Vancouver-based developer Townline, in partnership with Canderel and QuadReal, has broken ground on its mixed-use Luxe project in Richmond, B.C. The site includes three high-rise residential towers totalling 363 homes and what it calls a unique offering of a 12-storey class-AAA office tower where the space is being sold rather than leased.

Melanie Briggs, VP of sales and marketing at Townline, told RENX Luxe is “really the beginning of a complete transformation of the Lansdowne area and the emergence of Richmond’s new downtown.”

“The addition of the linear park that extends the length of Lansdowne Road, connecting the Garden City lands all the way to the Richmond Olympic Oval, will allow residents, workers and tourists to enjoy a commuting route that combines natural park space, social gathering hubs and an inviting retail experience,” she said.

“We kept livability top of mind when designing the homes at Luxe. Crafting interior spaces with plenty of storage opportunities, plus all the standard upgrades Townline has come to include in their homes, like the entrance niche for keys, mail and a plug-in to charge your mobile device or iPad, smooth, painted, finished ceilings, kitchen pantries and in select homes, a built-in dining table in the kitchen island."

The residences also include "oversized" balconies.

The strata offices at Luxe

The office component includes 77 suites, starting at $565,900. They also offer an extensive amenity package including lobby, business centre, creative lounge and outdoor lounge with BBQs and fire tables. It comprises about 60,000 square feet.

“The offices at Luxe offers an incredible opportunity for small and large business operators to own AAA office space in Richmond’s best location. With offices ranging from 412 to 1,453 square feet and the ability to combine plans, it is easy for business owners or investors to find the right fit for their needs,” said Briggs.

“With falling vacancy and rising rents, many business owners have turned to office ownership for tenure flexibility, cost control and to obtain a real estate asset with a high rate of return. For the same reason, we have seen many investors turn to strata office looking to diversify their real estate portfolio.

"From an investors’ perspective, a strata office asset takes much less work to manage as tenants generally pay for their own repair and maintenance, secure longer-term leases typically for five years or more, no imposed rent controls and a higher rate of return than some residential assets.”

Strong sales for homes, offices

Briggs said 50 of the spaces have been sold.

“It actually was quite surprising to us. When we originally came to the market, it wasn’t like a huge advertising push for this big launch for the project," she explained.

"We weren’t too sure, sitting in the middle of COVID, what the desirability was going to be for office space and we were pleasantly surprised by the number of smaller firms that were looking for smaller office space instead of these really large units."

The residential component of the project includes one-, two- and three-bedroom residences with 8,000 square feet of indoor amenities and over 31,000 square feet of outdoor amenities.

Two-bedroom homes start at $883,900.

Sales have been brisk, with only about 30 of the homes remaining for purchase.

The Luxe project is located at the corner of Landsdowne and No. 3 Road in Richmond. It will also include 20 low end of market rental (LEMR) homes.

Townline focuses on Vancouver, Victoria

Townline focuses on for-market homes, high-rise and low-rise, throughout the Greater Vancouver Area as well as in Victoria.

It also has an office project currently in Arizona and a few sites in Los Angeles for future residential rental buildings.

Founded over 40 years ago by Rick Ilich, Townline has deep roots in Richmond.

From its beginnings building single-family homes throughout the community, Townline has developed a diverse portfolio throughout the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

The Ilich family’s connection with Richmond goes back even further than Townline. In 1965, while living in Steveston, the Ilich family began Progressive Construction. What started out as a company that paved many of Richmond’s roads evolved into one of the city’s most successful developers.

While Progressive had projects spanning Canada and the U.S., one of its most prominent transactions was the purchase of the eastern portion of the Lansdowne Park horse racing track.

The western portion of that property was developed into Lansdowne Centre.

According to Townline, Progressive’s head office was located on the Luxe site at Lansdowne and when the company closed its doors it allowed the Arthritis Centre to operate rent-free in the building for nine years.

The Ilich family’s commitment to Richmond through development and philanthropic efforts is a core value that lives on with Townline and the redevelopment is a continuation of this legacy, the company says.

A "special site" in Richmond

In a news release, Chris Colbeck, president at Townline, said: “This is a special site representing Townline’s deep roots in Richmond and we are looking forward to writing the next chapter of our story here.”

“It’s been a vision of the city for a long time to, first of all, open up Lansdowne Road so that people can go all the way from the Garden City lands to the (Olympic) Oval along a greenway,” said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, in a statement. “When you combine the greenway that is going here with what is coming to the Lansdowne Shopping Centre redevelopment, which includes a similar linear park as well as a larger central park, I think this will be very significant and something that the city will be very proud of.

"We have to build this park in sections, and this, being the first one, is very important.”

Briggs said major redevelopment is taking place in the Lansdowne area.

“There’s a huge mall kind of kitty corner to us that is going through a massive redevelopment as well," she noted, "and I think what Richmond has in their Official Plan is providing really excellent thoroughfares for people to walk.

"So instead of just your typical skinny sidewalks, they’ve developed this linear park which actually goes right past our site connecting many of these areas, connecting people to the transportation hubs like the Canada Line Station that’s just in front of our building.

“The aim is obviously to reduce traffic, reduce the number of cars on the road, reduce pollution, and in doing so they’re building these really creative, beautiful, natural spaces for people to walk.”