are like a stone throw away.

[murd0c]

KFC always smells better than it tastes..

[Presto]

Apparently, the place in this video is a suite at Telus Gardens by Westbank:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j3SChqp51Y

My friend works at Telus and was in the Telus Garden location for a few months. He corroborates the shitty materials and shoddy workmanship.

[smoothie.]

smells great

why is this a bad thing?

[EmperorIS]

you should be more worried about the tnt-ish supermarket building right on ground level. have fun with the trash and fighting with see-lais clogging up the shared parking lot.

[TOPEC]

Apparently, the place in this video is a suite at Telus Gardens by Westbank:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j3SChqp51Y

My friend works at Telus and was in the Telus Garden location for a few months. He corroborates the shitty materials and shoddy workmanship.

that ceiling hung light :lawl:

[Teriyaki]

Lol at Westbank projects. Producing crap in the lower mainland for years now.

[Kilinim]

Apparently, the place in this video is a suite at Telus Gardens by Westbank:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j3SChqp51Y

My friend works at Telus and was in the Telus Garden location for a few months. He corroborates the shitty materials and shoddy workmanship.

I see you came across the reddit thread

[dat_steve]

i drive by daily, and it smells delicious

[6o4__boi]

ugh now i want kfc

thanks a lot op

[stump]

Lol at Westbank projects. Producing crap in the lower mainland for years now.

What are the good developers in Vancouver nowadays? I know Onni is shit too.

[shawnly1000]

The KFC there is/was for sale

FOR SALE - High Profile Corner (http://form.ca/campaigns/795_broadway_2190_kingsway.html)

It most likely sold IMHO

[roastpuff]

What are the good developers in Vancouver nowadays? I know Onni is shit too.

I have a pre-sale unit with Onni that's finishing up at the end of the year. What should I look out for?

[stump]

I have a pre-sale unit with Onni that's finishing up at the end of the year. What should I look out for?

Just a few of the issues that my mom has had in her 4 story wood construction building that is less than 10 years old.

1) Balconies in the building need to be replaced because many are becoming unsafe for use. I don't know the exact number but it's not just a few. There are over 150 units in the complex.
2) sliding doors to balcony are terrible quality and many have needed replacing because of leaking, not locking properly
3) basically no sound proofing. You can hear cabinets closing in neighouring units, if the kids of the downstairs neighbour are running around, my mom can feel and hear it in her unit. Just walking around the condo results in noise complaints.
4) appliances are breaking. already had to replace microwave, dishwasher needed service twice. many of her friends in the same building have replaced major appliances so it's not just hers.
5) Like many building nowadays, it seems like the quality of the counter tops, laminate flooring, appliances, bathroom/kitchen faucets are just total garbage.
6) The big one. Entire underground parkade envelope (membrane?) needs to be replaced because of major leaks.

[Ohkun]

How is build quality of Bosa these days?

I heard they are still decent?

[Rallydrv]

seems like leaky condo epidemic coming in ,but this time it shitty quality all around. im glad my townhouse turned out good. no major issues.

which developer is safer nowadays?

[roastpuff]

Just a few of the issues that my mom has had in her 4 story wood construction building that is less than 10 years old.

1) Balconies in the building need to be replaced because many are becoming unsafe for use. I don't know the exact number but it's not just a few. There are over 150 units in the complex.
2) sliding doors to balcony are terrible quality and many have needed replacing because of leaking, not locking properly
3) basically no sound proofing. You can hear cabinets closing in neighouring units, if the kids of the downstairs neighbour are running around, my mom can feel and hear it in her unit. Just walking around the condo results in noise complaints.
4) appliances are breaking. already had to replace microwave, dishwasher needed service twice. many of her friends in the same building have replaced major appliances so it's not just hers.
5) Like many building nowadays, it seems like the quality of the counter tops, laminate flooring, appliances, bathroom/kitchen faucets are just total garbage.
6) The big one. Entire underground parkade envelope (membrane?) needs to be replaced because of major leaks.

Thanks! Mine is Northwest on Marine and Cambie, it is concrete so hopefully the noise-proofing is decent and that the balcony won't have issues. I hope that Bosch is decent as well because I believe that is what is supplied.

[hud 91gt]

https://youtu.be/q40fKsRsHFU


And just back it up with this one since I miss Seinfeld.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnNaqwny8Yc

[Tapioca]

seems like leaky condo epidemic coming in ,but this time it shitty quality all around. im glad my townhouse turned out good. no major issues.


Instead of the building envelope being bad, everything else just sucks which is probably worse in the long run for stratas because they'll have to work with multiple contractors to get things rectified.

[turbo_slug]

Used to live 1.5 blocks away. The smell was never an issue.

The south strip of Kingsway from Gladstone to Victoria always had tons of sketchy people though. I wouldn't doubt if there's halfway houses nearby. The Elizabeth Fry society by the KFC also brings in a lot of characters into the neighborhood.

On a side note, anyone ever walk into "Home Idol" and see lots of skids of stuff labelled "Sold to Polygon"? I guess big developers are buying supplies from there now?

[nah]

What are the good developers in Vancouver nowadays? I know Onni is shit too.

Onni is the worst, I got out before 10 years...just in case.

[turbo_slug]

seems like leaky condo epidemic coming in ,but this time it shitty quality all around. im glad my townhouse turned out good. no major issues.

which developer is safer nowadays?

