Last year we sat down and spoke with Tim Lee of Olive Tree Development to learn more about the highly anticipated Grand Vista Apartments, located off a once rocky hillside on Fifth St. and Grand Avenue. Today, this once pipe-dream residence for many members of the community is inching closer to becoming a reality, with its official grand opening set to take place sometime in the Spring of 2025.
To learn more, we once again sat down and spoke with Lee, a Clark County native for over two decades whose work is heavily influenced by Vancouver and the community who inhabits it.
“I’m in the final process of determining our resident manager and I wanted to find someone who reflects the people that will be living there,” says Lee. “It’s really about the people and the culture we create inside of this community that will determine the success of the project. The building and property itself are incredible, but really it’s about putting the best people there to maximize community.”
Grand Vista, which broke ground last year, has been a much anticipated project for this community, given its historic past in terms of property. Today, Lee offered this exciting update for curious locals and potential tenants.
“We should have model unit tours available for potential residents by mid-March,” says Lee. “We’re looking at opening the Grand Vista Apartments officially at the end of April.”
Grand Vista offers residents six stories of state-of-the-art living spaces, designed to service all different demographics in the community, from families to couples to single-life living.
“We have ten different types of floor plans as we really pushed for a variety and didn’t want to target just one specific potential resident profile,” says Lee. “Some have offices for those who want to work at home, some are catered to families with pets, and others are catered to traditional roommate living. Some units will even have super high-vaulted ceilings. We took very special care to create more of a condominium feel. Just having a vision for the community and listening to their needs has been a flagship for this project and my company.”
However, if your space seems confined for potential visitors then fear not, as Grand Vista will offer this exciting feature!
“We’re actually offering two guest units which is pretty cool,” says Lee. “They’re units that don’t have kitchens, much like hotel rooms, and are perfect for visiting guests of Grand Vista tenants. We have a ton of extra space that tenants will be able to utilize.”
Equally as impressive is both the time and efforts Lee and his team have put towards the safety of Grand Vista, making it both comfortable and secure for tenants.
“We’re a gated community around the whole perimeter and building,” says Lee. “We’ll also be utilizing high-tech phone operated systems for entering and license plate identification software to get into the complex. It will also be optional for tenants to put in their own Ring doorbell outside their space.”
Not surprisingly, one of the more exciting tidbits offered by Lee was the commitment to unique and exciting amenities that all tenants could enjoy.
“There will be a lot of multi-purpose rooms, including conference rooms, areas for activities like yoga or hosting a wine or art night, as well as a fun clubhouse space on the rooftop. We also plan to have a vending machine that might highlight items from the Vancouver Farmers Market. Outside they’ll be a dog park and there might be community gardens. We have given ourselves a ton of open space with all the infrastructure to build based on the feedback from the community.”
Circling back to the rooftop hub, a feature we found thrilling given Grand Vista’s close proximity to both Downtown Vancouver and Fort Vancouver, Lee gave these plans for the building’s top.
“It takes more of a biophilic design so, instead of just urbanizing the building, we wanted to incorporate a lot of greenery,” says Lee. “Here we can also maximize views for both the skyline and river alike. There’ll also be some TVs, a BBQ setup, and some mechanized pergolas. This will be an ideal location for the fourth of July fireworks shows. ‘Every day a million sights, every night a million lights’ is sort of our banner.”
Equally as cool, other community features will include a dog wash station, a hot pressurized hose station to clean off supplies such as skis or mountain bikes, and two elevators. As well, each of the garage parking units will feature self storage spaces for tenants to utilize.
That being said, not lost on both Lee and his team was the idea of committing 20% of this space for affordable housing, an early pledge when building on Grand Vista began last year.
“Through the multi-family tax exemption program, we’re allocating 20% of our housing for affordable housing,” says Lee. “My concern was that rents were going up too high and wanted to help out hard working members of the community.”
Lee and his team have managed to keep this project, as complex as it may seem, on schedule with their original plans. Grand Vista Apartments, set to open soon, will surely be a welcomed addition to a storied community given the reverence by those who are building it.
To learn more, visit Liveatgrand.com.
