In the spring of 2016 the ownership group of the Historical Columbian Building at 102 East Evergreen, on the corner of Broadway and Evergreen, contacted me asking if I was interested in being their Leasing Broker. They had acquired this property in 2004 and had, over a period of 13 years; including through the great recession, had renovated a beat up old property and rekindled some of the character and personality from Downtown Vancouver back in the 1930’s. From the color, to the building texture & facade, to the signage, this property evokes an era when everyone came downtown to do business with the local merchants. The building had recently had a long term tenant leave and one space with a vacancy that had stretched to 9 years. While they had done a great job with the exterior, the interior suites had some challenges that would require significant investment and vision to make them attractive to modern shoppers. In spite of those challenges, I signed on and went to work. Those challenges did result in much resistance by potential tenants and it took six false starts with proposals to the landlords before we finally found a local artist. They wanted to establish a base for more modern and cutting edge art to be displayed in The Cave Art Gallery. If you haven’t been in, go for a viewing and enjoy the “artwork” that is the improvements they did to the space. Almost a year later, a clothing store called The Difference opened in March of 2019 and has already built a popular following. They provide not only fashionable wear to the women of Vancouver, but a consulting service to assist in keeping wardrobes fresh, matching personality and style.

After 15 years of redevelopment work, the Landlords decided it was time to turn the reigns over to a local family to carry on the tradition, and I was honored to help assist in the sale and transition process.