Michael Geller's Blog

As noted in my previous post, my work with CWC/WoodWorks was the result of an introduction from Norm Couttie, with whom I worked many years ago at Michael Geller & Associates Limited, and who went on to better positions including president of Adera Developments. https://www.linkedin.com/in/norm-couttie-02054543/?originalSubdomain=ca

Norm thought I might be a good person to assist WoodWorks in encouraging municipalities to offer incentives to promote mass timber because of the work I have been doing on behalf of Lumon... Читать дальше...

In March 1981, I left CMHC after working ten years in Ottawa, Vancouver, and Toronto and joined Narod Developments. Before taking the position, I had been talking to a headhunter conducting a search for a Vice President-Development at BC Place to work under Alvin Narod. (Alvin had sold Narod to David Mooney in 1978 and retired before becoming BC Place Board Chair.) 

David Podmore got that job and started work on the 21st floor of Scotia Tower at 650 West Georgia. I started work... Читать дальше...

Behind every story there's a story. A few weeks ago, several people living around West 14th Avenue near Yew Street wrote to me to ask if I had seen what they considered to be an atrocious new 18-storey apartment building proposal in the middle of their block, surrounded by 2 and 3 storey duplexes. I took a look at the plans and agreed. 

Last week I had a call from Globe and Mail journalist Kerry Gold who asked whether I had any thoughts on the appropriateness of highrise apartments for families with children. Did I ever! For years I have been thinking about this since my days at CMHC when we generally designed highrises for seniors but tried to accommodate families with children in townhouses, or low and midrise apartments generally not highter than the sixth or seventh floor. That is because social planners reminded us that parents... Читать дальше...

The following is an account of a forthcoming Jewish Seniors Alliance (JSA) Event as printed in a recent edition of the Jewish Independent, the community newspaper. I am proud to be one of the organizers and sponsors. It will take place on St. Patricks Day since St. Patrick was probably Jewish. How do I know? Because he liked green. 

The room has a capacity of about 200 people and as of today I am told 150 tickets have been sold. So if you are interested in attending, please reserve soon. Читать дальше...

According to Vancouver Is Awesome North Vancouver is now the most expensive city in which to rent an unfurnished one-bedroom unit in Canada, with its new-to-market units averaging $2,802 a month in February; it also had the highest prices for two- and three-bedroom units.

Earlier this week, John Mackie wrote an article about a waterfront apartment for sale without a requirement for property transfer tax. Why? Because it had an 'unusual ownership structure'. What was its structure, you ask? It was a cooperative (or coop), not a condominium. You can read John's story here. https://vancouversun.com/business/real-estate/a-waterfront-view-with-a-quirk-no-property-transfer-tax#:~:text=Ocean%20Towers%20isn't%20a,to%20purchasing%20a%20strata%20property.

In June 2014, I wrote my very first Vancouver Courier column. I recall it well since it upset many of my neighbours. That's because I live in Vancouver's Southlands neighbourhood where many residents live in very expensive homes on large acreage lots. I'm not one of them. I live in what my next door neighbour once described as the poor part of Southlands. 

The column, which you will find below, addressed a provision in the property assessment system which allows some homeowners to significantly... Читать дальше...

For many reasons, the Vancouver Sun's John Mackie is one of my favourite journalists. I appreciate his interest in the history of the city and I always look forward to his Saturday historical accounts. He's also a delightful guy to talk with. So I was pleased when he called this week to ask what I thought about Vancouver's population reaching three million this summer. 

Thanks to Vancouver Journalist Kerry Gold for deciding to write about my 2023 Year-end Holiday Greeting Card and inviting me to offer some additonal thoughts on what might happen in the year ahead. Here is her Storeys.Com article