land development story. While there’s been significant activity along the route of the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain line, the higher densities mandated for transit-oriented areas isn’t necessarily attractive to developers or the buyers they supply.
“When the transit line was announced, it freed up a lot of land,” said Neil Chrystal, president and CEO of Polygon Realty Ltd., a Vancouver developer with sites in the Fraser Highway corridor near the planned Fleetwood and Langley City Centre stations.
“[But] we’re focusing a lot on the woodframe as opposed to the highrise. Mostly we’re focused on the more attractive entry point for home buyers,” he said. “In today’s climate of higher rates, affordability becomes more of a challenge.”
With costs on concrete highrises typically about 15 to 20 per cent higher than for woodframe construction, the numbers don’t pencil out. This has pushed Polygon to seek opportunities beyond Metro Vancouver, such as a 1,400-acre tract in the Silverdale area of Mission it acquired in partnership with Madison Development Corp. in 2017.