Most developers, including OpenForm Properties, agree that getting redevelopments approved, built and sold in the Vancouver region has been a challenge and will probably remain so given the latest global economic and trade chaos.

Nonetheless Openform, a relatively new player, continues to stay busy with its development pipeline in the region. The company's president attributes its activity — at least in part — to its sister firm’s portfolio of spacious, urban car dealerships among its regional land assets.

The Vancouver-based developer, with origins connected to the OpenRoad Auto Group, continues to launch and steward new projects, including at a couple of its former car lots and at a light industrial site in Mount Pleasant.

OpenForm's sister company, OpenRoad, launched in 2000 and has grown into one of the largest auto dealers in Western Canada, OpenForm president Jason Turcotte told RENX. 

The company, started by the Chia family, also owned much of the real estate on which its dealerships sat. 

Roughly eight years ago, the company's leadership launched a development arm trying to maximize on the value of its existing land. "It's somewhat of a parallel business unit," Turcotte said. 

Former car dealerships on current project list

Some of the land is located in urban areas that benefitted from updated area plans, allowing for higher density, he said. At the same time, some car dealerships evolved away from sprawling car lots into smaller operations with showrooms and fewer vehicles on site - thus opening up land for other purposes.

OpenForm continues to find its niche.

"We're certainly opportunistic," Turcotte said, listing highrise condo, mixed-use employment space and residential rental among OpenForm's portfolio. "It really comes down to well-located properties where we feel like our design-forward approach will be appreciated and . . . we can sort of lean into it.

“While there are inherent land opportunities within the OpenRoad portfolio, OpenForm is actively looking for new opportunities and acquiring new sites, projects and partnerships,” Turcotte said. 

OpenForm has two active projects at former OpenRoad dealerships, including at the OpenRoad Honda Burnaby location in the Edmonds area. "We took the site through a fairly lengthy rezoning process with the City of Burnaby that concluded late last year, but we are actually actively pursuing a second rezoning of the site under the city's new height-based framework," Turcotte said. 

The current proposal calls for a 35-storey condo tower and 25-storey rental tower with a connected podium. The proposed site consists of 425 strata units and 293 rental units, totaling 718 homes. There is also a commercial component along Kingsway that would offer retail and office space over two levels. 

Meanwhile, the team has been working toward securing a development permit to construct a mixed-use employment building at the current Vancouver BMW location at 5th Ave. and Burrard St., Turcotte said. 

"This is an older dealership that's . . . set for renewal, and as part of that, we recognized that there was an opportunity to do something more comprehensive on the site,” Turcotte said.

The plan aims to include a mix of retail, office, light industrial and would see the BMW dealership re-open at the complex. The project totals 243,576 square feet.  

Light industrial site in Mount Pleasant now selling 

OpenForm is also focused on selling units in a light industrial/office building in Mount Pleasant at 288 West 8th Ave. 

It's a six-storey building offering a total of 49,000 square feet of space. The lowest two levels feature light industrial, with levels three to five designed for office space. The top level is an amenity space consisting of an interior common area with a communal kitchen, tables and a work lounge. It also includes an exterior patio. 

"Here's an opportunity to own your workspace, whether it be light industrial use or a more traditional office or medical office use," Turcotte said, noting the building will have 18 strata units.

Known as 288W8, the building is expected to complete in 2027. 

Market remains tricky and challenging

Turcotte said market conditions are tricky and challenging. 

"That's not to say that there aren't still opportunities and ways to make smart decisions that result in successful projects," he said, adding that developers are facing unprecedented headwinds in every asset class.

The biggest challenge is producing homes and work spaces at a cost that the market can handle.

"The development community, the home-building community, just simply doesn't have margin or cost-saving abilities to bring those prices down to a level where there would be demand.

"That stems from elevated construction costs, sticky high land costs, development fees, taxes and levies, plus macroeconomic issues on a global scale," Turcotte said. "The margins are at bare minimums already.”