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Finances & Real Estate Don't buy real estate along Kingsway in East Vancouver

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by KingswayPresale, Oct 11, 2014.

  1. WARNING! For anyone thinking about buying a condo along the Kingsway corridor, it's not a nice area despite what your realtor and the Norquay Village planning people tell you.

    Kingsway between Fraser and Joyce (including Little Saigon) is a shithole. It's not the DTES but you can find better neighbourhoods in East Van. Even with new apartment complexes (King Edward Village, 2300 Kingsway on Eldorado Mews, Kensington Gardens, Skyway Tower etc.), there's a lot of filth and shady types along Kingsway. Over the last few years, it's been spreading eastward.

    There are SROs, mental health housing and low income social housing close by meaning there are many injection drug users. Business owners along Kingsway find needles and dirty syringes on a daily basis around their property. People shoot up every morning by the Dollarama.

    The problem is so bad that there are neighbourhood needle pick up crews. Those who live in the area can see the PHS needle exchange truck everyday picking up syringes and delivering crack pipes to addicts.

    The druggies discard dirty needles all over the place: sidewalk, alley, bushes and even in the parks and playgrounds. Would you live in an area where you can't even let your kids play in the leaves?

    Last but not least, it's where prostitutes, hookers and their clients like to hang out which attracts the unscrupulous type. Fights and loud disturbances are commonplace at night. If you look at a crime map, a lot of the violence and abuse towards sex trade workers happens along Kingsway.

    So before you pay the deposit on your swanky granite lined presale unit, know what type of neighbourhood you're buying into.
     
    the mechanic likes this.
  2. Bill

    Bill Full Member

    Good to know, thank you.
     
  3. Superchecker

    Superchecker Active Member

    "Up and Coming" neighbourhood?

    Just ride the #19 and see what it's like....
     
  4. milquetoast

    milquetoast Senior Member

    I've lived in that area before and it's relatively safe. Yes there are addicts, needles and prostitutes but it's not blatantly obvious unless you know where to look. It's not a bad place to live. What bugs me is when people move into a neighbourhood and demand changes from people who have lived there far longer. Just don't be like the idiots that buy in Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside and then complain about the drug use on their doorstep.
     
  5. EastVan

    EastVan Guest

    Can't forget the shootings and gang wars!

    http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2009/03/09/one-man-shot-at-kingsway-and-slocan/
    http://www.vancouverobserver.com/city/crime/fatal-stabbing-17-year-old-japanese-restaurant-kingsway
     
  6. flutterby

    flutterby Active Member

    This is good info. re: unsafe places to rent as well. Let's keep all the poor only able to afford to rent in the really sh*tty places.

    Capitalism s*cks.
     
    the mechanic likes this.
  7. Dan

    Dan Junior Member

    I've only cherry picked part of the sentence but low income, social housing does not necessarily guarantee a neighbourhood full of junkies. I know many areas with coops and other types of social housing that are quite safe.
    By the way, if a developer needs rezoning for multi dwelling construction, he must set aside a certain percentage for non-market housing. Just a thought.
     
  8. ema

    ema Full Member

    Lolz, I grew up and attended elementary school right next to Chinatown and honestly, that Kingsway area is WAYYYYYY better. I think you're overexaggerating a bit too much, I've been in the area and fine, it's not the west side, but it's not as bad as you're making it out to be. Also, you're bound to find needles, condoms, etc. around alleys and dumpsters. I live in Oakridge and early in the morning, you can find needles in the Safeway parking lot at the mall.
     
  9. nosebleed

    nosebleed Guest

    Sex worker central http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...nts-petition-for-red-light-district-1.3075779

    "It's getting worse. It's getting a lot worse. And it's happening at quite a fast rate and it's kind of frightening."

    The father of two says he's seen everything from needles to human feces on his street, but the biggest problem, he says, is sex trade workers behaving aggressively near local schools.

    "My kids and I were approached on 22nd [Avenue] by one asking us to call her a cab. She was clearly strung out and she was freaking my daughter out. I want to feel safe in my community and that day I did not feel safe."
     
  10. Joe

    Joe Full Member

    East Vancouver is mostly a sh*thole.

    Its largely rough, gritty & working class.

    Same as its always been.

    They can try to put a new face on the neighborhood through marketing & fancy advertising, but they can't change the neighborhood itself.
     
  11. Kingsway

    Kingsway Guest

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