When I first moved to Canada, I had no idea that North Vancouver didn't just mean North of Vancouver.

No, this community has its own distinct vibe.

Known for its outdoor beauty and recreational activities, North Vancouver is iconic.

Also, you have the Sea Bus which brings you directly back into the city of Vancouver.

All of this makes perfect sense as to why people are flocking to call here home and why today we're going to check out a new development by Cascadia Green to see how you can get a little slice of North Vancouver living for yourself.

So this is a Nova.

Yes, this is a Nova.

Nice, this is cool.

I love these models.

I know, they're very cool.

So what am I looking at here?

So this is East 3rd Street right now in Lower Lonsdale.

We're building three fully concrete buildings.

We've got our East and West building and then our North building in the back there.

Ah okay and unit size, how much are we expecting these to bring into people?

So we're ranging from around 437 square feet up to units that are 1300 square feet our largest.

We've got one bedrooms, two townhomes.

Townhomes as well?

Yeah.

So these are the townhomes now?

Yeah, we've got a few townhomes in that, in our north building over there.

We've also got a few in the back side here in the north side.

It is a very family-friendly development.

So this is more of an indication of, hey, we're building this for the people of this

community.

We've got two daycares in the development itself, actually.

We've got one over here that's going to be a private one, and then we've also got one

that's for the city of North Vancouver.

The North Vancouver vibe, I think, is a lot of outdoorsy people, a lot of families, a lot of people with pets.

It is very pet-friendly development as well, which is nice.

A lot of people who love nature going on hikes.

There's lots of trails in North Vancouver.

I mean, you've got the mountains in your backyard.

And is this what's inspiring this rooftop patio?

Yes, the rooftop garden.

Yeah, we've got a community garden actually in our rooftop terrace here.

It's available for all three buildings to use, all the residents.

I guess the idea behind this was that when you move into a condo you don't

really get that backyard so this is kind of like your backyard and because we are

the highest development in the area right now it's gonna have beautiful

unobstructed water views city views and mountain views what if we walk around

here what are we seeing as this is st.

Patrick's Avenue

Yes, this is St.

Patrick's Avenue, and then this is East 4th, so we've got the whole block here.

The north side here, in between these two buildings, we're building something called The Block.

The Block?

Yes, and that's going to be a pedestrian-only hub.

We're going to get Lee's Donuts actually coming in here.

Very nice, name dropping.

Yes.

Okay, so this is going to be a mix of commercial.

Yes, it's going to be commercial.

Ah, okay, so Lee's Donuts is locked in, who else have we got?

We've got Delaney's Coffee coming in as well.

Love Delaney's, amazing.

Good one, good local spot.

That's gonna be on East 3rd Street though.

We've got two levels of commercial as well.

We've got some office buildings on the second floor

at the first level.

We've got Delaney's Coffee, like I mentioned,

and some other nice commercial that I can't quite say yet.

Okay, secrets.

Yeah, okay, that's for later in the video.

The developer.

Yes.

Cascadia Green Development.

2009 set up a North Shore local entrepreneur.

And what are the kind of projects that they've done?

So they've done mainly townhome projects.

It's all been in North and West Vancouver.

They're very in tune with the needs

of the North Shore community.

So they really build things that are what the community wants

and what the community needs.

This is fascinating, I love models,

but I also love seeing the inside of these places.

Let's have a little look and see what's inside a unit.

This is what floor plan?

This is our junior one-bedroom floor plan.

So it's 437 square feet.

We've got big floor-to-ceiling windows in all of our units.

So lots of natural light coming in that way.

So these are the finishings that you would see in the kitchens.

I love when it is a deep sink.

All of our appliances for all of our units will be Fischer and Paykel.

However, one-bedrooms will have these sizes

and our bigger units will have the full 32-inch appliances.

so this is a wardrobe what size bed is this fitting this is a double

bed however most of our bedrooms will fit um queen size beds cool so that's nice but

and then if we want to move here bathroom okay so i have been known to say that every bathroom in

vancouver is not in vancouver anymore but it looks the same but this is a nice take on it it's cool

it's it's clean it's elegant peaceful so tell me a little bit more then about cascadia green

because they they've been based here we've talked about that already but

what is their deal with the only building on the north shore

Like I said, they do really want to give back to the community and they do have

certain incentives that makes housing more affordable and accessible for

everyone on the North Shore within their

developments.

And Silvia can actually tell you more

about that.

Okay, I'll sit down with Silvia because this sounds right up my alley.

Sylvia, you are our sacrificial lamb to talk all things incentives and programs to get me into this unit.

I hear there's something interesting that not a lot of developers are doing at the moment.

Yes, that's called our Rent to Own program.

So, basically, what the premise is, is that you would put down a deposit, and then once

the building is finished and ready to move in, you get an early possession.

And why are they calling it early possession?

Because you don't have to pay for the unit yet.

So you pay for the 5% GST on your possession when you get a key.

And then each month you pay a mini deposit.

So it's almost like you're paying rent, but it's not because that that deposit is going directly into your pocket.

So at the end of the day, for after one year of paying a deposit each month, you get that lump sum and you were living there for free because you didn't have to pay anything.

Those deposits you're making towards your purchase.

You won't pay the strata fees either.

Developer's going to take care of that.

Wow.

So just your hydro and those kind of smaller,

your internet.

But other than that, you're living for free

and saving for your completion.

If you were to not complete at the end,

then you do forfeit the payments that you've made.

Right, okay.

But then it's just a matter of you paid rent, essentially.

You had a place for a year where you paid rent?

Rent and your deposit.

And your deposit, okay.

So what is the logic behind this kind of incentive?

Because, you know, people need housing.

I don't think that's an absurd thing to say,

particularly in this part of the world.

So why do it at all?

We'll give somebody an opportunity who might not have, you know, the amount to secure a mortgage today,

but, and then they're also trying to save while they're renting, and the rental costs are so high,

it's almost impossible to put anything back in your pocket.

So we're giving you a little bit of a buffer.

So if you have a little bit of savings, let me help you out, move into your new space,

let us take care of that year, and you can save 100% of whatever you're putting down that year.

Can I get a honey dip, please?

Yes.

I think we're talking about food.

Don't touch me.

One of the most exciting things about this development is the whole rent-to-own program.

And while the details of that are vast and you really need to talk to an expert to fully understand the implications,

the fact that a developer is trying something new and opening up the housing market for the likes of me and you,

well, that should be commended.

Because realistically, housing is not getting any cheaper in this country and definitely not in this city.

this place is going to be a hub for future locals to visit and only a stone's throw from the quay

itself and the iconic sea bus bringing downtown vancouver all in all we have a development that

seems to really catering to the community that it wants to build and i for one can get behind that