Sophia’s block party

The world is a strange place. Lots of weirdness all over. Like the President of the United States saying the only way to save the private sector is for it to be owned by the government. Um, yeah. That’s weird.

Vancouver is no stranger to the strange. Remember, we consider 400 square feet a home. Anyway, if you’re looking for a new line item on the list of things ‘couver-crazy, a condo “block party” might be for you. The realtor-marketers behind the revamped Sophia condo are holding one today, complete with unspecified “refreshments” and a property tour.

I’m not sure how this differs from an open house but whatever. If they call it a block party, I’ll take their word. Hopefully they won’t be mad when I show up with a bottle of Grey Goose and my “Are You Afraid of the Big Bad David Wolf?” T-shirt.

Sophia’s back and she’s having a party

When things get tough, I count on friends to help me through the days. One of my best buds in East Van is Sophia. I haven’t heard from her much in the last six months; she skipped town last February after having a falling out with this guy Eden. She took some time off to travel and ended up in Oregon doing volunteer work on the Obama campaign. Yeah, totally East Van, I know.

Last night, out of nowhere, Sophia gave me a call to say she’s back in Vancouver. Even better, all the trouble with the condo has been sorted out. She’s having a party on Saturday — something to do with a court-ordered “recievership” sale — and it’s open to anyone.

Anybody interested in going to the party with me? If you’re not exactly the party type, that’s OK. It’s pretty easy to make conversation at these things. When in doubt, just comment on any nearby piece of furniture (i.e. Is that a Poang chair?) or ask the person you’re speaking with to describe the details of their cell phone plan. Trust me, the young affluent types are all over this stuff.

Sophia goes down

When the Eden Group of Companies said “time is running out” for their Sophia condos in Mount Pleasant, they sure weren’t kidding. If you bought pre-sale, East Van’s hottest concrete blondie just went down on you … and I don’t mean in a good way. With 85% of the building built, developer Eden pulled the plug citing cost overruns and labour shortages. At last count, 78 pre-sale buyers are now in limbo and will likely see their condos lost.

Sophia’s “Sorry, I’ll see ya”-routine isn’t the first for Eden; it wasn’t long ago that sophisticated sister Elyse pulled the same act, much to the dismay of feminists. It’s bad enough the condos failed but it really sucks that they failed and happen to be named after girls. I’m a feminist and I can tell you this doesn’t help the cause.

Whenever I’m feeling down, I look to Bob Rennie for inspiration. Turns out Bob’s got an opinion on Eden’s crush and his line of thinking might surprise you. In an interview with CTV News, Rennie tells us the “smart money” supports government intervention:

Anything the government wants to put in place to protect the [pre-sale] consumer doesn’t worry those top 15, 20 developers. If you’re getting creative with your financing, or your profit margin is too low, that developer may worry. But then again we’re protecting the consumer so let’s do it.

He may be a master of hype, but with this comment Rennie offers us a refreshing cold shower.  Cheers to you, Bob. The next latte’s on me. I am impressed.