The worst kept secret in condo land is the death of the Ritz-Carlton Vancouver. Naysayers called it six months ago when the developer halted construction for a “parkade redesign.” Today, Bob Rennie and the developer declared the project dead.
The Ritz-Carlton has a special place in my heart and not just because the condo looks like Robocop’s penis. The original ads ooze with the best of high-society fatuity. “I summer in the Hamptons… I winter in Aspen… My home, the Ritz-Carlton, Vancouver.”
The developer blames the worldwide economy — a perfect boogeyman given today’s headlines. This casts a fog over the specific factors that killed the Carlton, namely insanely high prices. Is anyone really surprised condos at $2,000 a square foot can’t sell? This is Vancouver, not Manhattan.
Condohype 
February 24, 2009 at 9:50 pm
HA HA!
February 24, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Now what?
A nice hole in the ground?
A luxurious parking lot?
A pain in the ass?
A harbinger of things to come?
A mental diarrhea?
I’m really pissed off because I was about to buy a dozen units to impress my sweet heart. Now I’ll buy her a pizza. Too bad.
February 24, 2009 at 10:17 pm
While I may know nothing of architecture, I have always liked that building and am sad it won’t be completed.
On the other hand, that ad is hilariously terrible. I mean, why go to Aspen when Whistler (haha) is right here?
February 24, 2009 at 10:47 pm
robocops penis, thats awesome
February 24, 2009 at 11:49 pm
I’m just glad that they got rid of that eye-sore of a concrete hulk at that site. Now the problem will be a 60 foot hole in the ground … er, man made lake. Which will turn into a huge mosquito factory come summer. I can just see THAT adding to Vancouver “charm”.
February 25, 2009 at 12:11 am
The Ritz is like the 40 year old dude who shows up to the highschool party when everyone is already passed out, he’s standing in the doorway, wearing his Def Leopard T-shirt, ready to party, it’s going to be another lonely weekend. The party is over. Punchbowl is dry, no more koolaid.
The more I read from Rennie the more I despise him. I feel an imense amount of schadenfreude when he fails. Ahhhhhh….. that’s the stuff.
February 25, 2009 at 12:30 am
Rumors are flying that the Hudson in downtown Victoria will be stopped. I’m sure they’ll be blaming the financial crisis too, and not the “$700/sq ft. in an ugly smelly neighborhood” crisis.
February 25, 2009 at 12:53 am
One of the comments from the CBC website:
QUOTE
Terrific amount of people can efford to pay such elevated prices. To bad that they had to stop the project. The tax people should help them to finish the job. The dream must relized (sic).
END QUOTE
Terrific stuff. Vancouver Real Estate never goes down!
PS – Monterey, do you have a photo of the old concrete structure?
February 25, 2009 at 12:59 am
Ah, found something:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=130315
February 25, 2009 at 1:45 am
Ten Million Bucks to live in a gerbil cage in Vancouver?!
That’s crazy on so many levels.
February 25, 2009 at 1:46 am
Heh. “Terrific” is right.
February 25, 2009 at 2:10 am
one of the few buildings where you can pull an “r-kelly” on the person on the balcony below you.
I guess that type of thing is reserved for the rich 😦
drip drip drip
February 25, 2009 at 4:19 am
“I summer in the Hamptons… I winter in Aspen… My home, the Ritz-Carlton, Vancouver.”
Who would have that kind of easy cash except corrupt merchants and white collar criminals. The world’s wealthiest industrialists prefer Europe, Hawaii and world cities. Wait, world’s crooks are making their way to Vancouver. LOL. Vancouver is the gangstas’ capital of the world and world class safe haven for fugitives.
February 25, 2009 at 7:52 am
Is that block really for residences? I remember going to Outlaws in my earlier days and seeing Das Boot at the Fine Arts. Would be nice to have more street level people oriented business instead of another place for rich celebrities/businessman/ponzi schemers to hide out?
February 25, 2009 at 11:39 am
I work next to the Ritz site and even now, they’re still working…
February 25, 2009 at 12:23 pm
It’s dead for now, but the developer wants to build something there. Not for the next 5 or so years atleast.
“Robocops penis” ROFL, best line ever!
February 25, 2009 at 1:22 pm
So let me get this straight, if you’re away for the summer due to the rain and away in the winter due to the freezing rain when do you spend any time in Swampcouver? We have been told over and over again by the local real estate pimps ( like Bob Rennie, CREA, media zombies) in every media recently that the real estate market is going to continue to boom because we’re diffferant here.