Just my two cents but I'd stay away from buildings with geothermal heating/cooling systems. They're great ideas but often poorly executed. Problems can easily cost millions to rectify.

[nah]

Just a few of the issues that my mom has had in her 4 story wood construction building that is less than 10 years old.

1) Balconies in the building need to be replaced because many are becoming unsafe for use. I don't know the exact number but it's not just a few. There are over 150 units in the complex.
2) sliding doors to balcony are terrible quality and many have needed replacing because of leaking, not locking properly
3) basically no sound proofing. You can hear cabinets closing in neighouring units, if the kids of the downstairs neighbour are running around, my mom can feel and hear it in her unit. Just walking around the condo results in noise complaints.
4) appliances are breaking. already had to replace microwave, dishwasher needed service twice. many of her friends in the same building have replaced major appliances so it's not just hers.
5) Like many building nowadays, it seems like the quality of the counter tops, laminate flooring, appliances, bathroom/kitchen faucets are just total garbage.
6) The big one. Entire underground parkade envelope (membrane?) needs to be replaced because of major leaks.

Though I hate Onni, I will say my concrete building was sound proof. I wouldn't blame the appliances on them entirely, I would say they buy the shittiest shiny appliances to equip these places with.

The bigger issues you'll find is when the foundation is settling within the first 2 years and pay attention to doors and cracks in tiles. Make sure to be proactive and book the 2 year walk through with them, cause they won't remind you.

[Presto]

Are there any recent developments by Concord Pacific? They built my family's Yaletown condo in 2001, and it seems to be holding up very well.

I live in a 4-floor wood frame in Langley. It was built by Rempel. IMHO, it wasn't as polished compared to the Yaletown place, but compared to Westbank, it may have been built by artisans.

[Ohkun]

Are there any recent developments by Concord Pacific? They built my family's Yaletown condo in 2001, and it seems to be holding up very well.

I live in a 4-floor wood frame in Langley. It was built by Rempel. IMHO, it wasn't as polished compared to the Yaletown place, but compared to Westbank, it may have been built by artisans.

um........ I'd be very very concerned.

My previous condo was built by Rempel. (built in 2007)

They completely skipped out on Vapor Barrior on exterior walls
Between units, they only installed 1 sheet of drywall instead of 2.
Drawing submitted the city clearly shows Vapor Barrior and 2 layer of daywall. City inspector signed off on it as well.
(City is not held liable in these cases.. but that's whole other thread worth of discussion)

Doing shitty work it one thing, but skipping out on shit is other level.. :heckno:

[Mr.Money]

no Vapor Barrier.....what the fuck,how do you expect your place not to mold?

[Selanne_200]

I would be more concerned about the rest of the stuff the city inspectors had signed off on as to what's actually done property and what's not

[Vansterdam]

Was actually looking into getting a place here lol

[snowball]

Three days ago I have never heard of Westbank.

And in the last 3 days I heard their name here on revscene, through friends (nothing good), and even the news: Did developer intend to give overseas buyers first shot at Vancouver project? - NEWS 1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2017/06/06/developer-intend-give-overseas-buyers-first-shot-vancouver-project/)
:heckno:

[dat_steve]

Three days ago I have never heard of Westbank.


really? I'd say they're pretty high profile in Vancouver...Woodwards, Shangri-la, Shaw Tower/Pac Rim, Telus Gardens... just to name a few "major" local landmarks. I think the issue people have is that given their experience with developing these projects, there's a certain expectation (that isn't always being met) when it comes to quality control.

[snowball]

^

I'm familiar with all those projects, it's probably because I haven't been shopping for a place and didn't give much attention to the actual developers. That's why it's so shocking to me that all of these high profile places are being built with such low standards. I have a lot to learn!

[keifun]

And here I was thinking of checking out the new high rise West bank is building at Joyce.

Makes me think twice now.

[Alpine]

Honestly it might not even matter that much in this market unless you plan on living there for a long time. All developers are gonna cut corners because they can. Even though onni and westbank may have really bad reputations it doesnt matter... their buildings sell out just as fast as any other developer. I live next to science world. My condo is built by cressey, and the surrounding towers are built by onni, bosa, and bastion (even worse than onni). All buildings completed within 6 months of each other, during late 2014 early 2015. When i bought presale i paid a small premium compared to onni and bastion but when i look at resale vales today ($/sqft) theres no difference.

[Tapioca]

Buy a condo to build equity and then sell it before it hits the 10 year mark when the elevators, the boiler, and the windows start to go.

Or keep the condo as an investment property and HELOC it for a down payment on your next place, preferably something that is ground-oriented with none of the crap that you find in apartments.

[DragonChi]

Honestly it might not even matter that much in this market unless you plan on living there for a long time. All developers are gonna cut corners because they can. Even though onni and westbank may have really bad reputations it doesnt matter... their buildings sell out just as fast as any other developer. I live next to science world. My condo is built by cressey, and the surrounding towers are built by onni, bosa, and bastion (even worse than onni). All buildings completed within 6 months of each other, during late 2014 early 2015. When i bought presale i paid a small premium compared to onni and bastion but when i look at resale vales today ($/sqft) theres no difference.



^ Does your strata allow you to renovate? These issues seem to be with fit and finish. Nothing too glaring. But for a new construction, as a condo owner, it would be a headache to see these problems early on.