The announcement today re the cancellation of the Ritz project specifically states that ‘international’ influences are dictating local policy decisions; are they trying to have their cake and eat it too. Which is the truth? That we’re different or that we are in a recession and real estate markets are tanking? I think the facts support the latter conclusion and that the pimps are lying in order to get as much money from the weak and the stupid before it gets worse and EVERYBODY knows the truth. What people should be doing is calling in to every talk show and every news program whenever these lying pimps are pumping real estate and saying something obscene.
Buying real estate today is the biggest mistake you will make this decade!
February 25, 2009 at 3:18 pm
they should just build another urban fare there.
February 25, 2009 at 3:48 pm
“I summer in the Hamptons… I winter in Aspen… My home, behind the dumpster in the back alley amongst the garbage and needles.”
February 25, 2009 at 4:39 pm
on a brighter note:
the ducks were overjoyed at
their new “Olympic” sized koi pond on Georgia
February 25, 2009 at 11:25 pm
If there’s a giant hole filled with water for a couple of years… well, the spot across from T&T Chinatown was like that for years. I tried to unofficially name it “Lake Chinatown” but as far as I know that never caught on.
February 26, 2009 at 12:26 am
Anyone want to sell “Deet”.
Should be great for mosquitoes – although the mix might be too toxic even for them.
February 26, 2009 at 9:21 am
Mr. condohype,
While we are on the subject of luxury, you should do a piece on this Hollyburn cabin (Vancouver Sun, Westcoast Homes, Feb. 21) for sale.
429 sq. ft. of middle age lifestyle for $365,000. There’s at least one week worth of laughter in that thing.
February 26, 2009 at 10:21 am
I remember that other lake. Being an eternal optimist… err I’d just like to point out they filled in that other whole eventually. It did have the loveliest green water though…
February 26, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Hey, there’s a new “Lake Chinatown” and it’s bigger and more disgusting than the original T&T hole. Take a stroll down Union St. between Main and Gore. Have a peep down from the V6A hoardings — if you dare.
February 26, 2009 at 3:52 pm
penis. ha!
February 26, 2009 at 8:56 pm
So what if one very ambitious condo tower has to undertake strategic defeat?
Condos are the future of Vancouver. When this economy turns around, likely by Fall of this year, all the usual elements of our upward trajectory will resume: mining will be back; Asians will be back; and the anticipated boost from the Olympics will be right around the corner.
We need to think positive, people? West Vancouver is one of the most desirable places to live on Earth, and I am proud to be here in the greatest city in the world at the threshold of a very exciting period!
February 26, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Thanks for censoring my comment…
February 27, 2009 at 2:37 am
Victor V, you missed one word. It’s: ‘Leaky’ condos are the future of Vancouver…
Good on you for being positive, though no amount of it can obscure the impression given of having blinders on.
February 27, 2009 at 10:41 am
“When this economy turns around, likely by Fall of this year, all the usual elements of our upward trajectory will resume: mining will be back; Asians will be back; and the anticipated boost from the Olympics will be right around the corner.”
When the world economy turns around, it is not simply going to be the same things driving recent growth that return to drive new growth. You are looking in the rear-view mirror. In order to be successful at investing, you need to think about the future in terms other than simply regurgitating the recent past.
Unless you’re joking, in which case, ha! Nice one.
February 27, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Victor, you are beyond out to lunch. The economy is going to turn around by this fall? Wait, I think a pig just flew by my office window.
February 27, 2009 at 2:48 pm
i think Victor just bought a condo last month and is remaining optimistic.
February 27, 2009 at 3:57 pm
The Ritz-Carlton is the second development failure on the same site. The hole should stay there to remind you all of the peak to peak time line in a boom bust real estate cycle. It was Asian investors who failed the first time in the 90’s. The last peak was 1992 , it is 2009 now, that means it took a full 17 years for the market to cycle from peak to peak. It simply will not peak again by this fall. The last full troughing period took 12 years of zero growth in this market before it began to recover after the last boom bust from 86 to 92.
Victor is obviously a deny kind of guy. The ‘Olympic Boost’ nonsense? Tell that to Beijing.
February 27, 2009 at 5:18 pm
These Rennie types come and go. In Vancouver in the early 80’s it was Alex DiCimbriani who never shut up. He went down.
February 27, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Article about Beijings post Olympic bust
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-beijing-bust22-2009feb22,0,5564951.story
March 3, 2009 at 1:18 pm
So, they’d rather kill the project than lower the price ?!?
wow, the greed the greediness